Walter B. Richmond, who was born October 17, 1846, in
Jacksonville, Morgan County, Illinois, is a son of Henry and Charlotte B.
(Crane) Richmond and a grandson of Jonathan and Barbara (Burgett) Richmond.
John Richmond, the father of Jonathan, was a native of Pennsylvania. His
family consisted of six children, namely: Elinor; Levi; Jonathan; John;
Margaret; and Henry. Jonathan Richmond moved to the State of Ohio where he
married Barbara Burgett and they were among those hardy pioneers who braved
untold privations and perils among the cruel and inhuman red men to assist
in carving that noble State from the wild and barbarous condition in which
it then existed. Among the brave lives sacrificed before this mission was
accomplished was that of Martin Burgett, the father of Barbara, who, with
two other white men, was surprised by the Indians on April 25, 1792. The two
companions were shot and instantly killed and Burgett was wounded but rather
than fall a captive to the savages or suffer them to carry his scalp as a
trophy of victory, he jumped into the Miami River and was drowned. He came
from Kentucky and it was in that State that Barbara was born in 1744. She
died in 1844 in Butler County, Ohio, at the age of 100 years. The children
of Jonathan and Barbara Richmond were: Levi, Elizabeth, Simeon, Margaret,
John, Mary, Henry, Martin, Jonathan and George.
Henry Richmond was
born in Millville, Butler County, Ohio, May 1, 1818, and learned the trade
of a cabinet-maker at Rossville, that county. He was married October 24,
1841, to Charlotte B. Crane and three years later moved to Illinois, first
locating in Morgan County. In 1847 he moved with his family to Montgomery
County, where he became prominently identified with the growth of the
community. Here he carried on farming but also continued to work at his
trade and as late as the year 1860 he was called upon to make the coffins
and take charge of the funerals for miles around. He erected many houses in
Montgomery County, adding carpentering to his trade of cabinet-maker, and
was known as a reliable, conscientious workman. That he stood high in the
opinion of his neighbors was shown by the confidence reposed in him — a
confidence that was never betrayed. He was the first postmaster of Butler;
served as enrolling officer during the Civil War; was justice of the peace
for many years and represented his district in the Legislature. He was a man
of uprightness and honor who refused to profit at the expense of another, a
characteristic repeatedly demonstrated in his office of justice of the
peace. When two belligerent neighbors came to him to settle their troubles
in court, instead of taking advantage of their determination to take the law
to each other (and thereby pocketing a fee), he always counselled an
amicable settlement and by far the greater number of his cases were settled
out of court and no charge made by him in his office of peace-maker. He was
a prominent Odd Fellow and one of the charter members of the lodge of that
order organized in Hillsboro in 1849. In 1875 he moved to Litchfield which
was his home until 1885 when he moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he lived
until his death, October 27, 1895.
Charlotte B. Crane was born in
Hamilton, Butler County, Ohio, February 28, 1821, and was the eldest child
of Norris and Elizabeth (Stanley) Crane. Her grandparents, Benjamin and
Sarah (Thompson) Crane, were natives of New Jersey. Their children were John
R., Abigail, Esther, Phoebe H., Charlotte W., Hezekiah Thompson, Norris,
Jacob Thompson, Benjamin, David Thompson, and Moses Thompson. Norris Crane
was born March 10, 1799, in New Jersey, and when a lad of 11 years went with
the family of an aunt to Ohio, and it was the one regret of his life that he
was never to see his parents again. In 1820 he was joined in marriage to
Elizabeth Stanley, one of a pair of twins born to Isaac and Susan (Neff)
Stanley. Isaac Stanley was a native of South Carolina and Susan Neff was
born in Germany. Her twin brother was drowned during childhood. The children
of Norris and Elizabeth Crane were: Charoltte B., mother of our subject;
Mary Ann (Mrs. N. Johnston), deceased; Isaac Stanley, a resident of
Missouri; Needham, a resident of Illinois; Jacob, deceased; Norris, a
resident of Illinois; Elizabeth, deceased; Rosetta, a resident of Illinois;
Benjamin, deceased; Emma C. (Mrs. John Mitts), deceased; and Susan (Mrs.
James Peter), deceased. Norris Crane was a merchant and also a mason in
Hamilton where he was well known, but the later years of his life were
passed in Montgomery County, Illinois, where some of his descendants still
live. The union of Henry and Charlotte B. (Crane) Richmond resulted in the
birth of 12 children, five of whom died in infancy. Of this number two pair
were twins, one of each pair reaching maturity. Those reaching adult years
are Norris C., William J., Walter B., our subject, Needham, George, Edgar
and Addie. Edgar died September 2, 1902, in the prime of life. He possessed
to quite a marked degree the happy faculty of making friends and wherever he
lived the number of his friends was only limited by the number of his
acquaintances, for all who came to know him were drawn to him by bonds of
esteem and affection. Except our subject, and George, who resides in
Chicago, all the children live in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where the mother also
makes her home. Although in her 84th year and a woman who has done more than
her share of active labor, she insists in taking part in the household
duties and says she is worth two or three younger women. She is a woman of
remarkable endurance and, besides rearing her own family, cared for her
brothers and sisters when they were left orphans and has also cared for some
of her grandchildren. She enjoys recounting her experiences of the long ago
when large droves of deer were a common sight and the wolves were so
troublesome that it was necessary to enclose pigs and calves in tight rail
pens to insure their safety over night.
Walter B. Richmond was one
of the above mentioned twins. His younger years were spent on the farm,
attending school in the log school house during winter while in spring and
summer, with his elder brothers, he followed the plow as it was drawn over
the fertile prairie by the oxen. He learned the trade of a blacksmith in the
shop of J. C. Gunning, of Hillsboro, becoming proficient in every department
of the business. He has always shown a fearlessness of danger, even in his
boyhood, which enabled him to control the wildest horse — and this without
unkindness to the animal — and he now became known, far and near, as the
best horseshoer in the country. In consequence of this he was always in
demand and the vicious and unruly horses were pretty certain to find their
way to Richmond's shop. His first shop was in Butler but a better opening
being offered in the then new village of Morrisonville, Christian County, he
removed to that place and established the first smithy there. He was married
May 7, 1872, to Jane Hawk and became the father of eight children, two of
whom died in infancy. Those living are as follows: Lottie, Hattie, Addie,
Gertie, Henry and Birdie.
Extracted 2018 May 08 by Norma Hass from Biographical Sketches of Leading Citizens of Macoupin County, Illinois, published in 1904, pages 307-310.
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