Page prepared by Emma Mae Richardson

As the population of the new country increased and the vast western lands were opened, descendants of the emigrant Robert Richardson (c. 1637) followed in his pioneering footsteps and moved west, lured, we are sure by the promise of new land. Some also moved west, seeking greater religious freedom.

In 1795, Robert Richardson (1753), son of John (1725), and great, great grandson of Robert (c1637) and Susanna (Smith) Richardson, who founded Mount Ephraim, left Worcester Co, MD, and migrated to Hardin Co, KY down the Ohio River. His wife, Mary Broughton (Bratten) and 6 children emigrated with him; the children were:

John (1791) and Betsy Linder Richardson are the ancestors of many of the authors of this web site, specifically those descended from their son, Daniel Linder Richardson.

Daniel Linder Richardson 's brothers John Richardson and Robert S. Richardson were some of the earliest people to go to the California Gold Discovery in 1848 from Hardin Co., KY. To read about one of Daniel Linder Richardson's son's travels, click here Westward moves of Jacob Franklin Richardson and his children.

Also migrating with this family was Robert's sister, Ann Richardson Sawyer (26 Feb. 1756) m. Charles W Sawyer, d. 1832 in KY. Members of the South family joined the Robert (1753) Richardson and Charles Sawyer families and also migrated from Worcester Co., MD to Hardin Co., KY.

The Richardson, Linder and Sawyer families were also some of the earliest emigrants to Illinois. To read an account written by a descendant of Charles Wesley Sawyer, Jr. about the Sawyer family's influence in the development of Cole County, IL, click here Story of the Sawyers from England to Maryland, then to Kentucky and Illinois.

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This page last updated on December 11, 2002