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~~RICHARDSONs
from Hounslow Heath~~
Uncle Ben's StoriesBenjamin
Bernard Richardson
1904 ~ 1991
Ben
Richardson was born in England and emigrated to Canada with his parents
and older brother, Ted. When he was a young boy the entire family of seven
came to the United States, settling first in the deep south. By 1920, when
he was 16, they were permanently living in Maryland where he was working
on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad in Baltimore. Ben passed the remainder
of his life in Baltimore, working forty-two years as a door to door bill
collector for the Regal Shop, a men's clothing store on West Baltimore
Street. Even though he had lost all of the fingers of his right hand in an
industrial accident when a young man, he became an accomplished artist and
musician. He played the fiddle and mandolin, painted window screens and
was quite a well know character and eccentric.
I remember Uncle Ben
singing the ballad "Jesse James" while playing the mandolin. And I
remember, when a child, visiting his house at Christmastime and he gave me
eggnog to drink, the real stuff. He said that it was good for me.
In his later years he was celebrated for his screen paintings and
he became a teacher of the folk art in East Baltimore. He was featured in
the book "America's Forgotten Folk Arts" by Fred and Mary Fried, 1978,
published by Pantheon Books.
~ The
Ballad of Jesse James ~
This so reminds me of Uncle Ben of
fifty plus years ago.
You will need to click Play RealAudio when
you are there.
Benjamin Bernard Richardson, the second son of Arthur James and
Martha (Smith) Richardson, was born January 30, 1904 at his grandparents'
farm in Chelmsford, Essex, England, and died February 22, 1991 in
Catonsville, Baltimore County, Maryland. He married Gladys Evans on
February 1, 1929. She was born September 4, 1910 and died June 27, 1995 in
Maryland. Ben and Gladys resided at 1913 Harman Avenue in Baltimore where
they raised their two children, Violet Flora Richardson and Donald Bernard
Richardson. Donald was born in 1933, at Baltimore, Maryland and died there
on September 10, 1993.
The Stories
My Uncle Ben was very proud of all the times that he was
featured in newspaper articles. Below are just a few that have been
transcribed for this website.
Los Angeles Times
Baltimore Sun 1987
Washington
Post 1987
The News American 1979
Ben
Richardson's Path to Nowhere
Ben in
"America's Forgotten Folk Arts"
~~~
Ben's
Scrapbook of Photographs
We can no longer
hear Uncle Ben play the fiddle,
but Beautiful Dreamer;
was one of his tunes.
Written in 1862 by Stephen Foster ~ Sequenced by
Werner Tomaschewski.
Graphics
Credits ~ Ritva Väänänen at Ritva's
Gallery
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~ RICHARDSONs
from Hounslow Heath ~
Memorial
to Edward Arthur James Richardson | Ted
Richardson - In Memoriam | Ted
Richardson in the News, 1985 | Uncle
Ben's Stories | Ben
Richardson in LA Times | Ben
Richardson, Washington Post | Ben
Richardson, Baltimore Sun | Ben
Richardson, 1967 News Clipping | Ben
Richardson in The News American | Harry
Richardson and Family | Aunt
Flo's Letters | Aunt
Florrie's Journal | Frank
Heming ~ World War I | Grandfather's
Memoirs | Arthur
Richardson Memoirs 1 | Arthur
Richardson Memoirs 2 | Edward and Emily's
Saga | John and Polly
Mills | Richard
Richardson's Story | Primrose
Day, April 19th | Dr. Jamison
and the Boer War | Hounslow
Heath, England | Farm
Laborer's Cottage of 1860s | Hounslow,
England 1831 | Links of
Interest | | Richardson Genealogy
& Scrapbook |
~ Neddy's Nook on the
Net ~
www.ednabarney.com
"RICHARDSONs
from Hounslow Heath ~ Uncle Ben's Stories"
website created and
maintained by Edna Richardson
Barney.
Copyright © 2001 to date, Edna Barney, All Rights
Reserved |