She was the first Ilion woman to enter the medical profession.
She was the daughter of Thomas and Harriet Dygert Richardson. She moved with her parents to the western outskirts of Ilion when she was two years old. In 1872 her father built a large brick mansion on W. Main St. where she continued to make her home in recent years with a nephew, Thomas Shepherd and his family.
Besides Mr. Shepherd, she is survived by another nephew, Arleigh Richardson, Columbus, OH; a niece, Mrs. George Thurston, Middleton, CT; four grandnephews, Thomas Shepherd, II and Colin Shepherd, both Ilion, Richardson Thurston, Middleton, CT; and Arleigh Richardson, III, Columbus, OH and a grand niece, Molly, Columbus.

Meet Dr. Jennie M. Richardson (1862-1958), the first woman in Herkimer County to practice medicine. Dr. Richardson lived in the Richardson Mansion on the corner of Barringer Road with her parents and three siblings. After attending school in Ilion and graduating from Smith and Wellesley Colleges, Dr. Richardson began her career as a Latin and History teacher, but quickly changed careers and relocated to NYC to study medicine at the Women's Medical College of New York Infirmary while a measles epidemic swept through the city. She never specialized in her field, and eventually opened her own clinic in the 1890s. A few years later though, she gave up her practice and returned home to help care for her ailing mother following her father's death in 1900. In Ilion, Dr. Richardson went on to become the first President of the Women's Associate Hospital Board at the Ilion Hospital, and serve on the Medical & Hospitals Committee - a branch of the Herkimer County Home Defense Committee that made knit goods and care packages for soldiers overseas during WWI. Dr. Richardson was also an Ilion Alumni and charter member of the Ilion Shakespeare Club. She advocated for the health and well-being of children to Ilion teachers, and helped persuade the Ilion Board of Education to create a music teacher position in 1908.

She was the first Ilion woman to enter the medical profession.
She was the daughter of Thomas and Harriet Dygert Richardson. She moved with her parents to the western outskirts of Ilion when she was two years old. In 1872 her father built a large brick mansion on W. Main St. where she continued to make her home in recent years with a nephew, Thomas Shepherd and his family.
Besides Mr. Shepherd, she is survived by another nephew, Arleigh Richardson, Columbus, OH; a niece, Mrs. George Thurston, Middleton, CT; four grandnephews, Thomas Shepherd, II and Colin Shepherd, both Ilion, Richardson Thurston, Middleton, CT; and Arleigh Richardson, III, Columbus, OH and a grand niece, Molly, Columbus.

Meet Dr. Jennie M. Richardson (1862-1958), the first woman in Herkimer County to practice medicine. Dr. Richardson lived in the Richardson Mansion on the corner of Barringer Road with her parents and three siblings. After attending school in Ilion and graduating from Smith and Wellesley Colleges, Dr. Richardson began her career as a Latin and History teacher, but quickly changed careers and relocated to NYC to study medicine at the Women's Medical College of New York Infirmary while a measles epidemic swept through the city. She never specialized in her field, and eventually opened her own clinic in the 1890s. A few years later though, she gave up her practice and returned home to help care for her ailing mother following her father's death in 1900. In Ilion, Dr. Richardson went on to become the first President of the Women's Associate Hospital Board at the Ilion Hospital, and serve on the Medical & Hospitals Committee - a branch of the Herkimer County Home Defense Committee that made knit goods and care packages for soldiers overseas during WWI. Dr. Richardson was also an Ilion Alumni and charter member of the Ilion Shakespeare Club. She advocated for the health and well-being of children to Ilion teachers, and helped persuade the Ilion Board of Education to create a music teacher position in 1908.