My Genealogy Hound

OTIS A. RICHARDSON, one of the pioneers of Phelps county, was born in Fulton county, Ill., July 7, 1846.

His father, Charles Richardson, is a native of Virginia; he came North, however, in an early day and is now a resident of Nebraska. He is a carpenter by trade and a quiet and industrious man. The mother of the subject of this sketch is a native of Illinois and a woman beloved by all for her many admirable traits of character.

Otis A. Richardson was one of a family of eight children and received only such educational advantages as were afforded in the common district schools of Illinois. He enlisted November 1, 1862, at the age of eighteen, in the Thirty-third Illinois volunteer infantry, but was discharged, however, on account of physical disability June 18, 1862. He was afflicted with chronic rheumatism and was sent to the hospital at Keokuk, Iowa. The only important engagement he was in during his service was the battle of Shiloh, one of the most famous battles of the rebellion.

After the war he was an employee on the steamer “Belle of Peoria,” on the Illinois river for about one year. On July 13, 1865, he came to Saunders county, Nebr., and was the first man to take a homestead in township 15, range 9 east. After he had selected his claim he freighted for several months between Plattsmouth and Fort Laramie. The country was wild and he had an interesting and varied experience on his trip across the “great plains.” He spent two years on the Otoe reservation near Beatrice, where he mingled occasionally with the “Red men.”

Mr. Richardson came to Phelps county in September, 1880, and filed on a timber claim in Williamsburg township. There were comparatively few settlers then at that time and it was not an uncommon thing to see a herd of antelope grazing on the Platte bottom. He has seen and experienced some of the hardships of the pioneers of Nebraska, and knows what it is to go hungry, as well as to encounter a band of hostile Indians. Mr. Richardson was married October 30, 1866, to Keziah Tarpening, who is a native of Indiana and was born February 3, 1850. Her parents, Perry and Elizabeth (Russell) Tarpening, are natives of Ohio and both live in Saunders county, Nebr.

The happy union of Mr. and Mrs. Richardson has been blessed with six children, viz. — Charles, born December 3, 1868; Olive, born January 10, 1870; Estella E., born September 16, 1871; Willie V., born June 9, 1875; Earl E., born February 23, 1885; Delta V., born March 13, 1888.

Mr. R. has one hundred and sixty acres of improved land which lies in the fertile Platte valley, and yields an abundant crop each year. He is a member of the G. A. R. and of the Grange and enjoys the high esteem of all who know him.