Matthias Richards (February 26, 1758 – August 4, 1830) was a member of theUnited States House of Representatives fromPennsylvania.
Matthias Richards was born nearPottstown, Pennsylvania. He had many siblings, including an older brotherJohn Richards. His schooling was with a private tutoring, as was typical of many families then.
He enlisted and served during theAmerican Revolutionary War as a private in Col.Daniel Udree's second battalion,Berks County Militia, from August 5, 1777, until January 5, 1778. He was commissioned a major of the Fourth Battalion,Philadelphia County Militia in 1780.
In 1788 Richards was appointed ajustice of the peace and held this office for forty years. He was appointed a judge of Berks County Courts (1791–1797) byGovernorShulze, a nephew.
After being elected to Congress, Richards was appointed an inspector of customs (1801–1802). He was appointed collector of revenue for the ninth district of Pennsylvania in 1813, and clerk of the orphans' court for Berks County in 1823. He also worked at mercantile pursuits inReading, Pennsylvania, until his death there on August 4, 1830.
Having become an artisan and saddler, Richards married Maria Salome Muhlenberg ("Sally"), then at age 15, on May 8, 1782. She was the youngest child ofHenry Melchior Muhlenberg.[1] Among their children was John William Richards, who became a minister. His son Matthias Henry Richards became a professor of English atMuhlenberg College in 1868.[2] His grandsonHenry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards was an American military officer who served in the Union Army during the American Civil War and then as a Captain in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards also married a Van Leer whose family owned most ofReading, Pennsylvania at the time. This is where Richards was laid to rest and the city where he spent most of his life, and was interred at that city'sCharles Evans Cemetery.
Richards was elected as aDemocratic-Republican to theTenth andEleventh Congresses. He did not stand for renomination in1810.
She was only fifteen when, on May 8, 1782, she was married to Matthias Richards, a prosperous saddler of Boyertown, Pennsylvania.
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
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| Preceded by | Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromPennsylvania's 3rd congressional district 1807–1811 1807–1809 alongside:John Hiester andRobert Jenkins 1809–1811 alongside:Daniel Hiester andRobert Jenkins | Succeeded by |
