Our Richardson Connection

By Tommy Roberts - 25 Aug 2022

I want to write a little bit today regarding our connection to the Richardson family.  Many of us are descended from Francis Marion Roberts.  Francis Marion married Sarah Richardson which is our first intermarriage between the families.  Sarah's parents were William Heizer Richardson and Sarah Goslin.  William Heizer brought his family to Tennessee from Craven County, North Carolina about 1832-1833, eventually settling on Mine Lick Creek about one mile up the creek from the Joseph Roberts homestead.  At that time, his family consisted of him, his wife, and a child William Andrew.  They added a son in 1833 while living in Smith County.  Sometime between 1833 and 1835 the family moved from Smith County to Mine Lick Creek in what was Jackson County at that time (now Putnam County).  A daughter, Sarah, was born on Mine Lick in 1835.  Don't get confused between mother Sarah and daughter Sarah.  Later that year, Francis Marion Roberts was born down the creek about a mile.

Fast forward to 1847.  The Richardson family now consist of husband/wife and seven children.  In this year William Heizer and his oldest child, William Andrew decide to leave the peacefulness of Mine Lick Creek and go fight in the Mexican War.  William Heizer dies in Puebla, Mexico of unspecified illness.  Wiliam Andrew, the son, survives the war and returns to Mine Lick where he is with his mother and family in the 1850 census.  Francis Marion and Sarah (the daughter) marry on 22 Feb 1853 at Sarah's home.  They were both age 17 at the time.  A year later, 1854, Francis Marion's father, Joseph dies and Francis Marion and Sarah have their first child.  They will go on to have 11 or 12 kids with 10 reaching adulthood.

That gives you a little understanding of the connection between the Roberts and Richardson families.  Now, I will return to the Richardsons.  Here are some photos of the Richardson Cemetery on Mine Lick Creek.  There are six graves here, five marked.  One of the five is William Heizer Richardson although his body is actually somewhere in Puebla, Mexico.  Angela sent to the Veterans Administration and obtained an "in memory of" tombstone which she placed in the family cemetery.  I wanted to have a memorial service catered by Taco Bell but she didn't think that was appropriate.  She also obtained a vets tombstone for the son, William Andrew, and placed it in the family cemetery as well.  We do believe William Andrew is buried there but have no infallible proof.  If any of you have information that would modify this in any way, please let me know.

William Heizer's father, Andrew Heizer Richardson, died when William was 11 years old.  Andrew's will leaves 17,000 (yes thousand) acres of land and at least 24 slaves to his heirs.  They worked a turpentine plantation from the pine trees in Craven County, North Carolina.  I don't know what happened to William's share but he did not arrive on Mine Lick Creek wealthy or with any slaves.  William's brother, John, remaining in Craven County, seemed to thrive financially.  He acquired the Bellair Plantation which remained in the family until this year.  You can read the wikipedia account at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bellair_(New_Bern,_North_Carolina)  In the wokeness of our generation, it is now called the Bellair Farm.  Don't get me started!