DeForest Richards (August 6, 1846April 28, 1903) was an American

banker A bank is a financial institution that accepts deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital markets. Becaus ...

farmer A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer m ...

, and

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

. He was the fifth Governor of the state of

Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...

, and the first to die while still in office.

Biography

Born in

Charlestown, New Hampshire Charlestown is a town in Sullivan County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 4,806 at the 2020 census, down from 5,114 at the 2010 census. The town is home to Hubbard State Forest and the headquarters of the Student Conservation A ...

, Richards graduated with honors from

Kimball Union Academy Kimball Union Academy is a private boarding school located in New Hampshire. Founded in 1813, it is the 22nd oldest boarding school in the United States. The academy's mission is to "create a deep sense of belonging for every member of our commu ...

and attended

Phillips Andover Academy ("Not for Self") la, Finis Origine Pendet ("The End Depends Upon the Beginning") Youth From Every Quarter Knowledge and Goodness , address = 180 Main Street , city = Andover , state = Ma ...

in Massachusetts. He was descended from families of earlier settlers, arriving in 1630 on his father's side and 1640 on his mother's. His maternal grandfather, William Jarvis, was appointed consul to Portugal by Thomas Jefferson in 1802. His father, J. DeForest Richards, was a leading Congregational minister and educator who served as President of the Alabama State University in Tuscaloosa. In 1871, he married Elsie Jane Ingersol, an Alabama native descended from the prominent northeastern family. They had two children, a daughter and son, J. De Forest Richards.

Career

Richards relocated to

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County , LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham , area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...

during post-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

, moving with his father in 1865 to run a cotton plantation. At the age of 21, he was elected to the first Alabama state legislature after Reconstruction. He was elected sheriff of Wilcox County in 1868, a position he held for four years. He retired from politics and opened a tannery, which became indebted. He reorganized the enterprise and worked as a cobbler for two years to repay his debts and accumulate capital to start a new business. He then opened a merchandising business in Camden, Alabama, where he built a "large and profitable trade," becoming a leader in the community. In 1885, he moved to Chadron, Nebraska, where he continued his merchandising activities and acted as county treasurer. Following his experiences in Chadron, Richards moved to Douglas, Wyoming, where he set up the mercantile firm ''Richards and Lidell''. He also helped found the ''First National Bank of Douglas'', of which he was the first President. Both the firm and the bank were very successful, and Richards moved on to politics, successfully running for

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

of Douglas, commanding the Wyoming

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

, attending the Constitutional Convention that saw

Wyoming Territory The Territory of Wyoming was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from July 25, 1868, until July 10, 1890, when it was admitted to the Union as the State of Wyoming. Cheyenne was the territorial capital. The bou ...

achieve statehood, and sitting on the

Wyoming Senate The Wyoming Senate is the upper house of the Wyoming State Legislature. There are 30 Senators in the Senate, representing an equal number of constituencies across Wyoming, each with a population of at least 17,000. The Senate meets at the Wyom ...

. In 1898 he ran as the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate for state Governor, and defeated Democratic candidate Horace C. Alger by 1,394 votes. As governor, Richards advocated for reduced control of Wyoming lands by the federal government. He supported cession of federally-owned lands to the state, and opposed federal leasing of lands for grazing, preferring either state ownership or free use. At the same time, he advocated for state-run social institutions, advocating for appropriations from the state legislature for penal facilities, a home for the mentally ill, a general hospital, a school for the disabled, and a home for soldiers and sailors. He supported railroad construction, and served as a leader in a railway company that attempted to connect the Union Pacific Railroad with mining areas in Wyoming. He ran for a second term in 1902, defeating George T. Beck by the largest margin seen since the Territory joined the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in 1890.

Death

He died from kidney disease at his home in

Cheyenne The Cheyenne ( ) are an Indigenous people of the Great Plains. Their Cheyenne language belongs to the Algonquian language family. Today, the Cheyenne people are split into two federally recognized nations: the Southern Cheyenne, who are enr ...

on April 28, 1903, four months into his second term. Richards was a member of the

Holy Royal Arch The Royal Arch is a degree of Freemasonry. The Royal Arch is present in all main masonic systems, though in some it is worked as part of Craft ('mainstream') Freemasonry, and in others in an appendant ('additional') order. Royal Arch Masons meet ...

. His body is interred at Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne.

References

External links

National Governors Association
*
Wyoming Historical Society

�� Wyoming State Archives

�� Wyoming Secretary of State

at politicalgraveyard.com

��

Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

"Richards Family Papers Available for Research"
�� ''Heritage Highlights'', newsletter American Heritage Center,

University of Wyoming The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...

*Sandoz, Mari, ''The Cattlemen from the Rio Grande Across the Far Marias'' (1978), *Turnbull and Denslow, ''History of Royal Arch Masonry Part Three'' (2004), {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, DeForest 1846 births 1903 deaths Republican Party governors of Wyoming Republican Party Wyoming state senators Mayors of places in Wyoming People from Charlestown, New Hampshire People from Chadron, Nebraska People from Douglas, Wyoming People from Wilcox County, Alabama 19th-century American politicians