Richardson Family papers, 1807-2000.
(Mixed Material)

Arranged in nine series: Series I. Lucy Richardson Furber papers, 1909-1998; Series II. Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. papers, 1901-1974; Series III. Lucy and Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. papers, 1934-1975; Series IV. Holden Furber papers, 1924-1989 ; Series V. Lucy and Holden Furber papers, 1981-1991; Series VI. Emmet Lee and Harriet Fyffe Richardson papers, 1887-1976; Series VII. Family history and genealogy, 1807-1977; Series VIII. Family library, 1889-1981; Series IX. Family photographs, 1883-2000;,Correspondence is filed alphabetically by correspondent, when known. Unidentified correspondents appear following all identified correspondents. The Family History series has been left in its original order, as it was meticulously organized and arranged by the family, and they were privy to family connections and associations of which the processor is not aware. Emmet L. Richardson's professional correspondence has likewise been left in its original order, as it was filed and labeled with clear intent.

This collection includes the personal and professional papers of members and relatives of the Richardson family including Lucy Richardson Furber, Robert Dale Richardson, Sr., Holden Furber, Emmet Lee Richardson, and Harriet Fyffe Richardson. Additionally, it contains papers and genealogies of the Arnold, Bollman, Brown, Cherrill, Fell, Furber, Fyffe, Marsh, Richardson, and Van Meter families. Materials include correspondence, financial papers, journals, keepsakes, photographs, news clippings, genealogies, speeches, books, and other related items. Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. and Lucy Marsh Richardson were friends with prominent Unitarian minister and peace activist Dana McLean Greeley and his wife Deborah Webster Greeley throughout their adult lives. Correspondence and a variety of mementos of the friendship may be found throughout the collection. Robert Dale Richardson, Jr., a frequent correspondent of his parents, is a well-known literary biographer. His subjects have included Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, and William James. Of particular note is the family's historic connection to Abraham Lincoln. Jesse W. Fell (Robert Dale Richardson, Sr.'s great-grandfather) was a friend and colleague of Lincoln's in Illinois. In 1859, he solicited a handwritten, 500-word autobiography from Lincoln so that the American people on the east coast might come to know him as a potential presidential candidate. That handwritten letter, signed by Abraham Lincoln, remained with the family (initially with Jesse Fell's daughter Fannie, and then with Harriet Fyffe Richardson and Robert Dale Richardson, Sr.) until it was donated to the Library of Congress in 1947. The collection contains letters, newspaper clippings, legal documents, photographs, and a book about the autobiography. Other items of note include a hand-illustrated letter by children's illustrator Charlotte Ware, letters from prominent author Annie Dillard, who married Robert Dale Richardson, Jr., a 1909 letter written by R.M. McClaughrey -- who fought in the Civil War and went on to serve as Chief of Police in Chicago -- to John W. Marsh praising Mr. Marsh's recently deceased mother, United States fractional currency of the 1860s, tickets to the Republican National Convention in 1892 and 1896, and to the Democratic National Convention for 1892, an 1864 land grant signed by President Lincoln or on his behalf, and a Civil War promotion document for James R. Fyffe dating to 1861. Series I. Lucy Richardson Furber papers, 1909-1998: This series contains the personal papers of Lucy Richardson Furber. Documents in this series include correspondence, travel journals and travel memorabilia, address books, speeches, newspapers, clippings, financial papers, and family materials. Series II. Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. papers, 1901-1974: Materials in this series include correspondence, financial papers, and professional and church related materials. Series III. Lucy and Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. papers, 1934-1975: This series contains materials generated and obtained by Lucy and Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. as a couple. Series IV. Holden Furber papers, 1924-1989: This series contains the personal papers of Holden Furber, Lucy Richardson's second husband. Series V. Lucy and Holden Furber papers, 1976-1991: This series documents the shared life of Lucy and Holden Furber.Series VI. Harriet Fyffe and Emmet Lee Richardson papers, 1883-1976: This series includes the papers of Emmet Lee Richardson and his wife Harriet Fyffe Richardson. Series VII. Family history and genealogy, 1807-1977: This series contains personal papers as well as genealogical and historical materials relating to the relatives of the Richardson family and other families connected by marriage (Arnold, Bollman, Brown, Cherrill, Fell, Furber, Fyffe, Marsh, Richardson, and Van Meter). Series VIII. Family library, 1889-1981: This series includes books collected by the Richardson family, a significant portion of them consisting of prayer books and hymnals used by Reverend Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. Series IX. Family photographs, 1883-2000: This series contains family photographs depicting individuals documented throughout the collection.

Richardson Family Papers, 1807-2000, in the William Munroe Special Collections.,Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.

Gift;,Robert Dale Richardson, Jr.,,2006 November;,(AMC 135),MCo-SC

Gift;,Robert Dale Richardson, Jr.,,2009 April,(AMC 173),MCo-SC

Robert Dale Richardson papers,,Andover-Harvard Theological Library, Harvard Divinity School.,(Call number: bMS 108)

Lucy (Marsh) Richardson Furber was born in Keokuk, Iowa on May 24, 1912 to John and Lucy Cherrill Marsh. Lucy attended the University of Iowa for 2 years before going to work for her father, a dentist and Episcopalian deacon. Lucy married Robert Dale Richardson, Sr., a Unitarian minister, in 1933. The couple moved from Wisconsin to Laconia, New Hampshire and then again to Medford, Massachusetts. In 1951, the Richardsons settled in Concord, Massachusetts, where they raised their 3 sons, John (who died in 1954), Robert Jr., and David. Lucy was involved with the League of Women Voters and was active in the First Parish Church of Concord where Robert Sr. was an interim minister. Robert Sr. passed away in 1969 and Lucy married his friend and Harvard classmate Holden Furber, a history professor, in 1981. Lucy remained in Concord until her death in 2005. (Concord Journal, April 14, 2005) Robert Dale Richardson, Sr was born on May 26, 1901 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Emmett Lee and Harriet Fyffe Richardson. Robert Sr. graduated from Harvard College in 1924, Queens College, Oxford, in 1926, and Meadville Theological Seminary in 1928. After graduating from Meadville, Richardson was ordained into the Unitarian Ministry. He served parishes in Laconia, New Hampshire, and Medford, Wayland, Concord, and Sharon, Massachusetts until the late 1950s. From 1959 to 1968, Richardson served as the Protestant chaplain at the Boston State Hospital and is the namesake of the hospital's Richardson Learning Center. Richardson died suddenly in 1969. (Andover-Harvard Theological Library bMS 108) Robert Dale Richardson, 1901-1969, is known throughout this collection as Robert Sr. However, he is presented in the 1977 genealogical report as Robert Dale Richardson II; his son, biographer Robert Dale Richardson Jr. (born 1934), is actually Robert Dale Richardson III. Holden Furber was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 13, 1903. He earned his A.B. from Harvard in 1924 and his Ph.D. in 1929. Furber graduated from Oxford with a B.A. in 1925 and an M.A. in 1930. He specialized in the history of the British Empire and 18th century India and was a professor at Harvard University, the University of Texas, and the University of Pennsylvania. Furber also worked for the Office of Strategic Services and the U.S. State Department. He published many books and was considered the founder of modern Indian studies in America. Furber passed away in 1993. (Obituary, Boston Globe, 1993) Emmet Lee Richardson was born on November 9, 1870 in Evansville, Indiana. He attended Indiana University as an undergraduate and went to Stanford University in 1892 to conduct postgraduate research for his A.M degree. Richardson went on to study at the University of Paris and Heidelberg University and taught French at Vanderbilt University. He earned a degree from Harvard Law School in 1897 and studied at the University of Berlin from 1895 to 1896. Richardson married Harriet Fyffe in 1896 in Evansville, Indiana, where he practiced law with his father. The couple later moved to Milwaukee, where Richardson worked for several firms. After Harriet's death in 1952, he moved to Concord, Massachusetts to live with his son Robert Dale Richardson, Sr. Emmet Lee Richardson died on February 12, 1960. Harriet Fyffe Richardson was born on June 14, 1872 in Normal, Illinois. She attended Stanford University and graduated with the class of 1895. She met Emmet Lee Richardson while she was studying at Stanford and they were married in 1896. Harriet joined the Association of Collegiate Alumnae in 1898 and served on the College Club for over 20 years. She was also involved with the National Alliance of Unitarian Women, and was a director of the organization from 1925 to 1928. In 1945, Harriet wrote a book about her grandparents titled Quaker Pioneers. She died on October 28, 1952.

Finding aid in Library and on the Selected Finding Aids webpage of the William Munroe Special Collections website, Concord Free Public Library, Concord, Mass.