Biographical Sketch of Skelton Richardson, Jefferson County, Missouri

>From "History of Franklin, Jefferson, Washington, Crawford and 
Gasconade Counties", Biographical Appendix, Goodspeed Publishing 
Company, 1888.

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Skelton Richardson, farmer, was born near the Gen. Grant farm, in St.
Louis County, Mo., February 8, 1820, and is the sixth of thirteen
children born to Booker and Nancy (Cheatham) Richardson, natives of
Franklin and Halifax Counties, Va.  The father was born in 1775, was
married in Virginia, and just prior to 1811 removed to near Nashville,
Tenn.  He soon after removed to St. Louis County, where he remained
until 1833, when he came to Jefferson County, settling on Black Water,
and here died, as did also his wife, in 1841.  He was of Welsh-Scotch
descent, and was a farmer by occupation.  He was a soldier in the 
Seminole War, and was in the battle of Horseshoe Bend.  His father was
a major in the War for Independence.  The mother of Skelton was an 
aunt of the celebrated and daring Confederate Gen. Cheatham, of Tenn-
essee, and also a near reltative of Gen. Jubal A. Early, of Confeder-
ate fame.  Skelton remained at home until seventeen years of age, and
received very limited educational advantages.  He then went to the
lead mines of Southwest Wisconsin, where he spent four or five years.
He then returned to Missouri, followed farming in Jefferson County 
until 1852, when he crossed the plains to California, and here spent 
about ten months mining.  In 1854 he returned to Missouri and purchased
about 160 head of cattle, after which he returned to California, and
here remained until 1859, this time engaged in mining, farming and
dealing in stock, at which he was quite successful.  At the latter date
he returned to Jefferson County, with the intention of soon returning
to the coast, but February 23, 1860, he married Miss Mary B. Woodson,
whose father was a native of Virginia, but an early settler of Jeffer-
son County, where he practiced law.  His name, Samuel Woodson, is well
known in the county.  One child was born to our subject's marriage:
Woodson Booker Richardson.  Soon after marriage Mr. Richardson settled
near Herculaneum, where he remained until 1867, when he located one-
half mile southweset of Kimmswick, where he has forty-one acres, and a
small farm in another tract near by.  Politically a life long Democrat,
his first presidential vote was cast for James K. Polk, in 1844.  Mr.
Richardson is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and his wife is a
faithful member of the Presbyterian Church.

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