Stephen Richardson III (1744 - 1783)

Born 4 Sep 1744 in Woburn, Middlesex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Ancestors

Husband of Martha (Wyman) Richardson — married 9 Jul 1770 in Woburn, Middlesex, Province of Massachusetts Bay

Descendants

Died 18 Jul 1783 at age 38 in Woburn, Middlesex, Massachusetts, USA

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Biography

Second Lieutenant Stephen Richardson III served with Middlesex County Militia, Massachusetts Militia during the American Revolution.

Stephen Richardson III is an NSSAR Patriot Ancestor.
NSSAR Ancestor #: 278703
Rank: Lieutenant

Stephen Richardson, III was born in Woburn, Massachusetts, on September 4, 1744, the only son of Stephen Richardson, II and Mary Sawyer.^[1][2][3]

On July 9, 1770, he married, in Woburn, Martha Wyman, also of Woburn, seventh daughter of Capt. Benjamin and Esther (Richardson) Wyman. Children, all born in Woburn:^[2][3][4]

1. Stephen, born April 29, 1771; married Bridget Richardson.^[2]
2. Jesse, born February 24, 1773; married Susanna Richardson.^[2]
3. Mary, born October 28, 1775; married Oliver Richardson.^[2]
4. Martha, born March 23, 1777; unmarried ; "idiotic"; died in Woburn March 20, 1854, aged 77.^[2]
5. Wyman, born February 19, 1779; died in infancy.^[2]
6. Wyman, 2nd, born October 19, 1780; married Mary C. B. Baldwin.^[2]

Stephen was a Second Lieutenant in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War before 1777. Capt. Abraham Gould's (2d) co.; Capt. Jesse Wyman's (3d) co., Col. Fox's 2nd Middlesex County Regiment of Massachusetts Militia; Capt. Cadwallader Ford's co., Col. Eleazer Brooks's Middlesex County Regiment of Massachusetts Militia.^[5][2][6][7]

2d Lieut. Stephen Richardson "died of a fever, occasioned by drinking cold water in a hot day," in Woburn, on July 18, 1783, at the age of 38. He was buried July 20, at the First Burial Ground in Woburn, where his gravestone reads:^[2][3][8]

💀

Here lies Buried

the Body of Lieu^t.

STEPHEN RICHARDSON

who departed this Life

July the 18^th 1783

Aged 39 Years.

The Memory of yͤ Juſt is Bleſsed.

Research Notes

• Death date: "Vinton" cites a death date of June 18, 1783, while at the same time acknowledging that the gravestone reads July 18, 1783.^[2] However, Lieut. Samuel Thompson, who lived in Woburn at the time, noted, "July 18, 1783, Stephen Richardson died; 20th, Buried."^[3]

Sources

1. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART I. BIRTHS. Page 215. Citing: "RICHARDSON, Stephen, s. of Stephen and Mary, Sept. 4, 1744."
2. ↑ ^{2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10} Vinton, The Richardson Memorial: Page 265. Citing: "1926. Lieut. Stephen Richardson ... only son of Stephen and Mary (Sawyer) Richardson; born in Woburn, Sept. 4, 1744; married, 'July 9, 1770, MARTHA WYMAN, born Feb. 25, 1748, seventh daughter of Capt. Benjamin and Esther (Richardson) Wyman. He lived at 'Button End,' in Woburn, close upon the confines of Stoneham. He was a lieutenant in the Continental army before 1777. He died of a fever, occasioned by drinking cold water in a hot day, June 18, 1783, aged 39. [The gravestone says, July 18, 1783.] Martha, the widow, died very suddenly, Sept. 25, 1793, aged 45 years, 7 months. [6 children, all born in Woburn]"
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3} Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. EPITAPHS, FIRST BURIAL-GROUND. Page 52*. Citing: "(254.) 'Here lies Buried the Body of Lieu't Stephen Richardson who departed this Life July the 18'th 1783 Aged 39 Years.'
   "The Memory of ye Just is Blessed."
   Lieut. Stephen Richardson, born Sept. 4, 1744, son of Stephen and Mary (Sawyer) Richardson (epitaph 256); married Martha Wyman, July 9, 1770. 'He died of a fever, occasioned by drinking cold water in a hot day.' (Vide Vinton Memorial, 75; Sewall's Woburn, 574, etc.). 'July 18, 1783, Stephen Richardson died; 20th, Buried.' (S. Thompson's Memoranda.)"
4. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART III. MARRIAGES. Page 231. Citing: "Samuel Richardson, Jr. and Martha Wyman, both of Woburn, July 9, 1770."
5. ↑ DAR
6. ↑ Sewall, The History of Woburn: WOBURN MEN IN THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR 1775-1783. Page 574. Citing: "Richardson : Samuel, Lieut. S. p. W. [Soldier in the present War] before 1777. 185."
7. ↑ Massachusetts Soldiers of the Revolutionary War: Vol. 13. Page 266. Citing: "Richardson, Stephen (also given Stephen, Jr.), Woburn."
8. ↑ Johnson, Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages: PART II. DEATHS. Page 159. Citing: "RICHARDSON, Lieut. Stephen, Jr., July 18, 1783; 39 y."

See also:

• Daughters of the American Revolution, DAR Genealogical Research Databases, database online, (http://www.dar.org/ : accessed 2022-01-19), "Record of Stephen Richardson", Ancestor # A053266.

• Johnson, Edward. Woburn Records of Births, Deaths, Marriages, and Marriage Intentions, from 1640 to 1900 (Woburn, Mass., 1890-1919).

• Vinton, John. The Richardson Memorial, Comprising a Full History and Genealogy of the Posterity of the Three Brothers, Ezekiel, Samuel, and Thomas Richardson (Brown Thurston & Co., Portland, Maine, 1876).

• Sewall, Samuel. The History of Woburn, Middlesex County, Mass. (Wiggin and Lunt, 1868).

• Massachusetts Soldiers and Sailors of the Revolutionary War (Wright & Potter Printing Co., Boston, 1905).

• Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 10 March 2019), memorial page for Lieut Stephen Richardson (1744–18 Jul 1783), Find A Grave: Memorial #57881545, citing First Burial Ground, Woburn, Middlesex County, Massachusetts, USA ; Maintained by Rick Weaver (contributor 47178877).