DeForest Richards

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DeForest Richards

5th Governor of Wyoming
In office January 2, 1899 – April 28, 1903
Preceded by	William A. Richards
Succeeded by	Fenimore Chatterton
Personal details
Born	August 6, 1846 Charlestown, New Hampshire
Died	April 28, 1903 (aged 56)
Political party	Republican

DeForest Richards (August 6, 1846 – April 28, 1903) was an American banker, farmer, and politician. He was the fifth Governor of the state of Wyoming, and the first to die while still in office.

Biography

Born in Charlestown, New Hampshire, Richards attended Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts.^[1] He married Elsie Jane Ingersol and they had two children.

Career

Richards became involved in the post-Civil War Reconstruction, moving to Alabama in the mid-to-late 1860s. He served as sheriff and treasurer of Wilcox County, and ran a tannery. During his time in Alabama, Richards was often derided as a "carpetbagger". After the failure of his tannery, he moved to Chadron, Nebraska, where he similarly 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.^[2] Both the firm and the bank were very successful, and Richards moved on to politics, successfully running for mayor of Douglas, commanding the Wyoming National Guard, attending the Constitutional Convention that saw Wyoming Territory achieve statehood, and sitting on the Wyoming Senate.

In 1898 he ran as the Republican candidate for state Governor, and defeated Democratic candidate Horace C. Alger by 1,394 votes. He ran for a second term in 1902, defeating George T. Beck by the largest margin seen since the Territory joined the Union in 1890. However, the victory was short-lived: Richards died on April 28, 1903, just four months into his second term.

Death

Richards was a member of the Holy Royal Arch. His body is interred at Lakeview Cemetery, in Cheyenne.^[3]

References

↑ "DeForest Richards". National Governors Association. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
↑ "DeForest Richards". Wyoming Historical Society. Retrieved 19 October 2012.
↑ "DeForest Richards". Find A Grave. Retrieved 19 October 2012.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to DeForest Richards.

National Governors Association
Find A Grave
Wyoming Historical Society
State biography– Wyoming State Archives
Gubernatorial Vote in Wyoming– Wyoming Secretary of State
The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Richards at politicalgraveyard.com, – Political Graveyard
"Richards Family Papers Available for Research"– Heritage Highlights, newsletter American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming
Sandoz, Mari, The Cattlemen from the Rio Grande Across the Far Marias (1978), ISBN 0-8032-5882-8
Turnbull and Denslow, History of Royal Arch Masonry Part Three (2004), ISBN 1-4179-5006-4

Political offices
Preceded by William A. Richards	Governor of Wyoming January 2, 1899 – April 28, 1903	Succeeded by Fenimore Chatterton

v t e Governors of Wyoming

Territorial (1869–1890)	Campbell Thayer Hoyt Hale Morgan Warren Baxter Morgan Moonlight Warren

State (since 1890)	Warren Barber Osborne W. Richards D. Richards Chatterton Brooks J. Carey Kendrick Houx R. Carey W. Ross Lucas N. Ross Emerson Clark Miller Smith Hunt Crane Barrett Rogers Simpson Hickey Gage Hansen Hathaway Herschler Sullivan Geringer Freudenthal Mead

Authority control	WorldCat VIAF: 11548480 LCCN: n95012129

Persondata
Name	Richards, DeForest
Alternative names
Short description	American politician
Date of birth	August 6, 1846
Place of birth	Charlestown, New Hampshire
Date of death	April 28, 1903
Place of death

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