Levi Richardson

Levi Richardson served with Company B of the 127^th U.S.C.T. He was born around 1833 in Berkley, West Virginia, and was 5 feet and 9 inches tall, with dark hair, eyes, and complexion. He married his wife Margaretta on July 2, 1863.¹ He enlisted on August 24, 1864, in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was mustered out on the same day.² On July 29, 1865, he was absent due to his admittance into Corps d’Afrique U.S.A. General Hospital in New Orleans, Louisiana. On October 23, 1865, he was transferred to DeCamp U.S.A. General Hospital on David’s Island, in the New York Harbor. The rest of his company was mustered out from Brazos, Texas, on September 8, 1865, and Richardson was honorably discharged on December 5, 1865.³ His Certificate of Disability for Discharge reports that he had a weak constitution due to contracting scurvy while in the line of duty, and that he was unable to do any manual labor.⁴ On February 19, 1866, he filed for a pension at $8 a month. On December 20, 1869, that was increased to $15 a month, and then increased again under the act of June 8, 1872, to $18 a month.⁵

According to the 1880 Federal Census, Richardson was living in Southampton, Pennsylvania, with his wife Margaretta and four children, Martha, Jordan, Sarah, Laura, and Levi. He was working as a laborer, and the census categorized him as “maimed, crippled, or bedridden”.⁶ On March 3, 1883, his pension was increased to $24, and in December of 1885, he received a back pension of around $2,000.⁷ By the $1900 Federal Census he was still living in Southampton, but his older children had left the house and he was living with his wife, his son John (18), his daughter Maud Wilkinson (23) and her husband David Wilkinson, his granddaughter Helen Wilkinson, and two other grandchildren named Lillie and William. This census reports that was employed as a farmer, he owned his own house, and he could not read or write.⁸

In November of 1900, Richardson was accused of assault and battery by Frank Palmer, a white man, but the case was disposed of and Palmer was billed for court costs.⁹ In October of 1891, his son Levi Richardson, Jr., married a Miss Nannie Addison.¹⁰ Around July 26, 1895, a small log building in Mainsville that had been used as a church in the past and was then owned by Richardson caught fire, and he lost eight bushels of rye.¹¹ He was also a trustee for St. Peter’s A.M.E. Church and lived in Mainsville at the time, and while it is unknown how long he was active with the church, he lived in Mainsville until his death.¹²

Towards the end of 1903, his pension was reduced to $12 a month. Due to the advocacy of a district attorney and a postmaster, who both wrote to the pension office, his pension was raised to $24 a month in March of 1904. These letters describe him as “seriously crippled”, saying that “for years it has been necessary for him to go on crutches”, and he has “managed to go around with the aid of a crutch and a cane”. They also speak of him in a very favorable light. George Kyner, District Attorney, said “he has raised a large family and is entirely respectful”, and Frank Hollar, postmaster, said “he has been a good citizen, is of sober habits, and I have never heard a harmful word spoken of him”.¹³ In December of 1903, he was confined to his home due to complications from the scurvy he had contracted in service, and his brother, who lived in Bunker Hill, West Virginia, traveled up to visit him.¹⁴

Richardson died on November 2, 1904, due to heart problems which his attending doctor claimed were the result of scurvy of the lower extremities eventually reaching his heart.¹⁵ He was survived by his wife and eight children, and a funeral was held at Penn Street A.M.E. church. His wife applied for a widow’s pension and was approved to receive $12 a month on April 27, 1905. She inherited Richardson’s estate and upon her death it was to be divided among their children.¹⁶ Richardson is buried in Locust Grove cemetery in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania, section A-2, lot 460, grave number 10.

1. Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Margaretta E. Richardson, Widow’s Pension, Apr 27, 1905.
2. Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Company Descriptive Book.
3. Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Hospital Muster Roll, Jul/Aug 1865; Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Hospital Muster Roll, Sep/Oct 1865; Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Hospital Muster Roll, Nov/Dec 1865; Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Detachment Muster-out Roll, Sep 8, 1865.
4. Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Certificate of Disability for Discharge, Dec 5, 1865.
5. Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Increase Invalid Pension, Nov 4, 1886.
6. 1880 United States Federal Census for Levi Richardson.
7. “Levi Richardson…”, The Shippensburg Chronicle, 3, Dec 18, 1885.
8. 1900 United States Federal Census for Levi Richardson.
9. “Held for Court”, The Sentinel, 3, Nov 9, 1900; “Cases disposed of”, The Sentinel, 3, Nov 14, 1900.
10. “A Church Wedding”, The Shippensburg News, 3,Oct 30, 1891.
11. “A small log building…” The Shippensburg News, 2, Jul 26, 1895.
12. “Executor’s Notice”, People’s Register, 4, Dec 32, 1904.
13. Hollar, Frank E. Frank E. Hollar to the Honorable Thaddeus Mahon, Washington, D. C., January 19, 1904; Kyner, George A. George A. Kyner, Attorney-at-law, to the Honorable J. M. Mahon, Washington, D.C., January 23, 1904.
14. “It was the writer’s pleasure…” People’s Register, 9, Dec 11, 1903.
15. Medical Evidence for Pension Claim by Margaretta E., Widow of Levi Richardson, Filed by Taber & Whitman Co., Attorneys. Dec 19, 1904.
16. “An Aged Colored Man Dead”, The Shippensburg Chronicle, 3, Nov 3, 1904.

Bibliography:

1900 United States Federal Census for Levi Richardson. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

1880 United States Federal Census for Levi Richardson. Ancestry.com. 1880 United States Federal Census - AncestryLibrary.com

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Company Muster-in Roll, Aug 24, 1864.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Company Descriptive Book.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Hospital Muster Roll, Jul/Aug 1865.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Appearances on Returns.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Hospital Muster Roll, Sep/Oct 1865.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Hospital Muster Roll, Nov/Dec 1865.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Detachment Muster-out Roll, Sep 8, 1865.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Certificate of Disability for Discharge, Dec 5, 1865.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Increase Invalid Pension, Nov 4, 1886.

Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Margaretta E. Richardson, Widow’s Pension, Apr 27, 1905.

Medical Evidence for Pension Claim by Margaretta E., Widow of Levi Richardson, Co. B, 127 Regiment U.S.C.T. Filed by Taber & Whitman Co., Attorneys. Dec 19, 1904, Pennsylvania.

Hollar, Frank E. Frank E. Hollar to the Honorable Thaddeus Mahon, Washington, D. C., January 19, 1904.

Kyner, George A. George A. Kyner, Attorney-at-law, to the Honorable J. M. Mahon, Washington, D.C., January 23, 1904.

“Levi Richardson’s Will”. Valley Spirit. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Nov 23, 1904. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/346552528

“A Church Wedding”. The Shippensburg News. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Oct 30, 1891. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/88641769

“Sheriff’s Sale”. The Shippensburg News. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Aug 23, 1895. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/310117823

“Executor’s Notice”. People’s Register. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Dec 32, 1904. Page 4. https://www.newspapers.com/image/551829155

“A small log building…” The Shippensburg News. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Jul 26, 1895. Page 2. https://www.newspapers.com/image/310336317

“Held for Court”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Nov 9, 1900. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344385663

“Cases disposed of”. The Sentinel. Carlisle, Pennsylvania. Nov 14, 1900. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/344386746

“An Aged Colored Man Dead”. The Shippensburg Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Nov 3, 1904. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/88648410

“Levi Richardson…” The Shippensburg Chronicle. Shippensburg, Pennsylvania. Dec 18, 1885. Page 3. https://www.newspapers.com/image/90264303

“It was the writer’s pleasure…” People’s Register. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. Dec 11, 1903. Page 9. https://www.newspapers.com/image/551837418