William Richardson Buck

William Richardson Buck was born on August 4, 1790 in Virginia to John Buck and Miriam Richardson.  In 1822, William Richardson Buck and Maria (Flowers) Dalton were married. Maria Flowers was born in 1797 in Louisiana, the daughter of Dr. Samuel Flowers and Mary Carpenter.  She had previously married Samuel Dalton about 1815 by whom she had a son, Samuel Dalton (1817-1843).

William Richardson Buck left Princeton at the outbreak of the War of 1812 to become a midshipman in the Navy.  He was the first man to board to British ship "Epervier" in its capture by the American ship "Peacock", for which he was voted a sword by Congress which is still in the possession of the family.  He moved to Mississippi about 1821 and settled near Port Gibson.  His home, "Magnolia Grove" was near the center of the Battle of Port Gibson - the first battle after Grant’s crossing of the Mississippi river in his campaign against Vicksburg, and was used by the Federal forces as a field hospital.
                                                         -- notes of H. N. Buck, 1965

Magnolia Grove was 5 miles south west of Port Gibson and was actually a small house begun in 1817 and finished in 1820.  It was expanded in 1851 and was still in the Buck family in 1930.  This is from the book "WPA historical research, interview with Mrs. Marion Briscoe Person".

William Richardson Buck and Maria (Flowers) Dalton Buck had the following children:

• William Henry Buck (1831-1896); married Kate Servis, 1778.
• Caroline Buck (1834-1924). She refused to leave "Magnolia Grove" even during the Battle of Port Gibson, although the nearby Magnolia Church had 143 bullet holes put into its walls.  She remained there, a spinster, until her death. "This fine woman lived her life well."  (Jan. 24, 1924 issue of Port Gibson Reveille)  "A lady of great presence"  (Mr. Berry Morgan, of Port Gibson.) 
• Charles Edward Buck, Dr. (1836-1878); married Sarah Letitia Jeffries.
• Miriam Buck (1825-1903); married James W. Watson in 1848.

William Richardson Buck died on October 10, 1853 in Tensas Parish, Louisiana.  Maria (Flowers) Dalton Buck died in 1874.