Laura Ardell Richards ^{1 2 3 4 5 6}

  General Notes:

Records for Laura Ardell Richards are very scarce after the 1880 US Census in Ashland county, Ohio. It appears that she was married to Adam Stang in 1883 in nearby Lorain County, Ohio. He was previously married to a Christina (Unknown) who died in 1881.

Unfortunately for Laura, her husband, Adam Stang, died about 4 weeks after they were married and he was buried alongside of his first wife in Amherst, Ohio.

There is another marriage record in the name of Mrs. Laura A. Stang who was married to W. H. Beeman on 15 Feb 1895 in Ashland County, Ohio. No other information can be found to positively identify W. H. Beeman. Even if one were to assume that his full name might have been "William H. Beeman", there are still no records to be found that would identify him or living with a wife named Laura. There is one possible match for a W. H. Beeman found on a Find A Grave index which shows that he was born in 1859 which was close to Laura's birth date and that he was buried in 1921 in Toledo, Lucas, Ohio. Unfortunately there are no records which would indicate a wife named Laura anywhere near Toledo.

There are no US Census records that have been found under the name of Laura Stang or Laura Beeman for the years after 1880 in any state with a husband's name of W. H., or William, or any that would show her as being widowed and born in Ohio.

At least one researcher claims that she died on 16 Nov 1948 and is buried at Memorial Park Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, Florida. The name on the gravestone clearly says "Laura Ardell Sage" which would indicate that perhaps she was married for a third time to an unknown person with the surname of Sage. There are no records to be found indicating a marriage between a Laura Richards, Laura Stang, or Laura Beeman to anyone with the name of Sage in the years between 1894 and 1948.

Further investigations reveals that this gravesite in Saint Petersburg may not be for the correct Laura Ardell Richards. There are 1935 and 1945 Florida State Census records which show a widowed Laura Sage living in Pinellas County, Florida with a birth year of about 1855 in Ohio. This would seem to be the correct person except the 1935 Florida State Census record shows her living with a daughter named Clara B. Preel who was born about 1879. Laura Ardell Richards was not married until 1883 for the first time so it would seem very unlikely that she ever had a daughter named Clara even though that was close to the middle name of her mother.

Even with that being said, there is a birth record from Nova, Ashland, Ohio for Clarissa Bell Richards born on Oct 17, 1878 who could be the daughter in the 1935 Florida State Census record. Her father's name was given as "Emual G. Richards" and the mother was "Laura A. Richards", apparently the same surname. But the confusing part is that the birth was reported to the county by Thomas B. Richards and Laura A. Sage.

So the question becomes if Laura Ardell Richards gave birth to a daughter named Clara in 1879 with the father's name being Emual Richards? Or was this a totally different Laura A. Richards? Even if they were the same person or a different person, how does the name of Laura A. Sage appear on Clara's birth record in 1879? This would have been long before Laura Ardell Richards-Stang-Beeman ever married a Sage for her 3rd husband. The records are too sparce to come to any conclusions.
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  Noted events in her life were:

• She appeared on the 1860 US Census in Troy Township, Ashland County, OH on 8 June 1860. ³

1860 US Census
Page 26, Family 207, Roll 930
Troy Township, Ashland, Ohio, United States
Ardell Richards..5..Ohio

(Living with parents.)
.

• She appeared on the 1870 US Census in Troy Township, Ashland County, OH on 29 June 1870. ⁴

1870 US Census
Page 14, Family 109
Troy Township, Ashland County, Ohio
Ardell Richards..15..Ohio

(Living with parents.)
.

• She appeared on the 1880 US Census in Troy Township, Ashland County, OH on 7 June 1880. ⁵

1880 US Census
Page 233C, District 93, Family 64, Roll 0991
Troy Township, Ashland County, Ohio
Ardell Richards..Daughter..25..Ohio

(Living with widowed mother.)
.

• She was buried after 16 November 1948 in the Memorial Park Cemetery in Saint Petersburg, FL.

Find a Grave Memorial 177451132
. ⁶

Laura married Johann Adam Stang, son of Justus Stang and Anna Herwig, on 20 June 1883 in , Lorain County, OH.¹ (Johann Adam Stang was born on 15 December 1839 in Kassel, Main-Kinzig-Kreis, Hessen, Germany,⁷ died on 16 July 1883 in Lorain, OH ⁷ and was buried on 17 July 1883 in Cleveland Street Cemetery, Amherst, OH ⁷.)

  Noted events in their marriage were:

• Marriage Image: 20 June 1883, in , Lorain County, OH. ¹

  Marriage Notes:

Name: Adam Stang
Sex: Male
Marital Status: Unknown
Marriage Date: 20 Jun 1883
Marriage Place: Lorain, Ohio, United States
Source County: Lorain
Spouse's Name: Laura Ardell Richard
Spouse's Sex: Female
Spouse's Marital Status: Unknown
Record Number: 113
Reference ID: v 4 p 603

Citing this Record
"Ohio, County Marriages, 1789-2016," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XZ2C-PVW : 8 March 2021), Adam Stang and Laura Ardell Richard, 20 Jun 1883; citing Marriage, Lorain, Ohio, United States, v 4 p 603, Franklin County Genealogical & Historical Society, Columbus; FHL microfilm.
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