Quick Facts
Biography
Matthias Richards (February 26, 1758 – August 4, 1830) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania.
Early life and education
Matthias Richards was born near Pottstown, Pennsylvania. He had many siblings, including an older brother John Richards. His schooling was with a private tutoring, as was typical of many families then.
Revolutionary War
He enlisted and served during the American 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.
Career
In 1788 Richards was appointed a justice of the peace and held this office for forty years. He was appointed a judge of Berks County Courts (1791–1797) by Governor Shulze, 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 in Reading, Pennsylvania, until his death there on August 4, 1830.
Marriage and family
Having become an artisan and saddler, Richards married Maria Salome Muhlenberg (“Sally”), then age 15, on May 8, 1782. She was the youngest child of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. Among their children was John William Richards, who became a minister. His son Matthias Henry Richards became a professor of English at Muhlenberg College in 1868.
Richards was interred at the Charles Evans Cemetery in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he spent most of his life.
Congress
Richards was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Tenth and Eleventh Congresses. He did not stand for renomination in 1810.