William M. Richardson was born around 1819 in New Hampshire to John and Olive Richardson. He married a woman named Lucy, and they had at least four children: Albert, born around 1844; Frederick, born around 1848; Charles, born around 1851; and Frank, born around 1853. They lived in Lisbon, New Hampshire, and Richardson worked as a miller. By 1860, he owned $2,000 of real estate and $675 of personal property. By 1870, he was running a grist mill, and he owned $4,000 of real estate and $1,000 of personal property. He died of “cancer of [the] parotid gland” in Lisbon on July 14, 1886.