Edward Richards (Massachusetts politician)

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Edward Richards was an early settler of and nine term selectman in Dedham, Massachusetts. [1] [2]

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Richards was born circa 1610 -1615. [2] He may have been the brother of Nathaniel Richards and, through his wife Susan, was brother-in-law of John Hunting. [2] He may have traveled in 1632 on board the Lyon from England to Massachusetts with Nathaniel and settled in Cambridge, Massachusetts until 1636. [2] Nathaniel moved to Connecticut to found Hartford, but Edward Richards first appears in Dedham in 1636, which is where he married Susan in 1638. [2] He signed the Dedham Covenant and was a member of First Church and Parish in Dedham. [2]

Though Dedham was intended to be a Utopian commune, and there was little disparity in wealth, Richards went by the title of "Gent" and, unlike others, aspired to a manor. [2] He received large tracts of land, second only to the minister, John Allin. [2] Before moving to Dedham, he purchased a large estate to use as his home and did not receive a house lot, as other settlers did. [2] He then purchased and was distributed other tracts of land, one of which became known as Broad Oak. [2] [3]

He died in May 1684. In his will, he left his home to his second son, Nathaniel, and not his oldest, John. [lower-alpha 1] It is suspected that this was because Nathaniel had given Richards more grandsons and thus would be in a better position to transmit the family name down through successively more prosperous generations. [5]

Notes

  1. ↑ The home in 1861 was the home of Rev. Ebenezer Burgess, the minister of the Allin Congregational Church. [3] [4] Morse locates it as being "two miles west of the Court House." [4] As of 2019, Burgess Lane is located 2.5 miles west of the Norfolk Superior Court.

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References

  1. ↑ Worthington 1827, p. 79-81.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Morse 1861, p. 105.
  3. 1 2 Richards 1942, pp. 42–54.
  4. 1 2 Morse 1861, p. 105-106.
  5. ↑ Morse 1861, p. 106.

Works cited

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