DeForest Richards

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. 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. 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

He died on April 28, 1903, while in office. Richards was a member of the Holy Royal Arch. His body is interred at Lakeview Cemetery, in Cheyenne.

External links

• 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, [1]– 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