Richard White (1826-1865) was the eldest son of Thomas White and eldest brother of Harry White. He worked in industry and trained as a journalist. He founded the Mountain Democrat of Ebensburg in 1852, which merged with the Mountain Sentinel in 1853 to form the Democrat and Sentinel.
During the Civil War he organized and commanded the 55th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry. The 55th was sent to South Carolina to assist in the recruitment of ex-slaves for the Union Army in the Department of the South under General Rufus Saxton. In May 1864, White was accused of defrauding his men of bounty money. The charges were not sustained.
Soon after, White was captured by the Confederates and taken to Libby Prison, Andersonville and Charleston, South Carolina. He contracted inflammatory rheumatism and returned home and died on April 14, 1865.
Richard and his wife Kathrina had four children. One died during the war and another was born after his death.