Applewhite Richardson: Unusual Name Passed Down for Generations

This entry is part of the 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks series.  This week’s prompt is UNUSUAL NAME.  To see other posts in this series, view my 52 Ancestors in 2019 index


In a tree filled with common English names, one stands out — my 5x great-grandfather Applewhite Richardson.

Applewhite Richardson was born before 1756,¹ possibly in North Carolina to parents Thomas Richardson and Amy Applewhite.²  It appears he was named for his mother’s maiden name, Applewhite or Applewhaite — an English surname from the Old Norse words apaldr (“apple tree”) and þveit (“meadow”).³

Like many of my distant ancestors, I only know of Applewhite through the records he left behind.  He lived in very interesting times, coming of age in the days before the American Revolution.  I have found no evidence he served in a military capacity, but the Daughters of the American Revolution does recognize Applewhite as a patriot for his civil service as a Grand Juror in Johnston County, North Carolina, in 1782.⁴  This service was Applewhite’s first of many appearances in Johnston County’s court minutes.  He appears frequently as a juror from 1782 through 1802.⁵

The court minutes also capture other important transactions for Applewhite, including the execution of an apprentice bond for three children of color.  An excerpt of the court minutes from November 25, 1806:

“Ordered that Queen Morgan a Child of Color of Vine Morgan be bound apprentice to Applewhite Richardson until She arrives to the age of Eighteen Years, She being five years old on the 19th day of February last, to be taught the business of Spining [sic] & whereupon Indentures were executed And at the Same time Said Richardson Came into Court & entered into bond in the Sum of Two Hundred & fifty pounds Current Money, with Thomas ONiel & Freeman Killingsworth Jun. his Securities, to Produce Said Child to this Court, hereafter if required agreeably to Law.”

“Ordered that Joe Morgan a Child of Color of Vine Morgan be bound apprentice to Applewhite Richardson until He arrives to the age of Twenty One Years, he being four years old on the 18th day of February last, to be taught the business of farming & whereupon Indentures were Executed, And at the Same time Said Richardson Came into Court & entered into bond in the Sum of Two Hundred & fifty pounds Current Money, with Thomas ONiel & Freeman Killingsworth Jun. his Securities, to Produce Said Child to this Court, hereafter if required agreeably to Law.”

“Ordered that Miley Morgan a Child of Color of Vine Morgan be bound apprentice to Applewhite Richardson until She arrives to the age of Eighteen Years, She being two years old on the Sixth day of August last, to be taught the business of Spining [sic] & whereupon Indentures were executed And at the Same time Said Richardson Came into Court & entered into bond in the Sum of Two Hundred & fifty pounds Current Money, with Thomas ONiel & Freeman Killingsworth Jun. his Securities, to Produce Said Child to this Court hereafter, if required agreeably to Law.”⁶

To my modern eyes, it appeared Applewhite was buying three young black children, and I wondered how exactly this arrangement differed from slavery, if at all.  I have other ancestors who owned slaves, but seeing these children named — and around the age of my own youngest child — made me want to understand their circumstances.  A blog series on the history of apprenticeships from the State Library of North Carolina’s Government and Heritage Library answered my questions.

Orphans, children born out of wedlock, and free black children whose families could not care for them were often “bound out” to an apprentice master who cared for them and taught them a trade in exchange for their service through a certain age (usually 18 or 21 years of age).⁷  This arrangement was sometimes voluntary and a way for poor families to obtain education and skills for their children; other times it was compulsory and a form of social welfare.⁸  At the time of this apprenticeship, several laws protected children.  After 1733, laws prevented apprentice masters from forcing free blacks to serve past the age of maturity (21 years old).⁹  Applewhite would also have been required to teach the children to read and write per a 1755 law.¹⁰

However, Applewhite died just a few years later.  Johnston County court minutes from November 27, 1809, state Nancy Richardson, wife of Applewhite Richardson, relinquished her rights as administrator of her deceased husband’s estate, and sons Bryan and Jonathan Richardson were appointed administrators instead.¹¹  This probate action places Applewhite’s date of death before November 27, 1809.

It is from Applewhite’s probate records and Nancy’s 1815 will abstract that I’m able to construct an accurate listing of their family.  Applewhite and Nancy had 11 children (not listed in any order):¹²

  • Barsheba Richardson, who married Thomas O’Neal
  • Sally Richardson, who married Warren O’Neal
  • Elizabeth “Betsy” Richardson, who married James O’Neal
  • Olive Richardson, who married John Chamblee
  • Suzanna Richardson, who married Unknown Bunn
  • Cynthia Richardson, who married Unknown Hocut
  • Nancy Richardson
  • Applewhite “A.W” Richardson
  • Jonathan Richardson
  • Bryan Richardson
  • Samuel Richardson (from whom I descend)

Applewhite Richardson’s name has lived on through the generations.  Applewhite’s son Applewhite — known most frequently in records as “A.W.” — named one of his own sons Applewhite.¹³  This Applewhite served in the 24th North Carolina Infantry during the Civil War.¹⁴ Other collateral lines of Richardsons who migrated with my family through Sumter County, Alabama, and Freestone County, Texas, honored Applewhite by giving their children this unusual name, preserving the memory of this family patriarch for generations.


¹ Approximate date of birth calculated from 1800 census.
1800 U.S. Census, Johnston County, North Carolina, population schedule, no page number, line 16, Applewhite Richardson; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7590/4440860_00711/320471 : accessed 20 Jan 2019); citing NARA microfilm publication M32, roll 31.

² Only derivative evidence has been found for Applewhite’s parents:
“Family Data Collection – Births,” database, Edmund West, compiler, Ancestry.com (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?indiv=1&dbid=5769&h=3753828&ssrc=pt&tid=49495569&pid=28204298420&usePUB=true : accessed 20 Jan 2019), entry for “Applewhite Richardson.”

³ Patrick Hanks, Dictionary of American Family Names (New York: Oxford University Press, 2003).

⁴ “Genealogical Research System Ancestor Search,” database, Daughters of the American Revolution, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (http://services.dar.org/Public/DAR_Research/search_adb/default.cfm : accessed 19 Jan 2019), entry for Applewhite Richardson.”

⁵ Weynette Parks Haun, Johnston County North Carolina County Court Minutes, 18 vols. (Durham, North Carolina: Johnston County North Carolina Genealogical Society, 1975), vol. 3-8.

⁶ Weynette Parks Haun, Johnston County North Carolina County Court Minutes. (Durham, North Carolina: Johnston County North Carolina Genealogical Society, 1975), vol. 7:76-77.

⁷ State Library of North Carolina, Government and Heritage Library Blog (https://statelibrarync.org/news/2013/01/the-history-of-apprenticeships-in-north-carolina-part-1/ : accessed 19 Jan 2019), “The History of Apprenticeships in North Carolina, Part 1.”

⁸ State Library of North Carolina, Government and Heritage Library Blog (https://statelibrarync.org/news/2013/02/the-history-of-apprenticeships-in-north-carolina-part-2/ : accessed 19 Jan 2019), “The History of Apprenticeships in North Carolina, Part 2.”

Ibid.

¹⁰ Ibid.

¹¹ Johnston County, North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, not numbered, Applewhite Richardson (1810), February 1810; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/9061/007661560_00752/2626743 : accessed 20 Jan 2019).

¹² Johnston County, North Carolina, Wills and Probate Records, not numbered, Applewhite Richardson (1810), February 1810; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/9061/007661560_00752/2626743 : accessed 20 Jan 2019).
Elizabeth E. Ross, Johnston County North Carolina Will Abstracts, 1746-1870 (Clayton, North Carolina: self-published, 1991), 90, citing will abstract of Nancy Richardson.

¹³ 1860 U.S. census, Johnston County, North Carolina, population schedule, Neuse River, p. 69 (penned), dwelling 545, family 526, Applewhite Richardson in household of A.W. Richardson; image, Ancestry.com (https://www.ancestry.com/interactive/7667/4237508_00357 : accessed 21 Jan 2019); citing NARA microfilm publication M643, roll 903.

¹⁴ Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of North Carolina,” database with images, Fold3 (http://www.fold3.com : accessed 21 Jan 2019), “Applewhite Richardson,” NA catalog identifier 586957; citing Record Group 109, Roll 310; Carded Records Showing Military Service of Soldiers Who Fought in Confederate Organizations, compiled 1903-1927, documenting the period 1861-1865.

10 thoughts on “Applewhite Richardson: Unusual Name Passed Down for Generations”

  1. Hello Jessica – I came across your blog as I have been researching my ancestry and Applewhite Richardson. Based on Ancestry DNA matches and research done by myself & those before me, it appears that I also descend from Applewhite Richardson. While some relatives traced our lineage back to Applewhite’s son, Bertie, I believe that is incorrect because Bertie and my 2nd Great Grandfather, Stokes Richardson, were only about 8 years apart in age. In reviewing the 1840 census, Applewhite had both slaves and free blacks in the age range that fit Stokes at that time, as well as someone who could have been his mother. I’ve been told her name was Sarah, but I no additional information on her. I’m reaching out to you to ask if you have come across any information or records that name the slaves/free blacks that were owned by and/or worked for Applewhite Richardson. Any information you can share would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance! -ask

    1. hi, my name is warren hill and he is my 5th grandfather
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      dock richardson
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      burtie c. burty richardson
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      Applewhite W. Jr Richardson, Jr.
      his father
      applewhite O richardson
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      thomas richardson

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      Applewhite W. Jr Richardson, Jr.
      Born: Oct 17 1801 In: Wendell, Johnston County, North Carolina, USA
      Died: Apr 28 1875 (at age 73) In: Wendell, Johnston County, North Carolina, USA

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      Immediate family

      Willy “Willie” Houlder
      His wife

      burtie c. burty richardson
      His son

      William H. Richardson
      His son

      Josiah Applewhite A Richardson
      His son

      Jonathan H. Richardson
      His son

      Emily A. Richardson
      His daughter

      Martha Jane Holder
      His daughter

      Ruffin Hackney Richardson
      His son

      Augustus J Richardson
      His son

      Catherine Jane Richardson
      His daughter

      Martha E. Stone
      His wife

      Sebastian Makon Richardson
      His son

      Nerestian R. Richardson
      His son

      Sidney Atlas Richardson
      His son

      Julia Carline Richardson
      His daughter

      Silas Egbert Richardson
      His son

      Virginia R. Richardson
      His daughter

      Mary Isabella Richardson
      His daughter

      Robert Edward Lee Richardson
      His son

      Charlie Harris Richardson
      His son

      Celia Holder
      His wife

      Temperance Whitley
      His daughter

      Josiah Whitley
      His son

      Everett D Whitley
      His son

      Bryan H. Richardson
      His son

      Applewhite W. Richardson
      His son

      Albert Harris Richardson
      His son

      Rhoda E. Richardson
      His daughter

      Applewhite O. Richardson, Sr.
      His father

      Nancy B BRYANT
      His mother

      Olivia Richardson
      His sister

      Barsheba RICHARDSON
      His sister

      Jonathan Richardson
      His brother

      Sarah L Richardson
      His sister

      Sally Sarah Richardson
      His sister

      Sally Richardson
      His sister

      Sally Richardson
      His sister

      William Bryant Richardson
      His brother

      susanna richardson
      His sister

      Elizabeth Richardson
      His sister

      Samuel Garthon Richardson
      His brother

      Cynthia Richardson
      His sister

      Cynthia Richardson
      His sister

      Nancy Byrant Richardson
      His sister
      Education
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      Favoriteswhill2@mail.ccsf.edu

  2. I too descend from the eldest Applewhite. I come down through Sally And Warren O’Neal. Great post! Thanks for sharing.

    1. I am researching Applewhite and his daughter Susanna. A friend is researching William ONeal who married Sally. Do you have any information on William and Sally? I am trying to find a connection of my brick wall ancestor, Andrew Richardson, born in 1783. My friend is descended from William and Sally, then William Warren ONeal.
      Any information on either of these daughters of Applewhite would be appreciated. Thanks

  3. I descend from Applewhite Richardson from my father’s O’Neals and my mother’s Chamblees. I went to visit Mr. John Richardson (well into his 90s at the old home I understand was built by his Richardson ancestors. Inside was a wall portrait of Applewhite Richardson II according to Mr. Richardson. I took a picture of it… no telling where the original is now

    1. hi, he is also my 5x grandfather on my mother side. i i have a picture also and im trying to find one on his father.

  4. Applewhite and Martha Stone were my great great grandparents my great grandmother was Virginia Rebecca Richardson Strickland and my grandmother by birth was Eunice Strickland Evans Eunice Evans died in 1920

  5. Hey there! Applewhite “AW” Richardson (jr) is my 5th great grandfather. His daughter Martha Jane Richardson (of Willy) had a daughter named Anica O’Neal that married Garfield Holder. Garfield Holder married Savannah Hinnant, who gave birth to Lillian (Lukell) Holder -my grandmother. If I can contact you for further info that would be great!

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