After having his trial dismissed, Charles visited Esther and her children in Henefer. From there he went to Mesa, Arizona where he stayed with Louisa’s family a short time before traveling on to Mexico where Agnes and her children were waiting. In Mexico, Charles purchased a ranch two and one-half miles northeast of Colonia Diaz. He was the first to establish a ranch in the area and move his family there. Somewhere around 1889 he built a house that was a smaller replica of the Big House in Henefer. Next to the house was a windmill surrounded by trees and shrubs and a pool. Located some distance east of the house were adobe corrals where the dairy herd was milked. There were no water rights, just rain, so it was quite different form his irrigated ground in Henefer.

Esther Goes to Mexico for a Short Time

On September 13, 1890, Charles returned to Henefer to sell the Big House and what remained of his property. William H. Bennett purchased the house and some of his farm land. The Big House changed hands a number of times and was later torn down. Charles convinced Esther and some of her children to return to Mexico with him. Emeline and Hannah were married and Madison was ready to get married, so they declined to accompany him. Esther and her children Parley, Hosea, and Noble accompanied Charles to Deming, New Mexico, by train and from there to Colonia Diaz, Mexico, a distance of 100 miles by wagon.

Charles chose a spot on his ranch for Esther to live and started hauling adobe bricks to build her a house. Esther didn't want to go to Mexico in the first place and after she was there a month she became homesick for her children in Henefer. She told Charles, “I've got three married children in Henefer and three here and I’ll return to Henefer and take these three with me.” Charles counseled with Anthony W. Ivins, President of the mission, concerning the matter and the decision was made that Esther would return to Henefer.

Charles gave Esther $400 when she left Mexico and she traveled by train back to Henefer with Hosea and Noble. Parley stayed for about a year and a half to help his father before also returning to Henefer by train. He said his responsibility was to herd the cattle while he was on the ranch in Mexico. He was fourteen at the time. Five years later in 1898 Charles wrote asking Parley to come to Mexico to help him on the ranch, as Jesse had been called on a mission. Parley returned to Mexico and helped his father for eight months.

Louisa in Mesa

As stated earlier, Louisa purchased five acres of property in Mesa with the money Charles gave her. Despite owning the property she always made her home with Joseph and Prudence who lived near by. She was affectionately known in Mesa as “Grandma Richins.” She continued her earlier practice of medicine and was a midwife who was trusted by all whom she assisted. When notified of illness in a home, Joseph would often take her to that home in a wagon with steel rimmed wheels.

Louisa was a good cook. Her specialty was baking big, light-brown loaves of bread. She also made butter and cheese, an art she learned while living in the Big House. Louisa loved to read, especially church books and newspapers from Salt Lake City and England. She was small in stature and always neatly dressed. She usually wore a blouse and skirt or a very plain dress, dark laced shoes and a sunbonnet with slat stays to hold it away from her face.

Louisa went into Mexico on several occasions to visit Charles, Agnes, and their family, as well as her son Orson Oriel and his families who were living in Colonia Diaz. She traveled by train to Colonia Dublan where she was met by one of the family to take her from there to Colonia Diaz. One time Louisa was met by Parley, son of Esther, who did not know her. He used a small picture given him by his father to identify her as she got off the train.

In March, 1902, Louisa returned to Mesa from her last visit to Mexico just in time to assist her daughter Prudence in giving birth to a baby girl. She loved her children and her grandchildren. She had 10 children, 5 boys and 5 girls. Three of her sons and two of her daughters had families of their own. She died of a stroke on April 28, 1902, approximately one month after her return from Mexico. Louisa was buried in Mesa, Arizona. Her granddaughter, Naoma Bond Ball, penned this tribute to her which she must have gotten from older family members because she was only a month old at the time of Louisa’s death:

“Grandma Louise Richins was known to everyone who lived in Mesa. Just to know her was to love her. Her life was indeed a busy and useful one. She was always willing to help those in need, even in her advanced years. She was a staunch member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She lived the gospel faithfully and served the church well.”