HOMESTEAD HUNTING

With days beginning to warm up, my dad and I enjoyed the weather by taking a hike to specifically locate a homestead that is next to the Richardson Cemetery.  As you may remember from presentations at the Roberts Reunion, William Heizer Richardson and his wife, Sarah (Goslin) Richardson migrated from Craven County, North Carolina to Tennessee in 1832.  Their homestead was about 1.5 miles up the creek from Joseph Roberts’ homestead on Mine Lick Creek.   They had a total of nine children between 1830 and 1846.  Their daughter, Sarah Richardson, married Francis Marion Roberts.  Therefore, many of us can claim William Heizer Richardson and Sarah (Goslin) Richardson as our fore-parents.

There was a second family of Richardsons who also located on Mine Lick Creek right across the creek from William Heizer’s family.  This was the Barnett Richardson family from Virginia.  These two Richardson families were said to NOT be related.  I believe that is true because we have found no documentation suggesting a relationship.  Amazingly, they lived within a half mile of each other.

William Heizer Richardson fought in the Mexican War.  He took his oldest living son (15), William Andrew, with him to the Army and left his wife on Mine Lick Creek with seven children ages 14 to one.  Unfortunately, William Heizer Richardson died and was buried in Puebla, Mexico.  William Andrew, his son, lived through the war and returned to Mine Lick Creek.  We recently erected an “in memory of” Veterans tombstone for William Heizer Richardson next to his wife’s marker in the Richardson Cemetery on Mine Lick Creek.

My dad was familiar with two homesteads near this cemetery.  One homestead was told to him by his father, Clavis Roberts.  They were plowing corn in the “big bottom” and Clavis told him that the William Heizer Richardson homestead was on the south side of the big bottom against the hill and pointed to the location.  Being a young boy, my dad was not focused on remembering the details and we have not located that homestead that Clavis pointed out.  The other homestead was across the creek a short distance down the hill from the Richardson Cemetery and also belonged to the Richardsons.  We believe this is the Barnett Richardson Jr. homestead.  My dad and I had previously found evidence of this homestead but wanted to find it again to put a QR code at the specific site.  After some deliberate hunting (and a few briars), my dad found the chimney and evidence of the homestead.

My dad made a QR code and posted it to the website for anyone who wants to know exactly where the homestead is. 

The main road went along Mine Lick Creek and the homestead was about 15-20 yards off the road.  During the Civil War, two Richardson bodies were brought down the creek and dropped off here.  John Goslin Richardson, son of William Heizer Richardson and Riley M. Richardson, son of Barnett Richardson Jr.  Note again that these two sets of Richardsons were not related.  Both were killed in the battle of Dughill (also known as the battle of Calfkiller) on 22 Feb 1864.  Both were buried in the Richardson Cemetery.  The Richardson Cemetery seems to have both sets of Richardson families buried here.  You can read more about them at the Civil War page of the website.

I like to look around these homestead locations and imagine what our ancestors’ lives were like.  This homestead location was particularly peaceful because you could hear the creek flowing and the sun was shining through the Sycamore trees…it must have been their dream home and full of memories!