Beach, Richard H.

Born: 1808-03-11 New York, New York

Died: 1883-05-23 Springfield, Illinois

Richard H. Beach was a teacher and merchant. In 1832, he married Eliza H. Baldwin, with whom he had one child before moving to Morgan County, Illinois in 1833. He taught school for a year before relocating to Springfield, Illinois in 1834. In 1835, he partnered with Edmund R. Wiley, and the two established the first clothing store in Springfield. The business proved successful; by 1850, Beach owned real estate valued at $1,000. By 1860, the real estate he owned had increased to $3,000 in value, and he also had a personal estate valued at $300. He and his wife had four additional children together while living in Springfield. He died of heart disease.

John Carroll Power and S. A. Power, History of the Early Settlers of Sangamon County, Illinois (Springfield, IL: Edwin A. Wilson, 1876), 102, 768-69; U.S. Census Office, Seventh Census of the United States (1850), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 85; U.S. Census Office, Eighth Census of the United States (1860), Springfield, Sangamon County, IL, 224; Daily Illinois State Journal (Springfield), 24 May 1883, 6:2.