Jane Richards

Jane McBride was born about 1815, possibly at Sugar Creek, Tuscarawas County, Ohio. She married Phineas Howe Richards on 22 June 1871 Salt Lake City, Salt Lake County, Utah Territory.

Finding Jane McBride

Mormon Pioneer Overland Travel shows three Jane McBrides crossing the plains. The first would have been 12 in June 1871, too young to be married. The second crossed the plains with her parents as part of the ill-fated Martin Handcart Company and is well-documented throughout her life; she was almost certainly not ever married to Richards. The third emigrated to Utah with parents and siblings and is the best candidate of the three for having been the woman who married Richards, in spite of the conflicting dates of birth and death. Further research has eliminated her as a candidate for eventual marriage to Richards, as she died in 1851. 1. McBride, Jane; Birth Date: 9 April 1859; Death Date: 3 January 1935; Simpson M. Molen Company (1868), Age 9.

2. McBride, Janetta Ann; Birth Date: 24 December 1839; Death Date: 29 December 1924; Edward Martin Company (1856), Age 16.

3. McBride, Mary Jane; Birth Date: 15 February 1834; Death Date: 14 September 1851; Willard Richards Company (1848), Age 15. Her family group:

McBride, William, age 41 (22 March 1807 - 6 March 1895)
McBride, Elizabeth Harris Ball Boorham, age 36 (7 January 1812 - 1 October 1898)
McBride, Oliver Stephen, age 12 (29 August 1835 - 10 February 1922)
McBride, Susan Ellen, age 11 (29 July 1836 - 24 July 1911)
McBride, Rebecca Ann, age 9 (28 August 1838 - 13 July 1920)
McBride, James Andrew, age 7 (29 November 1840 - 22 December 1922)
Mary Jane was not enumerated in her father's family in the 1850 Census; she had probably married and moved into her own home. If so, this was a marriage prior to her 1871 marriage to Richards. A biography of her father shows him born in Sugar Creek, Ohio, further supporting her candidacy as the eventual wife of Phineas Howe Richards. Further research shows that Mary Jane McBride, daughter of William McBride and Elizabeth Booram, married Egerton Snider in 1850 at age 16. She died 13 Sep 1851 (age 17) after giving birth to her daughter.

Find-A-Grave was less than helpful in identifying Jane. All candidates returned under searches for McBride and/or Richards as the surname were eliminated. It is possible that her grave has not yet (as of May 2014) been entered into Find-A-Grave, or that she married someone after Richards and changed her surname.

LDS records at FamilySearch.org show that the last wife of Phineas (Phinehas) Howe Richards died in 1850 - 21 years prior to their marriage. Other than this obviously incorrect date of death, there is no further information available. It appears that the records of several women who shared similar names have been confused in the FamilySearch database.

If Jane were truly born in 1815, she would have been 56 at the time of her marriage to Richards. It would be very unusual for an LDS pioneer woman to have remained unmarried til her middle fifties. It's more likely that she was either born later than 1815, or that she had at least one prior marriage.

Another possibility worth pursuing is that Jane was born in Utah, in which case her earliest possible birthdate would be 1847.