Col Richardson descends from the early settlers. From "History of Woburn" In February of 1640 a group set forth from Charlestown to find a suitable location for their projected town. After much deliberation, present day Woburn Center was chosen as the site for the new Village. On November 5, 1640 a committee of seven was appointed by Charlestown to determine the boundary lines of the new settlement. The seven men who received this grant to undertake the settlement of Charlestown Village, as it was to be called, were Captain Edward Johnson, Thomas Richardson, Samuel Richardson, Ezekiel Richardson, Thomas Graves, Edward Converse and John Mousall. These men were required to build houses for habitation within two years. They also were entrusted with the power to grant lands to other persons willing to build and live within the newly formed Village. The grant further stated that it was the duty of these men to select newcomers who would work as a unit to improve the land, lay out the streets and maintain a civil and religious society.
Richardson Advocates for Blacks
Winchester’s Nathaniel A. Richardson, who had the opportunity to witness conditions in the south following the end of the Civil War, wrote down his observations of both former slaves and masters, frankly admiring the blacks and advocating for more to be done for them. He is shown here in a portrait drawn by Winchester’s Edward A. Brackett. One hundred and fifty years ago, Winchester native Col. Nathaniel A. Richardson (1820-1908) was in the south, serving as Commissary of Subsistence for the U. S. Army. This put him in a position to travel and to observe post-war conditions that inspired very frank, no-holds-barred articles on the state of whites and blacks during the year following the cessation of the war. To read more of Ellen Knights article click link to Richardson advocated for freed slaves following Civil War
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