Richard Sturch was the son of Richard and Hannah Sturch. He was born in Shetford Parish, Oxfordshire, England on Monday April 11, 1791. He is thought to have come to America around 1820 because he first appears on records in the Providence, Rhode Island census in 1820. It has been said that he and a brother, whose name is unknown, came to America as Stowaways on a ship and were sent back to England. Richard finally got here and made his way down the eastern coast, where he met Elizabeth Dean. He married her on Thursday August 31, 1826 in Newton Co., Georgia. She was the daughter of Richard and Sally Dean and was born in York District, South Carolina on Friday July 8, 1809.
Not much is known about their lives, but we do know that they lived in Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi before settling in Arkansas. Richard farmed and homesteaded land about two miles north of Magness Arkansas. This was just about the time the Magness family claimed land there and in Big Bottom, south of Magness. It is also said that the reason Richard chose the hill land is because the bottoms would have been to "sickly" to live in and the timber and cane there was too dense to clear. According to the 1860 Independence Co., AR census Richard had a real estate value of $800.00, and a personal property value of $500.00. It appears that he was a man of good morals and values in that he did not own any slaves.
Richard and Elizabeth were married 46 years when Richard passed away. They lived on their farm until they died. Richard died on Sunday October 13, 1872 at the age of 81 years, 6 months, and 2 days. He is buried at Blue Springs cemetery near Newark, Arkansas. His tomb stone reads "Faith, Hope, and Charity". Elizabeth passed away on January 10, 1874 and is buried in the same cemetery.