Benjamin L. Richardson was born around November 1834 in Pennsylvania. He married a woman named Emma, and they had at least three children: William, born around 1859; Elizabeth, born around 1860; Joseph, born around 1864; and Hamilton, born around 1869. They lived in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, and Richardson worked as a farmer. In 1860, he owned $3,000 of real estate and $350 of personal property. A decade later, he owned $10,000 of real estate and $800 of personal property. He died of paralysis in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, on July 26, 1897.