Mr Joseph James Richards1 was born at 14 Spa Road in Southampton, Hampshire, England on 29 July 1882.
He was the son of a Welsh father, Henry William Richards (b. 1840 in Newport, Monmouthshire), a baker, and an English mother, Eliza Hart (b. 1850 in Southampton) who were married in 1876. His mother had a child from a previous relationship, Julia, but was never married to the child’s father.
Joseph had eight siblings: Henry John (b. 1876), Theresa Eliza (b. 1878), Eliza Laura Jane (b. 1880), Ellen (b. 1884), Anna Alice (b. 1886), William George (b. 1889), Charles (b. 1891) and half-sister Julia (b. 1867).
His family were shown living at 14 Spa Road, Southampton on 1881 census. On the 1891 census, when Joseph first appears, he and his family were residing at 2 Morses (?) Court, St Mary Southampton. They would move to 54 Bond Street in the same city by the time of the 1901 census but Joseph was absent, presumably at sea. He would again be absent from the 1911 census when his family were living at 34 Belvedere Terrace, Southampton.
Joseph was married on 22 May 1911 to Florence Aline Jones2 (b. 13 August 1884 in Ryde, Isle of Wight). The couple had had their son Joseph Henry Lewis Richards Jones a few months previously. Another son, Harry, was born in early 1912.
When he signed-on to the Titanic on 6 April 1912, Richards gave his address as 25 Summers Street, Southampton. His previous ship had been the Olympic and as a fireman he received monthly wages of £6.
Joseph James Richards was lost in the sinking and his body, if recovered, was never identified. The following death notice appeared in the Hampshire Independent (unknown date):
RICHARDS--April 15th, 1912, at sea, through the foundering of the s.s. Titanic, Joseph, the dearly beloved husband of Florence Richards, of 25, Summers Street, Northam. In the midst of life we are in death.
He is remembered on the St Augustine's Church Memorial, Southampton.
His father died in 1922 and his mother in 1924, both in Southampton. His widow Florence was remarried in 1913 to William Daniels (b. 17 March 1887), a ship’s cook, and was still living at 25 Summers Street by 1939. She died in 1968.
Comment and discuss
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Hi All Researching the career of my grandfather and need to find the ships he served on before the Titanic. The signing on sheet states that he served on the Olympic before the Titanic, but when searching the Olympic crew list on this site, his name is missing.....can anybody help? Kind Regards Brenda
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I tried to find this list but couldn't. Maybe I'm missing the link to the thing. I suspect the list you're looking at would be for the particular voyage the Olympic was on the night the Titanic foundered. If that's the case, then your reletive wouldn't appear there as he simply would not have been on-board the Olympic at that particular time.
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Joseph was my husband's grandfather. On checking engine crew list no 3 NO 66 he is listed as H RICHARDS.Can any one tell me what the H" stands for.Also there is some confusion on his previous ship,the people above him on the crew list were on the OLYMPIC but his entry has " and not "do" like the rest.He is not listed on the crew list for the Olympic on your web site. Unfortunately I live in the North Of England and visiting Kew is not an option.If any one is going there in the near future I would really appreciate if you could check this for me. KIND REGARDS BRENDA
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If you know his rough year of birth, you could check
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Brenda, in the original handwritten signature the initial looks to me like a 'J', not 'H'. The mark in the 'previous ship' column is just a short diagonal line, like a tick. Could mean anything, but probably not that he hadn't sailed before as that would have been listed as '1st'. Maybe just an alternative to 'do' by a very busy clerk.
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Brenda Greetings The name on the signing on sheet is Richards, Joseph James and he does not give his previous ship when he signed on. Below is my full print out on him. You will see there are two Mrs. Richards co-habitants - it gets confusing. One is the lady he was living with and the other 'I think' is the cohabitant of another crew member who was living with a lady named Mrs. Richards. If you do have any family names perhaps you can clear this up? best regards Brian Richards, Joseph James. Lived at 25 Summers Street, Northam, Southampton. Occupation - Fireman. 29 years old. (Born in Hampshire). (Death Notice Southern Daily Echo 10th May 1912 and Hampshire Independent 4th, 11th May 1912). Richards, Joseph. Dearly Beloved Husband of Florence Richards, of 25, Summers Street, Northam. Richards, Joseph James Aged 29, Dearly Beloved Son of Mr. and Mrs. Richards of 34 Belvidere Terrace, Northam. (From: Mansion House Titanic Relief Fund Booklet, March 1913) Number 221....
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Thanks all for your speedy replies.Florence was my husband's grandmother the other Richards is no relation.It looks like we'll never know his previous ship but glad to clear up the strange "h" in the name Regards Brenda
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