author
Merrick Abner Richardson
b. 1841
A firsthand memoirist of 19th-century America, he left behind a detailed life story that blends family history, personal memory, and scenes from a changing nation. His writing has the direct, reflective feel of someone determined to preserve what he saw for later generations.
1 Audiobook
Looking Back: An Autobiography
by Merrick Abner Richardson
About the author
Born in 1841, Merrick Abner Richardson is best known for Looking Back: An Autobiography, a privately printed memoir published in 1917. The book gathers recollections from his own life alongside stories of earlier generations, giving readers a personal view of American life across the 19th century.
Because so much of what is readily documented about him comes through that autobiography and its library records, Richardson is best approached as a witness to his era as much as a literary figure. His work stands out for its interest in ancestry, everyday experience, and the long sweep of change remembered by someone who lived through it.
He died in 1927, and his memoir remains the main reason readers still encounter his name today. For listeners who enjoy autobiographical writing, local history, and voices from the past, his work offers a quietly vivid record of one man looking back over a long life.