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Richardson Cemetery

SC PICTURE PROJECT 4 Comments

SC Picture Project / Clarendon County / Richardson Cemetery

This modest cemetery in Summerton is the burial site of the Richardson family, which produced six South Carolina governors. The cemetery predates the American Revolution and was part of the Richardson home site, Big Home Plantation. Patriarch Richard Richardson arrived to St. Mark’s Parish from Virginia in the 1730s and established the plantation on land granted to him in 1744. He later served as a Patriot in the Revolutionary War and was lauded for commanding the Snow Campaign of 1775, during which 3,000 militia troops thwarted Loyalist attempts at organizing. He was captured following the 1780 seize of Charleston.

Richardson Cemetery

Linda Brown of Kingstree, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

 

Shortly after his capture, Richardson was granted parole and sent home to be with his family due to his increasingly poor health. He died at Big Home, surrounded by family, and is interred within the cemetery. Local lore claims that British Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton came to Big Home six weeks after Richardson’s death, demanding to know the whereabouts of General Francis Marion. In an attempt to intimidate his widow, he exhumed Richardson’s body and placed it on display. Other accounts say he unearthed Richardson’s grave in search of family silver, while yet another version states that Tarleton forced Mrs. Richardson to dig up her husband’s corpse.

Richard Richardson Grave

Linda Brown of Kingstree, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

 

Whether or not any of these grim war stories are true, the troops did ransack the home, stealing provisions and livestock, and burned the property before they decamped. Today the only thing left of Big Home is this cemetery. Richardson’s grave marker, seen above, reads: “Sacred to the memory of General Richard Richardson, who departed this life September 1780, aged 76 years. He died while a prisoner and under the parole of the British who permitted him in his illness to leave Johns Island, where he was confined to close the last moments of his life in the bosom of his numerous family.”

Richardson Cemetery Summerton

Linda Brown of Kingstree, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

 

Also buried here are General Richardson’s son, James Burchill Richardson, who served as governor of South Carolina from 1802 to 1804, and his grandson, John Peter Richardson, governor from 1840 through 1842. John Peter Richardson was a founder of The Citadel. Other descendants of General Richard Richardson who went on to become South Carolina governors are Richard Irvine Manning, I, John Lawrence Manning, John Peter Richardson, III, and Richard Irvine Manning, III.

Richardson Cemetery Marker

Linda Brown of Kingstree, 2016 © Do Not Use Without Written Consent

 

The South Carolina State Waltz, called The South Carolina Waltz, is a song rather than a dance. It has been passed down through the Richardson family for 300 years. In 1985 a Richardson descendant, Mary Richardson Briggs, created sheet music for the tune, marking the first time the song had been translated to musical notes. The South Carolina legislature made the South Carolina Waltz an official state symbol in 2000.

Plan Your Trip: Richardson Cemetery

Where is Richardson Cemetery located?
Address: 8803 Old River Road, Summerton, SC 29148
GPS Coordinates: 33.6371062,-80.4911967
What else should I see?
Elliott Millpond 1.7 miles
Low Falls Landing 4.9 miles
Sparkleberry Swamp 8.5 miles
Lone Star 9.2 miles
Show me more like this!
  • See other South Carolina Cemeteries
  • See other South Carolina Military
  • See other South Carolina Revolutionary War
  • Summerton Historic Sites
    Richardson Cemetery Map

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anita A. Poole says

      November 4, 2019 at 1:48 AM

      Elijah Hooten – killed in the Civil War – was he buried here?

      Reply
    2. D K Parker says

      February 4, 2019 at 2:47 PM

      BG Richardson is my 5th great grandfather. I’d love to use YOUR page and citations on my ancestry genealogy page. Consent requested. Thanks

      Reply
      • SC Picture Project says

        February 7, 2019 at 12:08 AM

        As long as you want to use the information and link back to us as the credited source, you are free to do so. Thank you!

        Reply
    3. John Eldred Simkins Jr says

      May 31, 2018 at 6:28 PM

      Delighted to discover this web page, very helpful. I am related through my mother, (1910-1998), a descendant of John Smythe Richardson IV and Mary Ellen Baker (1853-1946) of Sumter.

      Reply

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    ABOUT US

    We are a federally-recognized 501(c)(3) nonprofit that works to preserve the history of South Carolina’s historic, natural, and cultural landmarks before they are lost to time. This website serves as a permanent digital archive of over 2,300 South Carolina landmarks – and counting. Learn more about our work.

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