DeForest Richards

DeForest Richards (born August 6, 1846 in Charlestown , New Hampshire , † April 28, 1903 ) was an American banker, farmer and politician ( Republican Party ), who was governor of the state of Wyoming from 1899 to 1903 .

Early years and political advancement

Richards attended Phillips Andover Academy in Massachusetts . After the American Civil War , he took an active role in the Reconstruction . He was a member of the State Legislature of Alabama , he served as sheriff and treasurer of Wilcox County operates, Alabama. In 1888 he moved to Douglas , Wyoming , where he set up a bank and trading company and served as mayor from 1891 to 1894. He also represented Wyoming at its first constitutional convention in 1889 and served a term in the Wyoming Senate .

Wyoming Governor

Richards won the election to governor of Wyoming in 1898 and held the office from January 2, 1899 to April 28, 1903. As governor, he advocated the cession of federal land to the state and preferred state leasing of land for grazing either own or free. He was also an advocate of social reform, seeking state funding from his own legislature for penal institutions, a home for the mentally ill, a common hospital, a school for the disabled, and a home for soldiers and seafarers. He supported the railroad construction and worked as an executive for a railroad company that tried to connect the Union Pacific Railroad with the mining areas in Wyoming. Richards died four months after taking up his second term as governor. After his death he was buried in Lakeview Cemetery in Cheyenne , Wyoming.

He was married to Elsie Jane Ingersol and the couple had two children together.

literature

Robert Sobel and John Raimo (Eds.): Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States, 1789–1978. Volume 4, Meckler Books, Westport, 1978. 4 volumes.

Web links

personal data
SURNAME	Richards, DeForest
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	American banker, farmer and politician (Republican Party), governor of Wyoming
DATE OF BIRTH	August 6, 1846
PLACE OF BIRTH	Charlestown , New Hampshire
DATE OF DEATH	April 28, 1903