I have just started to research my husbands Richardson line. I was hoping that some information is already compiled to make this job a little easier. :-) I am looking for the parents of James A. Richardson born 7 Mar1837 d. 12 Nov 1837 and buried at Mt. Olivet Cemetery, Frederick, MD. He married Margaret Collins in Frederick Co., MD in 1861 and their children were, Harvey b. 1862, Charles b. 1865, Ellie b. 1869, Ulysses Pinkney, b. 1874, and Marian b. 1879. Based on family stories, James was born in Virginia and this fact is confirmed on all the Frederick, MD, census records. He is said to have gone to Virginia frequently to visit family but know one living can tell me where he went. It is known that James son Pinkney, would go to Fairfax to visit, maybe cousins, no one knows for sure. On the 1850 Fairfax VA census there is a James 13 yrs old living with his mother Eliza 50 yrs old and a sister Catherine 14 yrs old. No father listed but in 1840 there is a William Richardson that does not show up on the 1850 census. There is also a family story about two portraits of Richardson's at the Fairfax courthouse. It is believed they are related to James but again no one living can tell me why they think that. For a living James sold patient medicine and assorted items. Once he settled down in Maryland he is listed on the census as a day laborer or farm hand. He never had a much money but could read and write. He was not in the military during the Civil War but may have had northern leanings. Does anyone know who his parents were? Could he be the son of one of the Fairfax or Loudoun Co., VA Richardson's? Thanks, Deb