[1] Richardson worked as a "skilled helper" in the wetting division of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing beginning on 8 March 1911.
On September 1, 1914, he married Mary Ellen Jones and they had three children: In 1921, The Deacon's Awakening was Richardson's first play to be staged.
He died on November 7, 1977, in Washington, D.C. During his 30-year career, he had written children's fairy tales, histories, and domestic plays that number 48 in total.
[2] After The Deacon's Awakening in 1921, Richardson's next play to be staged was The Chip Woman's Fortune, which was produced by Raymond O'Neil's Ethiopian Art Players in Chicago, Washington, D.C., and became the first non-musical production by an African American on Broadway.
The Deacon's Awakening was staged August 30-September 6, 2015 by Xoregos Performing Company in its Songs of the Harlem River program in NYC's Dream Up Festival.