Introductory Note. I think this line might be the one from which my g.g.grandmother Rebecca (Richardson) Kennedy (19 Nov 1817—2 May 1887) was descended. She was the wife of Jesse Osburn Kennady/Kennedy and his obituary stated she was from New Garden Township, Chester Co., Pennsylvania; New Garden Township is located next to Philadelphia. The name "Rebecca Richardson" was passed down in this Philadelphia RICHARDSON line for generations, and as you can see, the book referenced below did not trace all the descendants from the male lines. Also please see the information quoted below from a message posted to the PACHESTE-L mailing list in 1998 from the History of Chester County. My Kennady/Kennedy family was residing in E. Nottingham Twp., Chester Co. Penn. at the time of the 1860 census. I highlighted the name of John Richardson as one of the early settlers in Nottingham, because there were a couple of men in the Francis Richardson line who were named John, who may have been this same John Richardson, who was an early settler of Nottingham Township.
The following was quoted partly from Futhey and Cope, History of Chester County, at page 195ff:
November 14, 1701, Cornelius Empson for himself and several others presented a petition to the Commissioners of Property at Philadelphia proposing to make a settlement "on a tract of land about half way between Delaware and Susquehannah, or nearer the latter, being about 24 miles distant from New Castle, on Octorara river, in case they may have a grant of 20,000 acres in the said place." On March 1, 1702 [new style] a warrant for land was issued for land "beginning at the Northern Barrens between the [main branch of the Northeast river and the Octorara Creek] and bounding it to the southward with an east and west line parallel as near as may be to the line of the Province, and northward next the Barrens with a line also parallel to the south bounds, and in the said tract run 18 several divisions, each of 1000 acres."
The tract was surveyed seven and one half miles west of the northeast corner of Maryland and extending westward thence to the Octorara Creek about ten miles. The south line was nearly straight but the north line had offsets to include good land and leave out the "barrens." It was about three miles north to south at the widest part.
Early purchasers were John Guest, Edward Beeson, Henry Reynolds, **John Richardson,** Cornelius Empson, Ebenezer Empson, Joel Baily, James Cooper, James Brown, Randal Janney, John Churchman, William Brown, Robert Dutton, Samuel Littler, Andrew Job, and John Bales (or Beals).
The large tract is said to have received the name Nottingham when first laid out, and it was doubtless so called in remembrance of the town or county of Nottingham in England. It was supposed all to be in Pennsylvania, but when the [Mason-Dixon line was later drawn] a great part of the tract fell into Maryland. "Owing, no doubt, to the variation of the compass, the lines, which were intended to be parallel to the Maryland line, run a little south in going westward." The land north of this tract was described as "back of Nottingham" and was subsequently taken up in various sized and mostly irregular tracts by settlers, and was at length included in the township of Nottingham. The early surveys were for a long time known by the distinctive appellation of "Nottingham Lotts."
In 1788 petitions were filed with the state legislatures of Pennsylvania and Maryland to confirm the ownership of tracts which might have crossed into neighboring jurisdictions.
Since that time, the present Borough of Oxford, the township of Londonderry, and other municipalities have been formed from the Nottingham tract, and Nottingham itself has been split into East and West Nottingham Townships, as well as Elk Township.
For everyone interested in early Chester County history, a very helpful book with maps of interest is Lemon, James T., The Best Poor Man's Country, (New York: 1972).
Further research:
Rebecca Haward was a daughter of a shoemaker of Uxbridge, England. She m. Francis Richardson at Devonshire House outside of Bishopsgate in London, England in a Quaker ceremony. During her marriage to Francis Richardson, Rebecca H. Richardson kept the books for his business interests. After her first husband's death she and their two living children moved to Philadelphia where her late husband had owned property granted to him by William Penn, which he had willed to his children. Rebecca (Haward) Richardson m. (2) Edward Shippen, a wealthy Quaker, who later became mayor of Philadelphia. She d. 26 Feb 1705 in Philadelphia. Children:
Elizabeth Growden was a daughter of Joseph Growden of Philadelphia. Her grandfather Lawrence Growden and father migrated from Trevose in Cornwall, England to Bucks Co., Penn. By 1684 her father Joseph Growden was a member of the Assembly from Philadelphia. Later he became a member from Bucks Co. and was speaker of the house. Elizabeth (Growden) Richardson d. just one week after the birth and early death of her sixth child, Benjamin.
Children by Letitia Swift:
Children by Hannah Worrill:
Children by Mary Allen: