52 Ancestors - Learning about Mary

Mary Richardson is my great-great grandmother. I was thrilled to find an image of her marriage record online today at FamilySearch. She married Jacob Thompson on July 24, 1848 somewhere in Jefferson County, Ohio.

The marriage record transcribes as,

No 26 Jacob Thompson & Mary Richardson

The State of Ohio, Jefferson County SS
I hereby certify that on the 27th day
of July A D 1848 Mr Jacob Thompson and Miss
Mary Richardson were legally joined in marriage
by me a Justice of the Peace.
Given under my hand this 24th day of
August A D 1848
Thomas Thompson

Could Thomas Thompson, Justice of the Peace, have been related to Jacob Thompson?

I know little about Mary other than what I can discern from this marriage record and census records plus what I've found about her children from Ohio death certificates. It seems that she had (at least) 8 children, born between 1849 and 1869. She is named as the mother (and her husband the father) of these individuals on Ohio death certificates.

• Elizabeth R., born 17 Jun 1849
• John, born abt 1850 or1851 (my direct ancestor)
• Martha Jane, born 4 Mar 1853
• Rachel Anna, born 7 May 1856
• Mary Ellen, born 20 Jan 1858
• William Henry, born 4 Apr 1861
• James R., born about 1866
• Amos R., born about 1868

Census records reveal the following.

• In 1850, Mary was 26, living in Cross Creek Township with her husband and one child, Elizabeth.
• In 1860, she was 37, living in New Athens Township, Harrison County, Ohio. Jacob was a coal digger. There were 5 children: Elizabeth, John, Martha, Rachael, and Mary.
• In 1870, she and Jacob were back in Cross Creek Township. She was 47 years old. There were the same children as in the 1860 census, plus William, James, and Amos, a one-year-old baby.
• In 1880, at age 58, Mary was a widow living in Cross Creek Township. Her children, Mary, William, and James were living at home; in addition; her son John and his wife, Lydia, and their four daughters were living in the home.

There is no sign of Mary Richardson Thompson after the 1880 census. And since Amos, about 12 years, wasn't at home in the 1880 census, I'll have to look for him.

By my calculation, Mary was born between 1822 and 1824, and died sometime after she turned 58. How I wish the 1890 census hadn't been destroyed.

Obviously, I have more work to do. At the very least, I hope to find death records or obituaries for her and her husband.

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This post is in response to Amy Johnson Crow's call to her readers to write about 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks.



--Nancy.
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