Meet Richard Redden

All information in this blog is believed to be accurate. I try to confirm each source of information two times before accepting it as fact. If you believe some information posted is in error, or you have any conflicting or additional information, please let me know.

Richard Redden, 1812-1883, is the earliest Redden ancestor I've been able to confirm from my husband's line. I've hit a brick wall when trying to determine his parent's names, or if he had any siblings, but I have found some promising leads to follow as I have time.

Although born in Kentucky, it does appear that Richard spent most or all of his adult life in southern Indiana. He married Elizan King in Harrison County, Indiana on March 24, 1842. From census records we know he resided not only in the river town of New Amsterdam in Harrison County, but also in New Albany (Floyd county), and Leavenworth (Crawford county), Indiana. He was living Leavenworth, Indiana, with his second wife Christena Conrad Scott Redden, and his daughter Clara, when he died at the age of 70. Richard spent some of his life as a steamboat carpenter, so it's not surprising to find he made his homes in towns along the Ohio river.

Richard appears to have been a member of Wesley Chapel church, a small, quaint, United Methodist church which still stands today in Valley City, Indiana, in Harrison County. Records show that he and some of his sons donated money to the building of the church, and his son Mayo donated some carpentry work. Imagine my husband's surprise a few years ago to learn that the little church where he enjoyed ice cream socials and Sunday school as a boy exists in part because of the dedication to the church by his great grandfather and great-great grandfather!

Richard must have also been patriotic and proud of his country. Two of his sons, Robert and William, served in the Union army during the Civil War. Richard served in the Washington Guards, a volunteer militia company in the Indiana Legion organized in 1861.

Richard and Elizan are known to have had 6 named children, listed below. There is evidence of other children that died in infancy, but I won't go into those details here. Richard also had a daughter with his second wife, Christena.

Son William K. Redden was born in Harrison County Indiana on 10 October 1843. He married Emeline French on 22 May 1870, and died in May 1923. William is buried in the New Amsterdam, Indiana, cemetery. His memorial page on Findagrave.com is #19131857.

Son Robert was born in Harrison County Indiana 10 January 1846. He married Clarinda Montgomery 8 September 1867, and died in Corydon, Indiana on 18 January 1927. Robert is also buried in the New Amsterdam cemetery. His memorial page on Findagrave.com is #19131530.

Daughter Nancy was born 12 May 1848. No other information on Nancy is known at this time.

Daughter Amanda was born 9 August 1851. She married John Hughs (sometimes spelled "Hughes") 13 February 1870, and died sometime before 1927.

Son Charley was born 5 March 1855 in Harrison County. He married Rebecca Alice Moyars. Charley died in February 1936 in Greensburg, Indiana.

Mayo Redden was born 27 November 1859 in Harrison County. His marriage was to Charlotte (or Sharlottie) Mower on 6 August 1893. Mayo's date of death has not yet been determined--indeed it's a bit of a mystery--although he appears to have died around 1939.

As previously mentioned, Richard's wife Elizan died on 4 February 1863. Richard then married Christena Conrad Scott on 1 July 1866. Christena was previously married to John H. Scott and they had two sons, William H. and John C. This marriage ended in divorce. Christena's two sons lived with Richard and Christena upon their marriage. Christena and Richard had one child together, Clara. Clara was born 15 April 1867 in Leavenworth, Indiana. She married James E. Isaacs on 8 January 1888, and the couple moved to Bourbon County, Kansas, and later to Oklahoma. Clara died and was buried in Enid, Oklahoma on 5 June 1934. There are memorial pages with photos on findagrave.com for both Christena (#44226688) and Clara (#43823019).

What else do we know about Richard? Not a lot, but I have some assumptions. I think he was a kind man who loved his family. I think he was tall. I believe he was ambitious, a hard worker, a good citizen, and at least fairly successful financially. These assumptions are based on tidbits of facts from census and tax records, obituaries, and a fair share of hunches and guesswork. I still hold out hope that more information is out there waiting to be found.

Here is a summary of Richard's life from census records:
1850 - Living in Floyd County Indiana (New Albany), age listed as 35, ship carpenter.
1860 - Harrison County, Indiana, age given as 47, farmer.
1870 - Crawford County, Indiana (Leavenworth area), 57, ship carpenter.
1880 - Crawford County, Indiana, 66, blind.

Future posts will provide more information on each of Richard's children.