464
COLUMBIA AXD MONTOUR COUNTIES
Stephen Richard&on, third son o f .Amos, was Ironi in Boston, Ju n e 14, 1652, and lived and die<] in Stonington, Conn. H e was a inan o f character and influence. .Amos Richardson, third son o f Stqihen, w as bom in 16 6 1. and settled in Covcntr>‘, Connecticut. Nathan Richardson, eldest son o f Amos, w as bom M arch 20, 1 725. Nathan Richardson ( 2 ) . fourth son o f Nathan, was l>om at Coventry, Conn., Oct. 27. 1760, and about 17S0 removc<l to Manchester, V i., from there going to near Uurlington, Chittenden Co.. V t., where he soon a fte r died. William P. Richardson, son u f Nathan ( 2 ) . w as bom at Manchester, V’t.. Ju ly 22, 1784. In his early childhood he developed more than ordinary aptness and excelled as a reader. In the Congr<^ationa! Church, o f which he was a member, reg u b r service at that time was alw ays held on the Sabbath in the aliscncc of the minister. On such occasions—and they occurred hundreds o f times during the course o f his life— M r. Richardson was invariably called upon by one of the deacons to conduct the service and to stand in the pulpit and read a -semton to the congregation. F o r weeks, and sometimes months, he scr'cd the church in this w ay in the absence of the pastor. He studied theology under the instruction o f Rev. F.benezer Kingsbury (grandfather o f E . P. Kingsbury, o f J'cranton), pastor of the Con gregational Church at Jericho Center, Vt. account of the protracted sickness o f his mother, who required his constant care, he w as compelled to relinquish all thoughts of the ministry as a profe.ssion. M r. Richardson marrie<l Sept. 7, 1807. L au ra, ilaughler o f Capt. John Lym an. H e was an ohl Jeflfersonian rXcmocrat. an ardent supporter of the Madison and Monroe administrations, and a decided advocate of the w ar o f j 8 i 2 . H e was a volunteer In that w ar and was an officer in his company, which was ordered to Plattsburg. .After the close of the w ar he pur chased a fan n near Jericho Center, directing his attention to agricultural life. He was for many years a justice of the jieace. often a mcnilier of the lioard o f selectmen, and rep resented Cliitlendcn county in the Slate l.egislalurc In 18 2 1. 1822 and 1R24. l i e wrote the early history o f Jericho township which w as published in ‘•Thompson's (iazetteer of the S tate." H is intellect and training made him a leader in the most advanced movements o f his day. H e became interested in the cause o f i^ucation and sccurc<l the cstablishnicnt o f a gooci academical school in his township:
and w as president of the first organized tem perance society o f his town. W hen more than eighty years o f age he removed wilh his wife to Butternuts, Otsego Co., N . Y ., where the couple spent the remainder of their lives with their son-in-law, Edw ard Converse. Mr. Richardson died Feb. 28, 18 7 1. Jo h n L . Richardson was bom near Jericho Center, Cliitiendcn Co.. V t., Scm . 15 . 1816. T he county w as namcti a fte r the first gocm or, and one of the most renowned gover nors. in the S ta le; w as the county in whkh Col. Ethan A llen, the hero o f T kondcroga. lived and d ie d; the native county o f Senator Edm unds; the native county o f Dr. Higbee, fom icr superintendent o f public instruction in Pen nsylvania; and the first public school which M r. Richardson attended w as soon a fte r taught by the father o f President Arthur. During his first tem is in the academy u f his native town he w as a schoolmate of Ju d gc I’oland, fo r many years member of Congress from 'em>ont. A t the age o f nine teen M r. Richardson taught his first school near hts native town, and soon a fte r cntcrc<l B u rr Sem inary, at Manchester, Vt.. then under the principalship o f his relative, Kcv. Lym an Coleman, D. D,. su b s^ u cn lly profes so r o f ancient and modem history in I.afaycctc College; he taught winters during the four years o f his connection with the semin ary. In 1842 he left Manchester, on a visit to his sister Hannah, who, with her husband. Jo h n C . K . T ru air. had charge of the (iilbertsville Academ y and Collegiate Institute at Butlcm uts, Otsego Co., N . Y . H e spent a year at chat place, teaching in the academy, and during one term w as associated with the late K ev. Reuben Nelson, IX D., who w as a teacher o f languages in the same institution. Mr. Richardson moved to Luzcm c county. Pa., in 1843 and taught school several years. In the fall o f 1853, while he was principal of Madison Academ y, at W avcrly, P a., he was commissioned by .Andrew G . Curtin, then secretar)’ o f State and superintendent of public instruction, as superintendent of the schools o f Luzerne county. T he act authoriz ing a superintendent w as jiassed in 1854. and the late Rev. J . W. I.cscher was the first superintendent, but he resigned shortly after the law went into effect. M r. Richardson's first act as superintendent w as to issue a cir cular which gives considerable insight into his sentiments regarding the ob lin tton s and responsibilities o f his chosen profession. The office o f county superintendent was objected to by a targe number o f people at first, in a
