Last updated: March 7, 2022
Person
Andrew and Sarah Richardson
Quick Facts
Significance:
Louisiana Homesteaders
Place of Birth:
St. Helena Parish
Date of Birth:
Andrew - 1852; Sarah - 1861
Place of Death:
St. Helena Parish
Date of Death:
Andrew - 1902; Sarah - 1912
Place of Burial:
Black Creek AME Cemetery
Andrew Richardson filed his Homestead Application No. 2180 in the New Orleans, land office on March 1, 1871 for 40.20 acres of land. He paid the fee of seven dollars to the Homestead Receiver’s Office for this entry located at South West quarter of North East Quarter of Section Thirty-four (34) in Township, Two (2) South of Range Four (4). Andrew died in 1876 in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana, leaving his wife Sarah to continue the application process.
As reported in the 1900 United States census, Andrew Richardson was born in St. Helena Parish in about 1852. According to the 1880 United States Federal Census, he lived in the 2nd Ward within the parish of St. Helena. These records show that his father was from Virginia and his mother was from Georgia. His primary occupation was farming. Nathan and Dicy Harden Richardson were his parents. Among his siblings were: Dan Richardson, Wesley Richardson, and Mary Richardson.
Nathan and a woman named Carrie were enslaved on the Benjamin and Celia Bankston Plantation in St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. Through oral history accounts from the late Luella Vining Richardson, Nathan and Carrie were believed to be brother and sister. Nathan can be found on the inventory of Benjamin and Celia, dated May 30, 1855.
Andrew Richardson and his family are listed on a July 13, 1866, Freedman Bureau’s Labor Contract for Joseph Richardson in St. Helena Parish. It states that Miles Leave 38, Marion 26, and Verily Womack are to receive one half of the cotton raised upon the farm after deducting all expenses including the expenses of the laborers and of the said Richardson family. Richardson is to purchase everything necessary. Miles Leave is to furnish mules, and said Richardson agreed to feed mules only when they work, and they are not to be sold are taken away with the consent of Richardson. The laborers will receive two summer sets and one winter set of working clothes; medical attention was to be provided as necessary as one of the expenses of the farm. The following named hands are governed by the same agreement but, are to work a piece of land known as the Carruth place: "Nathan Richardson 40, Dicey 40, Wesley 16, Caroline 20, Mary 20, Andrew 15, George Wilson 29 and Joseph Womack 20, Dotia Fisher 18, Henderson Womack 18. Each will receive $5.00 per month and were to be paid when the crop was sold. During the year they were to receive two suits of working clothes and one pair of shoes.
Andrew and his wife Sarah Jane Foster Richardson had seven children living with them (Alonzo, Monroe, Girtie, Clacie L., John H., Margaret, and Leonard) when the 1900 United States census was taken. The 1900 census taker spelled his name as "Anna”. Another element of complexity was in the land entry papers which stated that Andrew died in 1876 yet, he appeared in the 1880 and 1900 census. In the latter census, he and Sarah were married for twenty-four years.
Sarah Jane Foster Richardson was born on October 9, 1861 and died on July 9, 1912. She was buried in Black Greek AME Cemetery in St. Helena Parish, LA., where Andrew was buried.
Two witnesses testified on behalf of Sarah’s homestead claim: William H. Smith and Benjamin Pierce, stating they had known Sarah Richardson for eight years. They confirmed that Andrew “built an 18x12 feet square house containing four rooms and lived in the house from the 7th day of March 1871 until his death." He made the following improvements to the land that included a stable and shed; a vegetable garden; dug a water well and also had a peach and other fruit trees.
Sarah swore that she was the lawful widow of Andrew Richardson who died on October 10, 1876 at their home in St. Helena Parish. She continued to live there, made improvements and claimed it her home since her husband passed away.
On August 10, 1878, she appeared for her claim and requested that the final Land Affidavit and Final Homestead Proof submitted be accepted, and was granted the land patent in her name.
~ Contributed by Dr. Antoinette Harrell
Dr. Antoinette Harrell is a historian and genealogist who specializes in research at the Louisiana Florida Parishes. Dr. Harrell is committed to researching and documenting the untold stories of African Americans in the Louisiana Florida Parishes.
More from the contributor: Andrew Richardon's father Nathan had a sister named Carrie who was my 4th great-grandmother. During the 1931 wedding of my maternal grandmother Josephine Richardson Harrell and my grandfather Jasper Leon Harrell, Sr., Andrew's son John Wesley Richardson and Andrew’s grandson Emmitt Nathaniel Richardson served as her witnesses. Emmitt and my grandmother Josephine were one year apart. The oral history and family connections of the Richardson family perished when many of the elderly members of the family passed away. This Homestead Entry provides evidence that Andrew Richardson and my Thomas Richardson had a family connection.