Genealogy Thomas » Richard Richardson (1704-1780)

Personal data Richard Richardson 

• He was born in the year 1704 in Jamestown, Virginia.

  Attention: Was older than 65 years (68) when child (John Peter Richardson) was born (October 20, 1772).

  Attention: Was older than 65 years (66) when child (James Burchell Richardson) was born (October 28, 1770).

  Attention: Was older than 65 years (70) when child (Charles Richardson) was born (November 20, 1774).

• He died on September 7, 1780 in Clarendon District, South Carolina, he was 76 years old.
• He is buried in the year 1780 in Richardson Family Cemetery, Big Home Plantation, Clarendon, South Carolina.
• A child of and

Household of Richard Richardson

(1) He is married to Mary Cantey.

They got married on October 11, 1736 at Prince Frederick's Winyah, South Carolina, he was 32 years old.

Child(ren):

1. ??  
2. Richard Richardson  1741-1818 
3. Martha Richardson  1746-???? 
4. Rebecca Richardson  1752-1834 
5. Mary Margaret Richardson  1754-1780
6. Elizabeth Cantey Richardson  1758-1818
7.    
8. Edward Richardson  1747-1808 

(2) He is married to Dorothea "Dolly" Sinkler.

They got married after 1767.

Child(ren):

1. James Burchell Richardson  1770-1836 
2. John Peter Richardson  1772-1811 
3. Charles Richardson  1774-1829 
4. ??  

Notes about Richard Richardson

General Richardson was born in Virgina ca 1704 and died in South Carolina in September 1780. As a young man he was a surveyor in VA and then emigrated to South Carolina in 1725. He was married to Mary Cantey, his first wife, on Oct. 11, 1738 (Prince Frederick Parish Register). Few men were more important in the provincial history of South Carolina He was Col. of the militia as early as 1757, was in the Cherokee wars of 1760 - 61. He was in command of the militia and regulars in the "Snow campaign" against the Tories at Ninety Six in the winter of 1775. He assisted in the defeat of the British fleet at Charleston in 1776 and commanded the state militia at Purrysburg in 1778. He was appointed Brigadier General on March 25, 1778. At the surrender of Charleston he was taken prisoner, sent to St. Augustine and then paroled. Lord Cornwallis made fruitful efforts to win him over to the royalist cause. Later he was imprisoned, and his health failing he was sent home and soon died. His second wife was Dorothy Sinker.

Brigadier General and Legislator. The name of his early and university education has not been determined, but due to his respectable parentage and large family connections he most likely enrolled in Virginia University. He became a land surveyor and in the 1730's moved to South Carolina. At the time surveyors were considered one of the most honorable professions and thus, Richardson became one of the leading men in the State. In South Carolina his reputation for high character soon won him the confidence of his constituents and he was repeatedly selected as judge and arbiter of most feuds. Richardson later commanded the militia of South Carolina in campaigns against the Indians where his reputation as a officer was first noted. In the Cherokee Indian war of 1760 and 1761 he acquired a colonel's commission. Realizing the imminent conflict with England he was was elected a delegate to the First Provincial Congress at which he would assist in framing the first constitution and was elected a member of the legislative council. Prior to the offical start of the Revolution, Richardson was appointed a Brigadier General. Continued disturbances against the Whigs by the Tories in the upstate commanded him to quell the disturbances by force. He brought his army of 1000 men to engage the Tories and later crushed them and any possible successful future reorganization. This was later known as the "Snow Campaign" and was credited with the drastic reduction in Tory violence and insurrection. Richardson went on to participate in the battle of Sullivan's Island in June of 1776, the battle at Savannah and the battle of Charleston in which the Continental Army surrendered to the British in 1780. Richardson was made a prisoner after the fall of Charleston and would be confined to his quarters until he fell gravely ill. He was given permission to return home and there died. Colonel Banastre Tarleton, the English Colonel went looking for Rebels and came to Richardson's plantation and soon ordered his men to exhume the deceased Richardson. Tarleton claimed he wanted to view the face of the man with such decided character, but most felt it was to see if the family silver had been buried with him. Before leaving Tarleton would order everything burned and destroyed. Richardson's legacy continued through his descendants of which six became Governor of South Carolina.
RIN: MH:N144

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Timeline Richard Richardson

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