Mary Richards was born in Massachusetts on February 22, 1798. Her father was Giles Richards (1754-1829), who had substantial interests in textile manufacturing in the Boston vicinity. Mary's mother was Sarah (Adams) Richards (1769-1836).
Mary's older sister, Sarah, married Massachusetts resident Amos Lawrence (1786-1852), a prosperous textile merchant and philanthropist. Their sons included Amos Adams Lawrence (1814-1886), who promoted anti-slavery settlement of Territorial Kansas and became the namesake of Lawrence, Kansas and Lawrence University (later Lawrence College) at Appleton, Wisconsin. William R. Lawrence, brother of Amos Adams Lawrence, edited and published a book of their father's writings in 1855, titled Extracts from the diary and correspondence of the late Amos Lawrence.
Mary's brother Giles Richards (1792-1876) became a highly successful pioneer in the textile industry of southwestern Ohio, where he resided near Venice with his wife Eleanor and daughter Elizabeth. A book by Ophia Smith, The Life and Times of Giles Richards, is based upon a manuscript collection found in their Ohio home.
From the guide to the Mary Richards letters to her brother Giles Richards, 1836, (University of Kansas Kenneth Spencer Research Library Kansas Collection)
