Henry was the younger of the two sons born to Thomas Richins and Sarah. His brother, Thomas, was two years his senior. They were probably young boys when they moved to Painswick with their parents.
For many years, the Richins family has searched, without success, to find the birthplace of Thomas and Henry and the marriage of their parents, Thomas Richins and Sarah. There was a Temple Index Bureau (T.I.B.) card that stated Henry Richins was born April 9, 1769 at Rodbury. Another card had no date of birth, but listed him as being born in Rodbury. In all of our searching, we have not been able to find Rodbury. The 1841 census states Henry was born in the county of Gloucestershire, England, but there is no parish of Rodbury listed in the index of parishes. An index of towns in Gloucestershire did not have a Rodbury, but we still hope and search.
We have verified that Henry was born in the year 1769 by his age on his death certificate. We also were able to set Thomas’ year of birth as 1767 by his age on his marriage license or allegation. There were no Richins entries in the Painswick Parish Record until 1790, when the burial of Sarah Richins, wife of Thomas Richins, was recorded on May 28, 1790. By then, Henry was a young man of 21 years. He was then of age to receive his inheritance of five pounds from his grandfather, John Richins. Five pounds may not sound like much on today’s market, but it was a respectable sum in those days and certainly helped him to get a start in life.
The following year, 1791, Henry’s brother, Thomas, was married by license to Ann Wilkins. He had to pay a bond of several hundred pounds, but he did not have to wait the four weeks while his coming marriage was publicized. The allegation listed Thomas as age 24, a bachelor and a yeoman of Painswick. A yeoman was a gentleman farmer who held a small estate in the country. We can see that Thomas, being the eldest son and heir, had a great advantage over Henry, who was a farm laborer.
Henry was 23 when he sought the hand of Sarah Haynes in marriage. She was the daughter of Edward Haynes and Ann Cook. She was 22, having been christened at Painswick October 21, 1770. Henry could not afford to be married by license, so they were married by banns and waited out the required four weeks while their intentions to be married were announced in church. The purpose of banns was to allow anyone who might oppose the marriage the chance to present their opposition before the marriage took place. Since no one objected the Vicar of Painswick, the Reverend John Moseley, married them on April 10, 1792 at he parish church,. Sarah’s father, Edward Haynes, was one of the witnesses and there were probably other family members present to wish them happiness.
Neither Henry nor Sarah could read or write, so they had to place the usual “X” by their names. Edward Haynes also placed an “X” by his name. There were no national schools until 1870 and schooling was not required or thought important. Parents were more concerned that their children received training in a labor or trade and find employment than be in a schoolroom learning to read and write. It has been told that Henry was concerned about education and one of his sons attended Oxford, but Sarah and Henry were a generation too soon.
After the marriage, Henry took his new bride to Sheepscombe to live. It was a beautiful country with green rolling hills crowned by trees and woods and forests. In early morning, sometimes the mist lays low among the trees and as the sun broke forth above the treetops, it turned the meadows a brilliant green. The cottages reflected the sun and wisps of curling smoke rose from the chimneys as the families prepared to meet another day. Sheepscombe was an isolated village north of Painswick, but included in the parish.
There were two large estates that required farm laborers, the Manor of Sheepscombe, which included part of Cranham and the Ebworth estate that consisted of 300 acres of land and a substantial gable house from the early 17th century and a contemporary stable block. In 1715, the house was heightened and enlarged during remodeling. It was sold many times from 1715 to 1800 and each owner made his own alterations to the house and stables. Most of the owners held large estates and homes in other cities and used Ebworth as a country estate for fox hunting and fishing. It had a game park patrolled by game keepers to protect the game and fish from encroachment by the public.
Henry apparently obtained employment at the Ebworth estate, for according to the 1841 census, Henry and Sarah were living at Ebworth Park in House #196. (It was the custom of the Lords of Manors and the gentry with large estates, to build houses for the tenant farmers and farm laborers. The house would have included a garden spot, ranging from a small plot to several acres and they also had the privilege of pasturing a few cattle on the commons, for which they paid rent or lease.
Ebworth was north of Sheepsombe village and was bounded on the north by the Sheepscombe stream that divides it from Cranham. Brookthrape and Harrescombe lie to the west, Miserden (home of the Wagers) is on the east and southwest is Painswick. This is the heart of the Cotswold country, known for its beauty and the Cotswold stone—a soft sandstone pushed up from the sea. It was easy to cut and work with, but has also proven very durable. Most of the homes and buildings are several hundred years old. The post office at Painswick dates back to 1428. The stone ranges in color from soft grays at Painswick to the golden honey hue of Stanton, often called the most beautiful village in England. The weathering and moss has etched beautiful designs and markings in the stone.
Henry and Sarah settled in their home with a few sheep and cattle to pasture on the commons and several acres of ground to grow crops and though the wages were low, they were able to manage and raise a family. Their first child was their daughter, Sarah. Since there was no church at Sheepscombe, they had to travel several miles to Painswick to have her christened at the Painswick church on June 9, 1793. The Reverend John Moseley, who had married them, performed the christening. Sarah was followed by another daughter, Elizabeth, who was christened on February 3, 1798 by a curate, as Reverend Moseley had passed away.
One wonders how they traveled to Painswick in the cold winter with a newborn baby. Most children were christened soon after birth as possible because they were warned that if the baby died before it was baptized, it would burn eternally in hell. What anguish this teaching must have caused! Christening was their form of baptism. The baby’s head was held over the font, which held the holy water, and the minister dipped his fingers into the water, sprinkled the baby’s head and gave it it’s name at the time of baptism.
Henry and Sarah took Elizabeth in the cold winter to be christened. Some farmers had a cart that was pulled by a small horse to take products to market and used it to travel if they had to go far. Did they borrow a cart or did they walk? Most people in the working class walked. Sarah probably wore patterns in the mud and snow, which consisted of wooden soles mounted on iron rings that raised the shoes above the mud.
With each new child, Henry probably wished for a son. It was important in England to have a son to carry on the family name. So we can imagine how pleased he was when the next child was a boy. He was christened March 26, 1800 and given the name of Richard. Usually the first son was named after the father or a grandfather. Was Richard the name of his mother’s father? Or a friend? It would be someone who was close or dear to them. He also was christened by the curate.
Another son was born to Henry and Sarah during these troubled years. He was named Henry, after his father. He was christened on Christmas day, December 25, 1802, by the acting curate. Three years later a daughter was born. She was christened and received the name Meriam on November 11, 1805. Child number six was William who was born at Sheepscombe, December 27, 1806 and christened February 15, 1807 at Painswick. Their seventh and last child was Joseph. He was christened September 2, 1810 at Painswick. Henry and Sarah raised their children through trying times. The anger and feelings in the Church weakened the parish spiritually and the rough environment of Sheepscombe must have given them grave concern. There was also the depression, the industrial revolution, plagues, disease and war to cause them worry.
Except for Sarah (their first child), Henry’s and Sarah’s family reached maturity and married. We can find no other entry for Sarah after her christening and therefore feel she must have died young. Following is a brief synopsis of Henry’s and Sarah’s other children:
With the closing of the mills, did they move to a more industrial area to get employment? The Richins Surname Association has searched the 1851 census of England to try to find them, to no avail. We have also searched the surrounding areas, without success. Many families emigrated at this time—did they emigrate? We are still hoping to find them....
With all the children married and in homes of their own, Sarah’s younger sister, Hannah Haynes, who never married, went to live with Henry and Sarah. She must have been a great help to them. One wonders how they traveled to Painswick in the cold winter with a newborn baby. Most children were christened soon after birth as possible because they were warned that if the baby died before it was baptized, it would burn eternally in hell. What anguish this teaching must have caused! Christening was their form of baptism. The baby’s head was held over the font, which held the holy water, and the minister dipped his fingers into the water, sprinkled the baby’s head and gave it it’s name at the time of baptism.
Henry and Sarah took Elizabeth in the cold winter to be christened. Some farmers had a cart that was pulled by a small horse to take products to market and used it to travel if they had to go far. Did they borrow a cart or did they walk? Most people in the working class walked. Sarah probably wore patterns in the mud and snow, which consisted of wooden soles mounted on iron rings that raised the shoes above the mud.
With each new child, Henry probably wished for a son. It was important in England to have a son to carry on the family name. So we can imagine how pleased he was when the next child was a boy. He was christened March 26, 1800 and given the name of Richard. Usually the first son was named after the father or a grandfather. Was Richard the name of his mother’s father? Or a friend? It would be someone who was close or dear to them. He also was christened by the curate.
Another son was born to Henry and Sarah during these troubled years. He was named Henry, after his father. He was christened on Christmas day, December 25, 1802, by the acting curate. Three years later a daughter was born. She was christened and received the name Meriam on November 11, 1805. Child number six was William who was born at Sheepscombe, December 27, 1806 and christened February 15, 1807 at Painswick. Their seventh and last child was Joseph. He was christened September 2, 1810 at Painswick. Henry and Sarah raised their children through trying times. The anger and feelings in the Church weakened the parish spiritually and the rough environment of Sheepscombe must have given them grave concern. There was also the depression, the industrial revolution, plagues, disease and war to cause them worry.
In 1843, Henry developed gangrene in his leg. There is no indication of the cause. He was still listed as an agricultural laborer, so it may have resulted from a farm accident. Without sterile dressings and drugs to combat infection, gangrene caused many deaths. Henry fought his infection for four months before passing away on April 23, 1843 at the age of 74 years. John Lambe was present at his death. Was he a doctor who had come to ease his pain? Or even amputate his leg? Morphine was available to ease pain and for use as a sedative. Henry was buried April 30, 1843.
Sarah, left bereaved and a widow, had yet another sorrow to pass through—she sat by her son, Richard, and watched him die from intemperance on November 8, 1848, leaving five orphaned sons. The following spring Sarah was at the home of Richard’s son, Charles Richins when she passed away on April 1, 1849. She was buried April 8, 1849.
It is interesting that both Henry and Sarah were buried one week after their deaths. There was no means to keep a body that long without deterioration. I wonder if the delay in providing for their burial was because of the Mormon missionaries teaching the Richins family. In many parishes, the ministers refused to bury a member of a Mormon’s family in the churchyard. I wonder if this was the situation, that they hesitated because the Richins were being taught the gospel by the Mormon missionaries.
In Luke 8, Jesus tells the parable of the sower. In verse eight, He said, “Other seeds fell on good ground and sprang up and bear fruits an hundredfold.”
The seed of the gospel found fertile soil in the Richins family. The gospel was introduced in the British Isles in 1837. The Twelve Apostles, according to revelation, were to lay the cornerstones of the Far West temple and leave for their missions to England. The anti-Mormon mobs bragged it was one of "Joe Smith’s" revelations that would not be fulfilled.
The Apostles laid the cornerstones without incident, but Satan was determined to stop them from going on their missions to England. They were attacked by illness and so were there families. Some of the men had no money to pay for their passage to England. The Lord allowed them to be tested. They placed the sick families in the hands of the Lord and though too sick to walk, set forth to fulfill their calls from the Lord.
They left without purse or script, but were given money and clothing along the way. As we see the results, we can understand why Satan tried to stop them. Branches of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints were organized in Liverpool and spread outward across England. Wilford Woodruff was teaching the gospel in Stanley, Stratfordshire, when the spirit told him to go south—that there were people who were praying for guidance. Although he was having success in Stratfordshire, he bid them farewell and traveled south to Herdfordhshire.
Upon his arrival there, he found a whole congregation of United brethren who had become dissatisfied with the Wesleyan Methodist Church and had formed a church of their own and were praying for guidance. Wilford Woodruff and his fellow missionaries were able to baptize all of them but one. Miracles followed their conversion. He then opened the counties of Worcester and Gloucestershire for teaching the gospel. The Cheltham Conference was organized in 1840, whereupon Charles Shill and Elder Blackwell were sent to the area of Painswick, Syde and Sheepscombe.
They found fertile ground in the Richins family as well as the families they had married into. These were choice spirits that our Heavenly Father sent at that time to strengthen the Church. There had been a spirit of apostasy in Kirtland, Ohio—even some of the Twelve Apostles had apostatized and joined the enemy. These faithful converts strengthened the Church by traveling to Zion and faithfully serving wherever they were called.
The first of the Richins to be baptized was Charles, son of Richard and Priscilla. He was baptized by Charles Shill, December 26, 1849. He was ordained a priest on June 1, 1850 and was able to baptize his cousin Leonard Richins, son of William, on July 7, 1850.
Charles Shill baptized William and Charlotte Guy Richins on January 1, 1850. Their children, besides Leonard and Peter, were baptized as follows: Meriam, November 3, 1856 by Robert Jones; Joseph, January 1, 1850 and confirmed January 3, by Charles Blackwell; Enoch, April 21, 1850 by Charles Blackwell. William was ordained an Elder on August 27, 1854 by J. W. Edwards. William emigrated to the United States in 1866.
In addition to Charles, Richard’s other surviving sons were also converted. Thomas was baptized January 1, 1850 by Charles Shill and confirmed January 5, 1850 by William Davis. Edward was baptized February 28, 1853 by George Humphries and confirmed March 2, 1853. John was baptized February 5, 1854 by George Taylor and confirmed February 12, 1854 by William Edgeworth.
The Savior gave the interpretation of the sower in Luke chapter 8, verse 15: “But on the good ground are they which in honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.” How proudly we should carry the name of Richins.