The Richardson Name Website
Welcome to the Richardson Name
Website.
Richardsons
are numerous. There are some
90,000 Richardsons in Britain today,
and possibly as many or more elsewhere. Despite their numbers, the
Richardson name does seem to have a distinctive history.
Some Richardson Traits
From this
history in England, I found three traits
that seem to have been passed down through the generations:
- Quakerism and its moral guidance
- and a love of nature and the natural world.
Another
factor: they rarely seemed to have craved
honor or spoils. The story I liked best
was Richard Richardson, the Yorkshire wool merchant in the 1640’s,
actually
paying £40 so that he would not be knighted.
Some of these traits continued as Richardsons migrated overseas,
first to America and then to Canada and Australia
principally. The Richardson strain has undoubtedly over
time got more
diffuse.
And Some Hand-Me-Downs
Of this Richardson history, what has been handed down? I could
mention here the Quaker texts and writings by various Richardsons over
the
years; the novels of Samuel Richardson; the border sketches of Thomas
Miles Richardson; the silver buckles made for Letitia Penn by Francis
Richardson; the Richardson waltz; Bessbrook village in Northern
Ireland;
and some fine colonial
houses built by Richardsons in Langhorne, Pennsylvania and Bladen
County, North Carolina. There are also the curious mementos of
Lady Darwin's brooch and Jimmy Richardson's bagpipes whose stories are
recounted here.
More recent history might include the Richardson building dominating
the Winnipeg skyline; the films of Tony Richardson; and the stage and
screen performances of Sir Ralph Richardson and Ian Richardson.
This Web Site
My cousins are Richardsons and this is my own personalized rambling
through the Richardson
history for them. Some good stories are to
be found (there are links from the text to the web story page).
And those tracing
their roots and ancestors may find some useful pointers here.
I hope you enjoy it.
Colin Shelley