Finding aid for the Richards Family Papers

Biography of the Richards Family

The Richards Family settled in Hinckley Township, Medina County, Ohio, prior to 1838. Willard Richards (1804-1876) married Alvira Ann Whedon (?-?) in 1838, and they raised seven children. In 1861, their eldest son, Myron (1840-1912), enlisted in Battery A, First Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery (O. V. L. A.) and served throughout the duration of the Civil War, seeing action in Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia. In the autumn of 1862, he was wounded and spent all of the winter of 1862-1863 in military hospital in Evansville, Indiana. For a complete history of Battery A, researchers should consult H. M. Davison's History of Battery A, 1st Regiment, Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery. After mustering out of the army in July of 1865, Myron Richards returned to farming in Hinckley Township. In 1866, he married Romelia Noragon (?-?) and eventually raised two children, Oliver Richards (1875-1958) and Margie Richards (1883-1973). In 1891, the Myron Richards family moved to Lincoln, Nebraska. He traveled throughout the West working for various railroad companies and served as a bailiff in Lincoln until his death in 1912. In the 1910s, Margie Richards became a physical education instructor at the University of California, Southern Branch (University of California, Los Angeles). She remained at the university throughout most of her life, never married, and spent some her retirement traveling abroad and in the United States.

Scope and Content

The Richards Family Papers, 1852-1973, consists of correspondence, certificates, journals, genealogical notes, wills, military papers, and legal documents.

This collection is of value to researchers interested in the United States Civil War; military history; the First Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery Regiment; Military Hospital #1 in Evansville, Indiana; the history and genealogy of the Richards Family; and Hinckley Township, Medina County, Ohio. Notable individuals mentioned in Richards' Civil War letters include Nathaniel Prentiss Banks, Simon Bolivar Buckner, Don Carlos Buell, Benjamin Franklin Butler, Ulysses Simpson Grant, Henry Wager Halleck, Alexander McDowell McCook, William Starke Rosecrans, and William Tecumseh Sherman. Researchers will gain insight into the motivations of the war from Richards' pronounced Unionist sentiments and opinions. The letters home also detail the personal economy of the private soldier, the outfitting of the private soldier, hospital life, camp life, spying and voting while in service. Gallatin, Tennessee, and Murfreesborough, Tennessee, are described by Richards during his encampments in those areas. Valuable materials describe medical treatment and hospitals during the war. Of lesser value, researchers should note the travel journals of Margie Richards which document her recreational travels to New England, Europe and national parks in the United States.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None.

Researchers should also consult MS 2214 N. A. Baldwin Papers, MS 2702 James Barnett Papers, MS 2857 Charles Cotter Papers, MS 3965 1st Regiment Ohio Volunteer Light Artillery, and MS 2152 Regimental Papers of the Civil War.

All photographs have been removed to the photograph and print collection.

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 4785 Richards Family Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Purchased, 1997.

Processing Information

Processed by Chuck Piotrowski in 1998.

Detailed Description of The Collection