Francis (Frank) Richardson came to Burton Township in 1836 when he was 23 with his wife Elizabeth and child, Mary Ann, who was born on January 1, 1836. He and his brother Robert, came to the U.S. via Canada from England.
Many stories have been written about Francis, with details varying between each telling. There are not many family records and official records from that time are hard to come by. There is a lot of curiosity about his life, not only by the public, but his family as well. The family legend says he was “handsome and charming”, which helps explain some of the story below.
Frank's wife, Elizabeth, died in 1837, when Mary was only 20 months old. She was the first white woman to die in Burton Township. It is believed she was first buried on the farm and later moved to English Prairie Cemetery when it was established.
This is where the story can go two ways: One version has widower Frank moving to Solon Mills with his daughter to work at his trade of bricklaying (probably alongside brick mason David Edison). Frank then married Huldah Ann Edison, David’s daughter, in 1844. Hulah was born in Nova Scotia, Canada in 1827 and was only 17 (he was 30). They had two daughters: Harriet Ellen, born in 1845 and Marian (Minnie), born in 1850.
The other version had him returning to Canada first, where he married a woman by the name of Jane Mary Reynolds. They had a daughter, Belle, who died in infancy and another four boys and two girls born in 1846, 1849, two in 1851, and two more after that. That meant Frank was the father of nine, and if you haven’t figured it out yet, had two wives at the same time, regardless of which one he married first.
Frank was able to pull this off because at the time, he became an “international trader, buying cattle & lumber in the states to be shipped to England.” He would spend half the year in Solon Mills and half the year in London, Ontario. Neither wife would go on these excursions, but Hulda did end up moving back to Canada after Frank's death and is buried in Calgary.
In descendant Glen Esh’s version of the story, Frank married once again in his later years - an Irish woman who kept home for him. (No word on where Hulda was). The 1880 census has Frank living in in Richmond with “Jane Richardson” who was born in Ireland. But here is another twist...Jane is the same name as his London, Ontario wife, Jane Reynolds. A little research shows the name Reynolds came to Canada from both England and Ireland. And their census ages, 66 & 54, match their birth years...Could Jane have finally left her Canadian Provence and come to live with Frank here?
Frank died in 1889 but first built a brick monument in English Prairie Cemetery for himself that was quite impressive, it was said. What became of it is another question. Glen Esh said around 1903, a daughter from his third wife (Jane?) had it removed but did not replace it. Another version says his nephew, Jesse, had it taken down as it was in disrepair and brought the bricks to the farm. In any case, the grave sat unmarked for 100 years until the early 2000s when the Richardsons had a new grave marker installed. Glen said Frank is buried between his first and third wife (Jane, perhaps?), but there are no records to back that up. It is assumed he is buried only with Elizabeth.
Descendants of Hulda and Frank came from Canada to visit the Richardson farm in the 1980s and the London, Ontario branch has also visited. In 1987 Margaret Richardson, who lived in the old homestead at the time, said they come seeking more information and some to stand on Frank’s grave. They seemed to know all about each other and accept what he did.
The Richardson's old bible holds photos of many family members from that era, but none of Francis. There may be a story floating around about an upset daughter of one of the wives, who took it upon herself to destroy them. Perhaps that is punishment enough for handsome Frank.
