Theophilus Richardson

Theophilus Richardson was born on December 22, 1633, and died on December 28, 1674. He was born in Woburn, Mass and also died there.

In 1890 a man by the name of Edward Francis Johnson published a  book called “Births, Deaths, and Marriages of Woburn, Mass from 1640 to 1873.” It’s this book that we are able to document so many in our family tree from that time period.

It’s thanks to this document we know that Theophilus and his wife had 8 children with his wife.

  • Ezekiel (Oct 28, 1655)
  • Mary (Jan 15, 1658)
  • Sarah (April 23, 1660)
  • Abigail (Oct 21, 1662)
  • Hannah (Apr 6, 1665)
  • John (Jan 16, 1668)
  • Hesther (Jun 25, 1670)
  • Ruth (Aug 31, 1673)
Woburn, Mass records of births, deaths, and marriages
Woburn, Mass records of births, deaths, and marriages

Some say that Bridget Richardson born March 17, 1674, is also Theophilus’s daughter, but she wasn’t listed in the Woburn book.

However, I found a document called “Massachusetts Town Birth Records – Vital Records of Chelmsford” which states that she was born on March 17, 1674, in Chelmsford and that he father is James, not Theophilus.

Theophilus Richardson is the son of my 11th great-uncle, Ezekiel Richardson. Theophilus’s grandfather is Thomas Richardson of Standon, my 12th great-grandfather. So while he’s not in my direct line, he’s still a blood relative that lived in the same small town that my other family members did. For reference … here’s my direct family line.

Thomas Richardson of Standon had 7 children, one of which was Ezekiel (Theophilus’s father) and the other being Samuel, which is my family line. These 7 children would be the last generation born in England. From there the kids would all move to America and have children of their own, who will become the first generation of American born Richardson’s.