Richardson Saunders (1830 - 1902)

Born 13 Sep 1830 in Nassau, Bahamas

Ancestors

Husband of Catherine Ann (Earl) Saunders — married 6 Nov 1867 in Plumstead, Kent, England

Husband of Margaret Ellen (Perpall) Saunders — married 4 Jun 1874 in Nassau, Bahamas

Descendants

Died 20 May 1902 at age 71 in Nassau, Bahamas

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Ann Carmel [send private message]

Biography

Richardson Saunders is part of a Bahamian family.

Richardson was a rector in the Church of England

Richardson Saunders was born 13 September 1830 in Nassau, Bahamas to William Edwin Saunders and Maria Joanna Thompson Saunders.

Richardson Saunders was married twice: first to Catherine Ann "Kittie" Earl 6 November 1867 at Plumstead St. Margaret, England. She moved with her Bahamian husband to New Providence and lived at St. Anne's Rectory at Fox Hill. A year after her arrival in the Bahamas, she had a son who was stillborn. Kittie herself died of a fever several days after his birth. (Several letters of Kittie's - written in Nassau - have survived.)

Parson Saunders married, second, Margaret Ellen Perpall, daughter of Charles Robert Perpall and Henrietta Jane Fulford Perpall, at St. Matthew's Anglican Church in Nassau 4 June 1874. The couple had four children that survived to adulthood: Katherine Mary, Richardson, Jr., Robert Charles, and Margaret Louise Saunders. The family lived at the top of the hill in their home "Buen Retiro" until his death.

Reverend Saunders began his career in the service of the Church as a Catechist in Exuma - under the late Archbishop Trew. Then he went to Harbour Island as a student under Reverend WK Duncombe. Richardson Saunders was admitted to Priests' orders, 26 July 1857, at Christ Church, along with James Fisher, Thomas Sharpe, Samuel Minns, and Rev. Jeremiah S J Higgs. The Lord Bishop of Jamaica presided at this ordination - it was the first one ever held in Nassau. Reverend Saunders then served in Abaco until he was transferred to St. Anne's about 1862. When the parishes of St. Matthew's and St. Anne's were joined about 1870, he was appointed incumbent Rector of them both.

Elected to the St. Andrew's Society in 1857.

Selected by the Bishop of Nassau to visit England to detail the tremendous needs of parishioners in the Bahamas after the ruinous damage left by the Hurricane of 1866.

In 1869, Parson Saunders was appointed Chaplain of the New Providence Asylum.

Member of the Royal Colonial Institute - elected in 1881.

Member of the Board of Education for 6 years.

In July of 1899, many members of the congregation of St. Matthews Church published a letter in a local Nassau newspaper to the Rev. Richardson Saunders, Rector. The topic was a controversy regarding church doctrine at a meeting of the Synod, in which Rev. Saunders was rather isolated in his views, but the congregation supported him. Rev. Saunders' reply was published on the same issue on page 3.^[1] N.B. Samuel Minns was a signatory to the letter to Rev. Saunders.

"I, Richardson Saunders, Priest, Rector of the Parish of St. Matthew New Providence Bahamas, in the Diocese of Nassau, considering the uncertainty of this mortal life, and being of sound mind and memory – blessed be God for the same – do make and publish this as my last Will and Testament .. I give and bequeath to my beloved wife Margaret Ellen ... All my real estate I give to my beloved children Richardson, Katharine Mary, Robert Charles, and Margaret Louise... " Will lodged 2 June 1902.

Sources

1. ↑ The Bahamas News, Nassau, N.P., Bahamas 25 July 1899, page 3, https://dloc.com/AA00079435/00030/zoom/2

Christ Church, Nassau, Bahamas, Birth and Baptism Records, 1830.

"England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2DK8-8X9 : 13 December 2014), Richardson Saunders, 1867; from "England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005," database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1867, quarter 4, vol. 1D, p. 1210, Lewisham, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England. Marriage to Catherine Ann Earl.

"Ordination at Christ Church." Nassau Guardian, Nassau, Bahamas, 29 July 1857.

"Bahamas Births, 1850-1891", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XLLW-QFV : 16 December 2019), Richd. Saunders in entry for Kathleen Mary Saunders, 1875. Birth of Katherine Mary.

"Bahamas Births, 1850-1891", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FL98-S9P : 16 December 2019), R. Saunders in entry for Richardson H. Saunders, 1877. Birth of Richardson Jr.

"Bahamas Births, 1850-1891", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FLSM-WQY : 16 December 2019), Richd. Saunders in entry for Robert Charles Saunders, 1889. Birth of a son.

"Bahamas Civil Registration, 1850-1959", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QK8P-STXY : 9 August 2017), Richard Saunders in entry for MM9.1.1/QK8P-STXT:, 1893. Birth of Margaret Louise.

Bahamas National Archives, Wills, Supreme Court, "S", Saunders, Richardson, 1902.

Iris Finlayson, History of St. Matthew's Church, Bahamas National Archives.

"Bahamas Civil Registration, 1850-1959", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJDZ-D115 : 22 February 2021), Richardson Saunders, 1902.

Obituary, The Nassau Guardian and Bahama Islands’ Advocate and Intelligencer, Nassau, Bahamas May 21, 1902.

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Ann Carmel for starting this profile. Click the Changes tab for the details of contributions by Ann and others.