William John Richardson was born on March 31, 1848, in Richburg, New York. He was the second youngest child of Alvan Richardson Jr. and Rebecca H. (Gray) Richardson.(62) Richardson came from a locally prominent family: His grandfather, Alvan Richardson Sr., was an early settler of both Richburg and Wirt. He came to Wirt in 1819, built a farm, and established several businesses, including a sawmill in Wirt, the first inn in Wirt, and a gristmill at Little Genesee creek. He established the first post office in Richburg (which was named after him) and was its first postmaster.
Alvan, Sr., had 7 children, including Alvan Jr.(63) Alvan Richardson Jr. was a farmer and landlord who had a 300-acre farm in Wirt. He married Rebecca H. Gray of Franklin County and had 6 children: Alvan III (B.1840-d.1841), Marian A. (b.1843), Frances Caroline (b.1844-d. 1917), James Wallace (b.1846/1847), William John, and Walter Gray (b.1850-d.1920).(64) He was a Baptist and was spent a significant part of his life as a deacon for Richburg’s Baptist Church. He served in multiple local offices, including town assessor, commissioner of schools, and several terms as overseer of the poor. The discovery of oil on his land during the 1881 Oil Boom in Allegany County made him fairly wealthy, and he spent the final years of life (1882-1894) living in Friendship, New York.(65)
William J. Richardson grew up in the town of Wirt. He spent his early adult years working as a farmer on his father’s farm and as a teacher.(66) In 1871, he married his wife Helen A. (Jordan) Richardson. They had a son, Frederick B. Richardson (b.1875-d. 1905). They also reportedly had two other children who died at early ages. (67)
Richardson was a U.S. Census enumerator in 1880. He became cashier of the First National Bank of Richburg in 1882.
In the same year, he was elected Town Clerk of Wirt and in 1884, was elected to his first term as Town Supervisor of Wirt.(68) He was elected Town Supervisor of Wirt in 1886 as a part of a wave of Prohibition Party candidates elected to offices in Allegany County. This wave resulted in the Prohibition Party winning most of the town offices in Wirt that were voted on in 1886.(69)
During his time as Town Supervisor of Wirt, he was part of the Allegany County Board of Supervisors. He was on the committee on County Treasurer’s Accounts (which oversaw the accounts of the county treasurer) and the committee on County House and Farm (which oversaw the finances of the Allegany County Poor House). He proposed and saw approved a resolution to raise the salary of the county district attorney. He supported the passage of a resolution to renovate the county courthouse and grounds in Belmont. He introduced a bill known as “An act to prevent the spread and procure the destruction of what is known as Canada Thistles, in Allegany County”.(70, 71) The bill was sent to the Committee on Laws and appears to have died in the committee.
As a member of the County House and Home Committee, he helped produce the committee’s annual report, which reported that the Allegany County Poor House was generally doing well, recommended having the house repainted next year, and recommended the purchase of a land roller for the facility.(72)
Richardson moved to Belmont in 1887 and became cashier at the First National Bank of Belmont.
He was a cashier on the original staff of the State Bank of Belmont when it was organized in 1888. By 1896, he had become one of the directors of the bank. In spring 1895, the Citizens National Bank opened in Allegany County, and Richardson was one of its directors.
Richardson was part of a group of investors which, in 1890, started construction of a new hotel in Belmont (after the previous one had burned down in 1888). High construction costs resulted in it being mortgaged before construction was complete and the financer of the mortgage (Isaac Willets) took ownership of the hotel.
In addition to banking and finance, Richardson was also involved in the area’s oil producing business.(73) Richardson and his wife were heavily involved in the Belmont community. He served several terms as treasurer and vice-president of the Allegany County Sunday School Association, served as treasurer of the Allegany County Historical Society, and was a member of the Masonic Lodge.
Helen A. Richardson was involved with the Allegany County Women’s Christian Temperance Union and was their treasurer from 1889 until 1895.(74)
By 1900, the Richardsons had moved to Wellsville, New York.(75) There, he continued to be involved in the Prohibition Party, in 1906 serving as treasurer of the Allegany County Prohibition Party and being on the county executive committee.(76)
He also continued to be involved in banking, by 1910 becoming president of an (unnamed) bank there. (77) In 1926, he became president of Citizen's National Bank of Wellsville.
Richardson's involvement in banking and in oil businesses made him wealthy. He used part of his fortune to make charitable donations (including donating $100,000 to Keuka College). (78)
Richardson continued his civic activities after moving to Wellsville, being a member of the Hornell Commandery, the Corning Consistory, and the Rotary Club.
Mrs. Richardson died in 1918; her husband did not re-marry.
William J. Richardson died on May 30, 1929. His funeral was held in Wellsville, by Rev. J.G. York of the Baptist Church, and he was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery, in Wellsville.(79)
Sources:
62 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 866-867; “William John Richardson (1848-1929) - Find A Grave Memorial”, Find a Grave, Accessed June 7, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116956379/william-john-richardson.
63 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 853-867; “Alvan Richardson Jr. (1815-1894) - Find A Grave Memorial”, Find a Grave, Accessed June 7, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/91956960/alvan-richardson.
64 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 853-867; “William John Richardson (1848-1929) - Find A Grave Memorial”; “William Richardson: United States Census, 1850”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MCTN-7CP;“William J Richardson: New York State Census, 1855”, FamilySearch.org, AccessedJune 7,2021,https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6ST-FS9; “Wm Richardson: United States Census, 1860”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC7K-GC2 7,2021,https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K6ST-FS9; “Wm Richardson: United States Census, 1860”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MC7K-GC2 65 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 866-867; “History”, Pioneer Oil Museum of New York, Accessed June 7, 2021, https://www.pioneeroilmuseum.com/history.php; “Alvan Richardson Jr. (1815-1894) - Find A Grave Memorial”, Find a Grave.
66 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 471; “William J Richardson: United States Census, 1870”, FamilySearch.org. Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8J2-GXP 67 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 202-209; 471; “William John Richardson (1848-1929) - Find A Grave Memorial”; “Frederick B Richardson (1875-1905) - Find A Grave Memorial”, Find a Grave, Accessed June 7, 2021, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/116802484/frederick-b-richardson; William J Richardson: New York State Census, 1875, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VNJ1-P3L
68 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 471
69 -- “3 Supervisors Elected”, The Voice, (New York City, New York), March 18, 1886
70 -- Stillman, Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Allegany County, 1886, 6-105
71 -- (anon), Canada Thistle, Minnesota Department of Agriculture, Accessed June 7, 2021, https://www.mda.state.mn.us/plants/pestmanagement/weedcontrol/noxiouslist/canadathistle.
72 -- Stillman, Proceedings of the Board of Supervisors of Allegany County, 1886, 6-105
73 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 371;449-451; 471; “William John Richardson (1848-1929) - Find A Grave Memorial”; “William J Richardson: New York State Census, 1892”, FamilySearch.org. Accessed, June 7, 2021. https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MQSW-QX5
74 -- Minard, Allegany County and its People, 202-209; 471
75 -- “William Richardson: United States Census, 1900”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MS64-7K2
76 -- Prohibition Party hand-book, State of New York, 1906, 10-11
77 -- “William J Richardson: United States Census, 1910”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M5CQ-LY3;“William J Richardson: United States Census, 1920”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MJKX-CRQ; “William J Richardson: New York State Census, 1905”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MVBZ-322; “Wm J Richardson: New York State Census(, )”, FamilySearch.org, Accessed, June 7, 2021, https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K9XG-WZD
78 -- “William John Richardson (1848-1929) - Find A Grave Memorial”
79 -- “William John Richardson (1848-1929) - Find A Grave Memorial”
-- Contributed by Jonathan Makeley
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