Richard McCormick Senior was born on August 8, 1859 in Pottsville, Pennsylvania.

By 1886 a number of families of Treadwell employees started to arrive. Some of the first permanent residents on Douglas Island were Richard McCormick, Nickolas King, George Shatter, Mike McKanna, P.H. Fox, and Henry Mead.

In 1888, he married Nora Connors-McCormick with whom he had eleven children including Richard McCormick, Junior.

He served as blacksmith at the Mexican Mine, a postmaster at Treadwell in 1911, and later was employed at the Treadwell Foundry.

He died on May 3, 1934, at age 74, in Pacific Grove, California, and was buried Douglas Catholic Cemetery

Survey and Inventory of Douglas Historic Cemeteries