James H. Richardson (1831-1900) was born in Chesapeake, Virginia, and died in Portsmouth, Virginia. He was a Civil War veteran, serving in Company C, 16th Virginia Volunteer Infantry Regiment of the Confederate States Army. After the war, he operated a saloon in Portsmouth before becoming a carpenter in a shipyard. In early 1885, his wife, Mattie, wrote to Mary Baker Eddy, asking her to help heal him.

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