When William Pettinger Richardson was born on 7 June 1832, in Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom, his father, Mathias Richardson, was 32 and his mother, Eleanor Matilda Pettinger, was 27. He had at least 2 sons and 4 daughters with Theresa Rebecca Whiston. He lived in Louth, Lincolnshire, England, United Kingdom in 1851 and London, Middlesex, England for about 10 years. He died on 30 January 1874, at the age of 41.