Mayte Richardson

Mayte Richardson (1889–1963) was an American cleric who served as a pastor with the United Brethren Church from her ordination in 1926 till her death in December 1963.

In partnership with Rev. Sara Mouer, Richard served as a permanent pastor in churches across Wisconsin. She also conducted evangelistic work across the United States during a period when the ordination of women was severely limited or denied outright for most Christian denominations including the United Brethren church.

Early life Richardson was born on February 8, 1889, in Richland County, Wisconsin. As an adult, she taught school in Richland and Grant County, Wisconsin. In 1923, at age 34, Richardson entered the Bonebrake Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio.

Career Richardson graduated from Bonebrake in 1926. While at the seminary, she met Sara Mouer, with whom she made a plan “for sharing their ministerial careers”. Mayte was ordained on September 12, 1926, at Turtle Lake, Wisconsin. After ordination, she joined Mouer for their first assignment at the United Brethren church at Ontario, Wisconsin, from 1926 to 1932.

Richardson and Mouer served in Ontario, Monroe, Loyd-Ithaca, Lime Ridge-Sandusky and Beloit Wisconsin from 1926 to 1959. Richardson and Mouer also served for five years as evangelists from 1936 to 1941, fulfilling calls across the United States.

Rychie Breidenstein states in How Shall We Be Known that “these were two women whose way of life and ministry would, today, be subject to all kinds of scrutiny, yet they seemed to have found a way to make ‘all things work together for good’ in God's service” (58).

After Mouer's death, Richardson moved to Richland Center, Wisconsin, where she served as a substitute pastor and conducted special services until her death in December 1963.