When John Alexander Richards was born on 4 December 1826, in Cork, County Cork, Ireland, his father, Benjamin Richards, was 35 and his mother, Bridget Ann Richards, was 27. He married Elizabeth Nicholls on 15 November 1847, in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, England, United Kingdom. They were the parents of a daughter. John A. Richards was a convert to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Around 1851, John A. Richards sailed for America (at the height of Irish prejudice). He promised to make enough money to send for his wife, Elizabeth Nichols and his 1 year old daughter. It took him five years to accomplish this. Nevertheless they sailed for America and upon their arrival found that he had been called by Brigham Young to be one of the first missionaries sent to the Cherokee Indians in Arkansas. When John learned of his wife’s death and after completing his mission, he remained in Arkansas and eventually married a woman by the name of Manhu Martin who was 1/8 Cherokee thereby making him an official member of the Cherokee Nation. It is our understanding that they had one son named Joseph and that he too married and had one child. To this date, we do not have a complete history of John A. Richards. He died from a head injury received in a wagon injury. He died on 21 September 1889, at the age of 62. Died on the Verdigris River, Cherokee Nation Indian Territory, serving since 1885. He is buried there.
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Being a second spiritual and religious awakening, like the First Great Awakening, many Churches began to spring up from other denominations. Many people began to rapidly join the Baptist and Methodist congregations. Many converts to these religions believed that the Awakening was the precursor of a new millennial age.
The Night of the BIG WIND. In Killarney and its neighborhood there was a terrible hurricane. The town sustained much damage and many houses were shattered.
The Irish Potato Famine. Many Irish emigrate to America. Irish population drops from 8 million to 6 million due to death from starvation or emigration.
English: variant of Richard , with genitival or post-medieval excrescent -s. Compare Rickards .
German: patronymic from the personal name Richard .
Dictionary of American Family Names © Patrick Hanks 2003, 2006.
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