Isaac Richmond (1851 - 1922)

Ancestors

Husband of Mary Rowena (Cooley) Richmond — married 23 Nov 1870 in Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, United States

Died 1922 at about age 70 in Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, United States

Biography

Isaac was born in 1851. He was the son of William Richmond and Mary Horton. The family moved from Wise, Virginia, to Prestonburg, Floyd, Kentucky, about 1862. In 1869, Isaac's father William opened a department store at Prestonburg, which Isaac continued to operate.^[1]He married Mary Cooley in 1872. He passed away in 1922 and is buried at Richmond Memorial Cemetery in Prestonburg. ^[2]

Research Notes

Charlie Richmond is found living in the household on Census records. His story is part of the Slave Narrative project.^[3]:

"The last ex-slave of Floyd County, says Mr. W.S. Wallen of Prestonsburg, Kentucky, was “Uncle” Charlie Richmond, of Prestonsburg. Uncle Charlie was brought to the county by old Judge Richmond, father of I. Richmond of the Richmond Dept. Stores of Prestonsburg, about the time of the Civil War. When the war was over “Uncle” Charlie worked at Richmond’s for hire and lived as a member of the family. While working on a Prestonsburg newspaper, Mr. Wallen interviewed this old ex-slave and worked him into a feature story for his paper. These old paper files were destroyed by fire about 1928.

Old Judge Richmond brought this old slave, from Virginia about 1862, along with a number of other slaves. “Uncle” Charlies was the only slave that remained in the family as a servant after the Emancipation Proclamation."

Richmond Department Store

This is a photo of Isaac Richmond (1851-1922) and his wife, Mary Cooley Richmond (1850-1940). He was the son of Colonel William Richmond of Big Stone Gap, Virginia. The elder Richmond opened a general store in Prestonsburg in 1869. After taking control of the store in 1881, Isaac formed a partnership with P. D. Harmison which lasted until that gentleman`s death in 1892. In 1915 Richmond erected a two-story brick building on Front Street which is still standing. During the 1915-1950 period, Richmond`s Department Store was Prestonsburg`s largest and best-stocked clothing store. Isaac`s wife Mary was the daughter of early Prestonsburg merchant David Cooley. (Photo courtesy of David Hereford.)

Sources

1. ↑ http://www.mayhouse.org/photo_archives/floyd_county_album/isaac_richmond.html
2. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #68517230
3. ↑ https://www.loc.gov/resource/mesn.070/?sp=53

• "Find A Grave Index," database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QV2X-D75C : 10 June 2020), Isaac Richmond, 1922; Burial, , ; citing record ID , Find a Grave, http://www.findagrave.com.
• "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MHM7-88X : 18 February 2021), Isaac Richmond in entry for William Richmond, 1860.
• Federal Writers' Project: Slave Narrative Project, Vol. 7, Kentucky, Bogie-Woods with combined interviews of others. 1936. Manuscript/Mixed Material. https://www.loc.gov/item/mesn070/.
• "Kentucky, County Marriages, 1797-1954," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q28H-QGS1 : 9 March 2021), Isaac Richmond and Mary R Cooley, 23 Nov 1870; citing Marriage, Prestonsburg, Floyd, Kentucky, United States, various county clerks and county courts, Kentucky; FHL microfilm 837,283.