Elizabeth (Latham) Richards (1692 - 1751)

Wife of Samuel Richards — married 4 Mar 1714 in Norwalk, Fairfield, CT

Descendants

Died 17 Feb 1751 at age 58 in Rowayton, Norwalk, Fairfield, Connecticut

Problems/Questions Profile managers: Victoria DeLuca [send private message] and Robert Leibforth [send private message]

Biography

Elizabeth Latham was born on 24 October 1692^[1] to one John Latham^[2] and an as yet unknown mother.

We have no record of where Elizabeth was born and we know almost nothing about either of her parents. Her mother died and her father married, next, before 1710, perhaps around 1703, Mary (Clements), widow of John Butler. Elizabeth's father, John Latham, died in or before around 1710, when his widow Mary married, third, Robert Lockwood of Fairfield. Elizabeth had three Butler step-siblings and nine Lockwood step-siblings, though only the two youngest Lockwoods were children of her step-mother.

Elizabeth, daughter of John Latham, married Samuel Richards on 4 March 1714, of record in Norwalk. Given the birth date of their first child, we take this to mean 1713/14.^[2][3]

Children of Samuel and Elizabet Latham Richards:^[2]

1. Ruth Richards, b. 5 January 1714/15.
2. Samuel Richards, b. 23 December 1716.
3. Mary Richards, b. 19 April 1719.
4. John Richards, b. 16 February 1720/1.
5. James Richards, b. 29 October 1723.
6. Sarah Richards, b. 24 June 1727.
7. Elizabeth Richards, b. 25 May 1729.
8. Thankful Richards, b. 5 June 1731.
9. Moses Richards, b. 6 March 1732/3.
10. Daniel Richards, b. 19 March 1734/5.

Elizabeth's husband was co-administrator of the John Butler estate with Butler's widow, Mary [(Clements) (Butler) (Latham)] Lockwood, in 1723.

On 1 March 1722/3, an accounting was delivered to the Fairfield Probate Court by "Samuel Richards and Mary Lockwood his mother in Law who was formerly the widow of John Butler formerly of Norwalk."^[4] This is the record by which we establish that Mary was Elizabeth's step-mother, there being no room in Samuel Richards' family for this stated mother-in-law relationship to come from his side.

In 1723 and 1725, Samuel Richards bought property in Norwalk from the Butler heirs. Elizabeth's step-sister Ellinor Butler died in 1732. Samuel Richards administered her estate, and was made guardian of her daughter Prudence Butler. For details of these matters, refer to Mary's profile. We might reframe this adoption as Elizabeth adopting her step-sister's daughter Prudence Butler. One might imagine that after Elizabeth lost her father, perhaps being his only child, her Butler step-siblings and step-mother became quite dear to her.

Elizabeth died on 17 February 1751. Her grave is at the Old Five Mile River Cemetery in Rowayton.^[1][5]

Research Notes

Why her parents weren't John and Mercy (Plumbe) Latham of New London

A previous version of this profile, like other profiles of Elizabeth to be found online, had John and Mercy (Plumbe) of New London listed as Elizabeth's parents. There are problems with this association.

First, Elizabeth's gravestone shows that she was born in 1692. John Latham and Mercy Plumb of New London were both baptized in 1677, and their eldest known daughter, Elizabeth, was baptized in 1699. This is not the picture of a family with a daughter Elizabeth who was born in 1692.

Second, we have no explanation for why a young lady or girl whose parents live in New London to marry and start a life in Norwalk. Surely these things did happen, but there is usually a reason, and we see none here. Lacking any other evidence, it would be stretch to assert this, even if there weren't other problems with the match.

Third, and finally, Elizabeth's husband's parents died in 1715 and 1717 in England. There is no way that Mary (Clements) was the step-mother of Samuel Richards. Thus, for Mary to be Samuel's "mother-in-law," as the probate record of John Butler states, she must have been some sort of mother to Elizabeth Latham. Mary's timeline does not allow for her to be Elizabeth's biological mother, therefore she must have been Elizabeth's step-mother. This rules out the New London family, which was intact until John Latham of New London died in 1733.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} Jones, Melvin E. Genealogy of Jones, Hathaway, Richards, Gooding. Boston, Mass., 1934, photos between pages 133 and 134 and page 134.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Hall, The Ancient Historical Records of Norwalk, Conn..., page 210.
3. ↑ Marriage of Samuel Richards and Elizabeth Latham. "Norwalk Vital Records 1651-1850," White, Lorraine Cook, ed. The Barbour Collection..., page 118 / image 128 (subscription) (free image), citing Norwalk Land Records, page 4:9.
4. ↑ Estate of John Butler. Accounting and order to distribute, 1 March 1722/3. Fairfield Probates, page 6:148 / image 124.
5. ↑ Her Find a Grave profile has a nice color photo, but the bottom of the stone is more obscured. Find a Grave, database and images (accessed 22 December 2022), memorial page for Elizabeth Latham Richards (24 Oct 1692–17 Feb 1751), Find a Grave Memorial ID 18137484, citing Old Five Mile River Cemetery, Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut, USA; Maintained by Jan Franco (contributor 46625834).

• [Fairfield Probates] Connecticut. Probate Court (Fairfield District). "Probate records, 1648-1916."
  • "Probate records v. 6-8 1717-1750." FamilySearch, film # 7,627,301.