Mary McClelland Richards was born 10 October 1858 in Tippecanoe Co., Indiana. Her parents were
Samuel Kennedy Richards and Susan T. (Watt) Richards. Her middle name seems to have come from her maternal grandmother, Jane McClelland Fagundus, wife of Robert Watt. The McClelland/Fagundus question is one I have not yet solved.
The family called her "Min."
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| Mary McClelland "Min" Richards |
The
Minnesota Historical Society has a number of photographs of the Watt and Richards family members, but I was not given permission to post them on my blog. Here is a
LINK to their finding aid to the collection that contains the photos. They have a couple of photos of Mary Richards as a child and a young woman.
Mary is found with her parents and older sister, Clara, on the 1860 census for Clarks Hill, Laramie Twp., Tippecanoe Co., Indiana. She is also found with the family on the 1870 census for Laramie Twp., Tippecanoe Co., Indiana.
On 11 May 1875, when she was 16 years old, Min wrote a letter to her Aunt
Laura (Watt) Braden. Min was at school in Lafayette, Indiana. She wrote,
"Dear Aunt Lar: - I begin to think you have forgotten all of us you have not written to any of us for a coon's age, neither have you answered our letters, (that is mine and Mothers) for we both have written but perhaps you did not receive any of them, I am going to write whether it be acceptable or not, please answer this one, I came to School a few minutes ago but order has not yet been called therefore I am improving the time otherwise we are all well and have been all winter. It is raining here today in fact it has rained some every day this month except last Friday. I am getting along nicely at school, am now in the High School. Does Mary go to school? I do wish you would come down, have you made Alby a suit of clothes (I mean pants and coat and vest). Aunt Sat made Russ a suit and had his picture taken and sent it to us, I tell he looks cunning and important. I will have to close for (we) (scholars) are preparing for examination school will be out in five weeks and I will not be sorry either. With Love to all and a kiss for Alby I am as Ever Your Niece Mary Richards
P.S. Do write soon and come down for we all want to see you, and the rest, so bad goodby The bell has taped for silence or order By By Min"
Laura Braden was Min's mother's sister. Mentioned in the letter are Mary and Alby; they were Laura's children,
Mary Jane and
Alba Braden. Aunt Sat was another sister of Laura and Susan: Sarah (Watt) Richards and her son was Russ (Charles Russ Richards).
I have lots of letters from Min to her Aunt Laura - too many to post them here in Min's biography. I will eventually post them separately.
Min was graduated on 14 Jun 1878, probably in Lafayette, Indiana. This was mentioned in the 19 May 1878 letter from her sister, Clara, to Laura Braden, "Min wants you and Uncle Will to come down when she graduates. It will be on the 14th of June. The exercises will be held in the afternoon, I guess." The name of the school was not given, but she was in school in Lafayette in 1875.
On 1 August 1879, Min's mother, Susan T. (Watt) Richards, died in Tippecanoe Co., Indiana. Min was 20 years old.
The 1880 census for Lafayette, Tippecanoe Co., Indiana, shows Min with her widowed father and her siblings: Clara, Lura, and Clyde.
By October 1881, Min was teaching at a school near Stockwell, Tippecanoe Co., Indiana.
On 20 November 1885, Min's Aunt Sarah (Watt) Richards died leaving her 14-year-old son, Charles Russ Richards, an orphan. Min was named Russ's guardian and he went to live with his Uncle Sam Richards and Sam's children.
In April 1888, Min went to Poughkeepsie, New York, to study at
Eastman College. She wrote home to her Aunt Laura soon after arriving in Poughkeepsie. The envelope was addressed to Mrs. Laura V. Braden, Frankfort, Indiana, Clinton County and was postmarked at Poughkeepsie, N.Y. on 16 April 1888. The letter follows:
"Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
April 15, 1888
Dear Aunt Laura -
Well I am here and comfortably settled, arrived here last Wednesday morning. Left LaFayette on Monday as I intended, stopped at Andrews to visit Lucy (Robertson) Stoler, staid there until Thursday noon, then went to Toledo, staid there with Mr. & Mrs. E.L. Brown until the next Tuesday morning, then after a twenty three hours ride reached Poughkeepsie, pretty well tired out. Traces of the blizzard of New York are still to be seen in huge patches of snow which cover the mountain side.
It is much colder here than when I left home. I have had to wear my heavy cloak all the while since coming here. I am boarding with a quaker family, just an old maid and her mother a woman 83 years old. Everything is so clean and white the table linen is snowy. The name is Cooley, a very familiar one to us. I am paying $4 a week, but I do not wonder at it for everything is high here. Eggs 22 cts a dozen, butter 30 cts a pound. And lettuce is sold by the head at 20 cts. With us you know, we can buy it by the pound and it was only 15 cts when I left home. There are five boarding here besides myself, only one young man. The college is very full, there being nearly four hundred. They give some kind of an entertainment every Saturday for the students, yesterday 'twas a concert by an orchestra of the city. One lady did some very nice singing, was called back several times.
Next Saturday we are to have a lecture by a man from Philadelphia. I study at the college from 9 to 12 then from 1 1/2 to 4 think I will like it very much but I seem so far away from home, you must write often and tell me all the little happenings. Lu has written me one letter spoke of being up to see you. I hope you are still improving. Do not kill yourself with hard work this summer, better hire two girls than do that. Excuse lead pencil I left my ink at the college and forgot to get another bottle.
Yesterday afternoon I went in company with two other young ladies to visit a wheel-barrow factory. Quite an interesting place to visit. Then we climbed a hill to get a good view of the river, and 'twas well worth our trouble for it was truly grand. A bridge is building here which is 250 feet high, that is above the water and the height does seem dizzy to look up to it. I am going to the Episcopal church this morning; there is a Universalist church here but it has not regular pastor at present. There are two military schools in the city and we see some of the boys in uniform every day on the street. This will be a lovely place in summer time, when you are down to our house, look through the catalogue of Eastman college. It will give you some idea of how things look here for the illustrations are true. They can be recognized from the pictures of them given in the catalogue.
The streets here are quite narrow. And the hills so high; three horses are required to draw the street cars and one fare is 10 cts. They only have one line of track which leads from the depot up through the city out to Vassar college which is two miles out. A party of us intend visiting it some Saturday before very long, or as soon as the grounds are fixed up for the summer.
No spring work is done here on the farms. The frost is not all out of the ground.
Is Anna Spring with you yet? Did Robert go back to school again? I thought Lu spoke as if he were at home.
Well I must bring this to a close for I must write two more today, one to little Sarah. When you write and let it be soon, address to 40 Montgomery Street, Poughkeepsie, New York. Give my love to all reserving a good share for yourself. Your loving niece Mary M. Richards"
I tried to find a yearbook or catalog of Eastman College without success.
Min was still in Poughkeepsie in October 1888. By October 1890, however, she was back in Clarks Hill, Tippecanoe Co., Indiana.
By 1898, Min was studying at "The Normal" in Terre Haute, Indiana, when she wrote a letter to her Aunt Laura. This is undoubtedly the
Indiana State Normal School which is now Indiana State University. Her letters indicate that she was still attending school there in May 1900.
Min's father, Samuel K. Richards, died in March 1905. Min seems to have lived on the family farm with her siblings after his death. She never married. She was a school teacher.
The 1920 census shows her with her brother, Clyde, and sister, Clara, living in Clarks Hill. She is on the voter registration list for 1922 in Laramie Township, Tippecanoe Co., Indiana.
Mary McClelland Richards died of colon cancer at the age of 70 in Clarks Hill, Indiana, on 9 June 1929. She was
buried in Springvale Cemetery, Lafayette, Indiana, near her parents.
