Edward Richards (Massachusetts politician)

Edward Richards (1610-1684) was an early settler of and nine term selectman in Dedham, Massachusetts.^[1][2]

Life

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.^[a] 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]

Richards Street in Dedham was named for him.^[6]

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^[update], Burgess Lane is located 2.5 miles west of the Norfolk Superior Court.