Richard Williams was born on June 5, 1834, in Syracuse, New York, to Ebenezer and Mary Williams. His father was a carpenter who owned $1,800 of real estate and $50 of personal property by 1860. The family eventually moved to Newark, Ohio, and by 1860, he was also working as a carpenter.

 

He enlisted in the Union army on July 1, 1863, and he mustered in as a corporal in Company I of the 129^th Ohio Infantry on September 10. The regiment took part in the Knoxville campaign. He was reduced to the ranks on December 25, 1863, and he mustered out on March 7, 1864. He also served as an artificer in Company F of the 1^st United States Veteran Volunteer Engineers.

 

He returned to Newark after the war and resumed his work as a carpenter. He married Elizabeth H. Jenkins on March 24, 1866, and they had at least six children: Charles, born around 1867; Carrie, born around 1872; Grace, born around 1875; Claudia, born around 1879; David, born around 1880; and Walter, born around 1883. By 1870, he owned $3,000 of real estate and $200 of personal property. He applied for a federal pension in February 1888 and eventually received one. By 1890, he was suffering from deafness. He died of “bronchial catarrh” in Newark on December 10, 1902.

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