This is the only picture of Maggie Evans Richardson and all her children, since her two

                     sons lived in California and were in Utah together only once, for the funeral of Maggie's

                     father, Joseph James Merriman Evans in 1949.                                                       

                                              Left to right, seated:    Mildred,   Eunice,   Maggie. 

                                              Standing: Richard Vernon, Margaret, Carol, Milton E.

A BRIEF SYNOPSIS

OF THE LIFE OF

MILTON E RICHARDSON

    I, Milton E Richardson, was born on October 2 1912 at 511 East Center St., Spanish Fork Utah.  I was born in the home of J.J. Evans [his mother's father].

    I have no knowledge of the family conditions at the time.  The family physician Charles Hagen did not record the name at the time of birth.  As I requested a birth certificate of Utah County recorder when I was about 64 years of age, they reported no first name of record and sent an affadavit to fill out verifying the Name--I was Blessed by my Grandfather Thomas Richardson in Benjamin, Utah.

    I was the First of 6 children.  My father was Shadrack M. Richardson.  My mother was Maggie Evans.

    I had 4 sisters and 1 brother:

    Milton E Richardson

    Richard Vernon Richardson

    Margaret Richardson Carter

    Eunice Richardson

    Carol Richardson Back

    Loa Mildred Richardson Whipple

    My earliest memorys were occasions while living with my Grandparents Thomas and Eunice Richardson on the farm in Benjamin.  My father having spent several years in the mines before marriage probably trying to get back into farming reportedly had a sunstroke while irrigating on the family farm--this perhaps combined with being kicked in the face by a horse at the age of 7 caused an epileptic type of seizures which restricted his job opportunity for 2 or 3 years severely and 4 more years of intermediate employment.  The illness ceased when he got out of the sun and went back into the mines to work.  During my first 3 or 4 years I lived with my [Richardson] grandparents and my father in Benjamin.

    I can remember my uncles taking an interest in me, looking at pictures in the Sears Roebuck Catalogue.  I was supposed to turn the pages real fast when we came to the corset section, I remember my father and uncle Dick standing beside a pile of fire wood newly chopped and split which seemed about the size of a house.

    Memories are not there till I was about 4 at which time the family was reunited, we moved into a home on Main street with Patriarch Jex as a neighbor.  His faith and testimony were a big help to mother.  I found a big owl staring at me from a culvert at one time, Mr. Jex and mother unravelled the story of the monster with the big eyes.

    The next move was to a home of a lady from the South whose brothers were soldiers in the Civil War.  Mother sang and taught us a few civil war songs along with many other sad tunes of the day.

MY MOTHER

    My mother's name is Maggie Evans Richardson.  She was born on Dec 10 1884 at Spanish Fork, Utah.  Her father's name is Joseph James Merriman Evans.  Her Mother's name is Margaret Davis.  Some memories of my mother are: a very kind, sincere and humble woman, her life except for 4 or 5 years when we lived in Eureka and my father was well and working, was one of extreme economic hardship from 1928-1940, the depress no public assistance, or little, the help of the Richardson and Evans family probably pulled us through.  She always encouraged us and took us to church, Her faith rubbed off on her children all are active in the church and have been through the temple.

    The following is a brief outline of my mother's life:

    Maggie Evans was born in Spanish Fork Utah First of 12 children born to her parents, a kindly gentle and loving mother and a hard boiled hardworking father who homesteaded 160 acres, a dryland teamster, convict supervisor, road Superintendant.  Her early years were spent in Spanish Fork.  She graduated from 8th grade, assisted in raising the large family, 10 of whom were born while she was at home.  Carrying water from the well and washing with the washboard made this a full time duty while she was at home.  Later she worked for a few Jewish families in Salt Lake as a housekeeper.  She married at 24 to a Benjamin farmers son--a hardrock miner.  The family moved to Eureka Utah where they lived in a rented house near the upper end of Church Steet. They spent four years in Eureka, 1922-1926, then  moved back to Spanish Fork for two years of Ill health for the husband who passed away in November, 1927,  Leaving 6 children the eldest of whom was 15, the youngest was 6 months.  My father with the help of my uncle Joe Evans had moved a house onto a part of Joe's lot So the family had a home but little else.

    Mother arranged for Vern and I to get a paper route, 2 of them morning and evening.

    Margaret  married Ken Carter in 1939

    Milt married Rose Christensen in 1940

    Vern married Magdaline Schulthess in 1941

    Eunice completed a business course and got a job in Salt Lake.  Mother, Carol and Mildred moved up to a place near the Salt Lake County Court House.  They enjoyed church activities, here mother went to the temple, had many friends.

    The temple sealing for husband and wife and children sealed to the parents was performed on Sept 5 1929 in the Salt Lake Temple.

    She passed away suddenly [in March 1956] when stricken with a heart attack as she stepped out of a cab and collapsed on the curb.

    Hers was a life of service to her own family and to the family she assisted to raise in the home of her father and mother.

MY FATHER

    My father's name is Shedrack Milton Richardson.  His father's name is Thomas Richardson.  His mother's name is Eunice Hickman.

    Some memories of my father: My Grandmother Richardson had her appendix removed.  When my father got the news he practically ran about 5 miles and arrived exausted at her bedside.  He was a man when in good health weighed about 170 perhaps 5'10" tall, somewhat shy perhaps due to having one eye blinded by a kick of a horse when he was seven years old.  His nose was practically kicked off but restored so the only evidence was a deeper than usual bridge between the eyes; the pupil of the eye remained but was a light to medium green color with no variation, dilation or expression.  This was no handicap as he never seemed to mind.

    The following is a brief outline of my father's life:

    My father was the second son of Thomas Richardson and Eunice Hickman.

To read another more detailed account, click here.

To return to the Richardson Family index page, click here.

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