William Richardson

William Richardson was born in Billerica on February 24, 1790, a son of Asa Richardson and Sarah (Tufts) Richardson, who had come from Medford. His brothers included Asa, a Boston merchant, and Francis (1787 to 1860). Hazen describes him as a "trader, hotel and stage proprietor." In 1816 a William Richardson, evidently he, bought from Joseph Parker the building at the corner of the Boston and Andover roads in the Center that had been used as a store and made it a "tavern stand"; the Richardson family sold it to Lyman Haynes in 1833, and it later became the Fletcher Hotel.

Captain Richardson was chosen a selectman in 1821, 1822 and 1823. On May 14, 1822 he married Sarah Danforth, daughter of Joseph Danforth. That year he built the house at 409 Boston Road on the lot of the house that the housewright Reuben Duren had sold to Jonathan Prince Pollard in 1797; Pollard left Billerica after his wife's death in 1820. The new house carries "1822" in the mortar of its foundation, and second-story beams uncovered in 1973 bore a chalk note that "Capt. Wm. Richardson" had a quantity of wide boards. It was built with a separate wing on the north side for his store, removed about 1920, and its first-floor rooms were decorated with wall frescoes attributed to the painter Rufus Porter, who made his home base in Billerica from about 1822.

On May 26, 1824 Richardson was appointed postmaster of Billerica, the second to hold the office, succeeding Jonathan Bowers, who had been postmaster since the office was established on October 7, 1797. Marshall Preston was appointed his successor on January 11, 1826. William Richardson died by his own hand on June 16, 1826, aged 36, and his gravestone is in the Old South Cemetery. His nephew Francis Eben Richardson, born in 1822, later took over the house and store.

References

1. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), Genealogical Register p. 120: children of Asa Richardson (no. 19): William, b. 1790, m. 1822 Sarah Danforth; trader, hotel and stage proprietor; d. 1826
2. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 307: selectmen list, William Richardson 1821-23; post office established 1797, William Richardson appointed postmaster May 26, 1824
3. Hazen, History of Billerica (1883), p. 308: postmasters list, Marshall Preston appointed Jan. 11, 1826
4. Vital Records of Billerica, births p. 160: William, son of Asa and Sarah Richardson, Feb. 24, 1790
5. Vital Records of Billerica, marriages p. 243: Sarah Danforth and Capt. William Richardson, May 14, 1822
6. Vital Records of Billerica, deaths p. 388: Capt. William Richardson, June 16, 1826, aged 36 (Old South Cemetery gravestone)