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WHO WAS WHO in PLUM TOWNSHIP
~ Titusville Herald ~
By H. W. Strawbridge

A. W. Richey

Andrew Washington Richey was born over half a mile southwest of Sunville on Sept. 8, 1839. He was one of ten children of John and Elizabeth Job Richey, who arrived on their tract near Sunville in 1832.
Andrew Washington, or “Wash” Richey, as he was always known throughout his life, received his common education in the school of his neighborhood. His parents, having been Presbyterians, wished to educate him for the Presbyterian ministry, but this never materialized. It is said that Wash did attend some college or branch of high school learning somewhere. Thus he was quite and educated man and was a nice writer. Samples of his penmanship still preserved today prove this point.
On July 17, 1861, Wash enlisted in the Civil War at Franklin as a private in Company K of the 6th U.S. Cavalry. He was one of the very early enlistees, entering just three months after the Fort Sumter shelling. He can probably be counted as one of President Lincoln’s 75,000 volunteers, which number he asked for after the Sumter incident.
Young Wash Richey served in several engagements of the war and served awhile as orderly to either Gen. Meade or Gen. Grant. Since Wash was discharged in 1864, the same year that Grant took command, it seems likely that Meade was the one. He was also a dispatch rider during part of the war, at Gettysburg in particular. About the only doctoring that Wash required during his war service was from Aug. 13 to 19, 1862, for exhaustion or debility.
It was necessary for him to do quite a bit of foraging during the war. At one particular time he and a few other soldiers were out doing this because they hadn’t eaten for a couple of days or longer. All they found was some corn meal. They built a fire, mixed the meal with water and prepared to boil it. However, they were so hungry that they couldn’t wait and they ate it without cooking.
At another time they found a pig and were taking it with them up the road. Suddenly Rebel cavalry appeared. Wash and the others took across the ditch and through a patch of woods. They were fired at but the shots missed. They did lose their pig in the affair.
Once they stopped at a house and asked a negro servant if she would cook something for them. This she did. While they were eating their lookout man ran in and said to get out because the rebels were coming. Wash picked up a piece of meat and rammed it into his pocket before running out.
He was discharged at Jordan Point, Va., on July 17, 1864, after serving exactly three years. A description of him in military records shows that he was 5 feet, 8 ½ inches in height, had sandy complexion, grey eyes, light brown hair, and a farmer by occupation. He came back to his father’s farm near Sunville and stayed and worked there.
On Jan. 20, 1870, he was married to Miss Mary Jane Grove of near Sunville. They ceremony was at Cherrytree by Rev. William Elliot, a Presbyterian minister. She was one of eight children of Rezin R. and Harriet Miles Groves, and was born on Dec. 5, 1848. She had beautiful red hair and brown eyes. She united with the Sunville Presbyterian Church on Feb. 15, 1868. They spent their few years of married life on his father’s farm, living probably in another house that was on that farm.
They had five children and were expecting their sixth when Mary Jane died unexpectedly on Sept. 29, 1881. The five children with their dates of births were: John Lincoln Richey, May 18, 1871; Norris Dixon Richey, April 29, 1873; Hattie Blanche Richey, June 24, 1875; Clinton B. Richey, Aug. 14, 1877; and Wealtha Mary Richey, May 29, 1880.
John was married to Miss Anna Mabel Borger at Sunville on June 25, 1896. They first lived in the Sunville area then last lived in Cooperstown. He was mainly an oil well driller, having drilled in Canada and Texas, besides local fields. He died on June 20, 1922, of apoplexy. Anna died in August, 1937. They had two daughters, Mrs. Mary Lepley and Mrs. Virginia Wood, both of Cooperstown. Mrs. Lepley is deceased.
Norris was married to Miss Margaret Cora Lynch of Drayton, N.D., on Nov. 16, 1910. Norris taught schools locally for years before departing to the West where he engaged in clerical work in the U.S. Indian Land Office. The couple first lived at Belcourt, N.D., and last lived at Anadarko, Okla. Norris died there on Dec. 12, 1949, and Mrs. Cora Richey still lives there. They had four children, all of who survive and are: Warren N. Richey of Houston, Tex., Mrs. Joan M. Gates and Mrs. Wealtha R. Harper of Artesia, N.M., and Mrs. Lucille M. Hall of Anadarko.
Blanche was married to Dr. Samuel Franklin Shakely at Franklin on Sept. 12, 1905. Dr. Shakely was a dentist and the family lived at Greenville, Pa., where he had his practice. Blanche died on July, 4, 1948, and Dr. Shakely is deceased also. They had two sons, John Shakely and Samuel F. Shakely Jr., both living in Oklahoma City, Okla.
Clinton was married to Miss Jennie Myrtle Morse of Chapmanville on March 30, 1902, at that village. They first lived in Folsom, W. Va., for about a year then lived a few years in Sunville. In 1912 they moved to Texas where they remained. Clinton was a Spanish-American War veteran. He was an oil well driller and contractor throughout his life. He died in Harlingen, Tex., on June 10, 1955. Mrs. Myrtle Richey still lives in Texas. They had three sons, all of whom live there and are: Raymond H. Richey of Alice, Tex., C. Glenroie Richey of San Antonio, Tex., and Norris A. Richey of Waslaco, Tex.
Wealtha was married to Ernest A. Randall of Union City. Mr. Randall was a cooper and an oil field worker. Wealtha was a school teacher for years and was a wonderful seamstress. She was quite a fleshy, but pretty lady. She died in Warren County on July 31, 1945. They had no children.
After the mother of these five children died in 1881, Blanche and Wealtha were reared by their grandfather and grandmother Grove. A couple of the boys were placed in an orphanage for a short while, then later they came back to Sunville. Quite often the motherless boys would stop at Mrs. Matthews house in Sunville on their way to school and she would help them get ready, such as combing their hair and preparing their dinners.
There was evidently a period of time that A.W. Richey was working away because an old news item states that one Sam Stearns had moved into his house on the John Richey farm.
At least, sometime later, Wash continued farming. He was a man who weighed 190 to 200 pounds and was a great reader of books and papers. He took a great interest in civic and political matter in his home area. He was one of four members of the building committee of the two-story Sunville Academy building in 1873, and served as one of its first two trustees.
He served as Plum Township clerk in 1866 and 67, and a term as township auditor, beginning in 1872.
A.W. Richey was apparently independent in politics. On Sept. 1, 1874, he was one of Plum Township’s delegates to the Democratic Convention of Venango County held at the Oil City Opera House. Then the next year, on Sept. 15, 1875, he was elected a delegate for Plum at the Prohibitionist Party Convention held at the City Hall on Franklin.
On Nov. 23, 1873, a day of inclement weather, A.W. was one of the six delegates from Plum attending a mass meeting in the Franklin Court House for the purpose of considering the proposed Constitution of the state. It was considered by those present to be a wise measure, and resolutions were approved.
On April 18, 1874, an attempt was made to organize a Grange of Plum farmers at Sunville with a full house present. Wash Richey served as president of this meeting. The Grange organized the following May 5 and existed for a while before disbandment.
Wash also took interest in the veterans organizations of the area. He was one of the original members of the Lieutenant Herron Command, No. 10, Union Veterans Union of Chapmanville, mustered Jan. 21, 1888. He was also a member of the Albert H. Jackson Post, No. 299, G.A.R., of Cooperstown.
He was a longtime member of the Myrtle Lodge of Masons in Franklin and also attended the literary societies held in Bradleytown and Sunville.
One time about 1900 a Memorial Day service was held in Sunville. It began with an indoor service in the Presbyterian Church, then concluded with an outdoor service in front of the McFadden house. Mrs. Susie Cowen Reib, now of Franklin, recalls of Wash giving a speech at this outdoor service. After his speech he started singing “Auld Lang Syne”.
He also served as one of the trustees of the Sunville Cemetery for years.
L.R. Davison of Sunville recalls of once going down with R. P. Seely to the Richey farm one day in May and Wash had his team and was planting corn. It was so cold that he had an overcoat on.
Wash took some interest in the oil business. He was a party to some leases, a couple of which will be mentioned here. In April, 1890, he was a partner with J. B. Jennings of Tidioute for oil prospects on the south 100 acres of Nicholas Ribb’s farm near Bradleytown.
There was once a well drilled in the right hand field of Wash’s farm, as one goes down, and it was somehow ruined by the drillers. According to the late J. S. McLaughlin, it had shown the best signs of oil of any of the wells on the farm. There were a couple or so oil wells on his farm that beared some oil.
Wash worked in the oil fields a great deal in his later years. He drilled some. For awhile he worked at Calorie Junction in the Butler County oil fields. J.O. Grove of Wallaceville remembers going with his grandfather to the Stearns place at Trout Run in the Lake Creek area, and Wash was cutting firewood for the boilers in the oil field there.
During the latter 1890’s Wash and his sons moved into a house right in Sunville where the present Wayne Wagner house now stands. The former house there had a two-story part in the center with a lower wing extending out on each side. The Richey men lived in the north end and for some time John Grove and his three sons lived in the south end. Grove was a brother-in-law to Wash.
A comical little story will be repeated here. It seems that a certain Sunville boy would occasionally get despondent spells and say he was going to commit suicide. One particular day he said to some other boys that he was going down to the creek west of Sunville and drown himself. The others boys said there was no use going so far; that they’d shoot him at Sunville (pretending to be serious). So they had this boy stand against Wash Richey’s barn and a rifle was secured. One aimed over the “victim’s” head and fired. Wash had been on his porch reading a newspaper and not paying attention to the lads of the village monkeying around. However, the shot brought him to his feet and he hurried out to where they were. The boys ran in all directions. They knew he meant business over such an escapade at that!
A.W. Richey generally had good health except that in the spring of 1867, while cutting wood, his axe glanced and made a serious wound in his left foot. About March 1, 1884, he again wounded the same foot while chopping wood and this time Dr. J. K. Crawford of Cooperstown had to remove the first phalanx of his big toe. Wash was also troubled with catarrah and rheumatism in his later years. In December, 1901, he contracted typhoid fever and had to be treated for that until February by Dr. W. J. Richey of Chapmanville.
Being in failing health, Wash decided to live at the Disabled Soldiers Home in Ohio. However, after being there a while he got homesick and took a train back to Franklin, then went back to Sunville.
He finally took down with Bright’s disease and for several days was in the Franklin Hospital. He was then taken to the home of his sister-in-law, Mrs. Jennie Grove, in Rocky Grove (who still lives there, aged 98), where he stayed a few days. He was finally taken back to his Sunville home where he died at 6 o’clock the morning of May 10, 1909.
Mrs. Daisy Ware of Cooperstown, who knew A.W. Richey quite well, recalls the funeral in his late home on May 12. Rev. O. C. Sherman of Chapmanville preached the sermon. He was buried in the Sunville Cemetery.

Transcribed by Chrissy Wolfgong

Disclaimer:there may be errors due to transcription of information from both early and late (current contributors) work.