Greetings to you Rosie. Just seen your post.
My maternal grandmother was a RICHARDSON and as I have tried to verify the family myths [or fibs] that, as a suffragette, she had chained herself to Tower Bridge in London. In the course of my researches, I also came across this other RICHARDSON with an interesting RALEIGH middle name. Some biographers have suggested that some of her stories were exagerated.
I look forward to hearing your stories.
Mary Richardson cannot be your maternal grandmother. She died a childless spinster. She adopted a boy, Roger Richardson, who in due course had 5 children. His mother's surname was Betts.
Sadly all the research into Mary's possible real origins are not of any use to you.
Best of luck!
Rosie.
Mary Richardson was never reported in the press as chaining herself to anything. Nor did she claim to have done so in her autobiographical anecdotes which, were not exaggerated but wildly inaccurate or invented.
During my research I came across three other suffragettes with the surname Richardson. One was a lifelong spinster but the others were a Miss and a Mrs Richardson, presumably mother and daughter. I know nothing about them. They were unrelated to Mary so I scrolled on past them.
