Matthias Richards

Matthias Richards (February 26, 1758 – August 4, 1830) was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Pennsylvania. He was born near Pottstown, Pennsylvania, into a large family that included an older brother, John Richards. Like many children of his time and social standing, he received his education through private tutoring rather than formal schooling. In his youth he learned a trade and became an artisan and saddler, a vocation that provided his early livelihood and helped establish his standing in the community.

On May 8, 1782, Richards married Maria Salome “Sally” Muhlenberg, then fifteen years old, the youngest child of the prominent Lutheran clergyman Henry Melchior Muhlenberg. The marriage allied Richards with one of the most influential German-American families in Pennsylvania. Among their descendants was their son John William Richards, who became a minister, and a grandson, Matthias Henry Richards, who became a professor of English at Muhlenberg College in 1868. Another grandson, Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards, served as an officer in the Union Army during the American Civil War and later as a captain in the United States Navy during the Spanish–American War. Through this line, the family was also connected by marriage to the Van Leer family, major landowners in Reading, Pennsylvania.

Richards’s public life began during the American Revolutionary War. He enlisted and served as a private in Colonel Daniel Udree’s Second Battalion, Berks County Militia, from August 5, 1777, until January 5, 1778, participating in the local militia defense of Pennsylvania during a critical phase of the conflict. By 1780 he had advanced in responsibility and was commissioned a major of the Fourth Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia, reflecting both his military experience and his growing prominence in regional affairs.

Following the war, Richards embarked on a long career in local and county government. In 1788 he was appointed a justice of the peace, an office he held for forty years, underscoring his sustained role in administering local justice and civil affairs. He was also appointed a judge of the Berks County courts, serving from 1791 to 1797. During this period he consolidated his position as a respected public figure in southeastern Pennsylvania, while continuing his mercantile and professional activities.

Richards entered national politics as a member of the Republican Party, then commonly known as the Democratic-Republican Party. He was elected as a Democratic-Republican to the Tenth and Eleventh Congresses, representing Pennsylvania in the United States House of Representatives from March 4, 1807, to March 3, 1811. His two terms in Congress occurred during a significant period in American history, marked by rising tensions with Great Britain and debates over trade restrictions and national policy. As a member of the Republican Party representing Pennsylvania, Matthias Richards contributed to the legislative process during his two terms in office, participating in the democratic process and representing the interests of his constituents. He did not stand for renomination in 1810, choosing instead to resume and expand his service in appointed federal and local positions.

While and after serving in Congress, Richards held several federal and county offices that reflected the trust placed in him by both state and national authorities. After being elected to Congress, he was appointed an inspector of customs from 1801 to 1802, overseeing aspects of federal revenue collection. In 1813 he was appointed collector of revenue for the ninth district of Pennsylvania, a position that involved administering federal tax laws during the War of 1812 era. Later, in 1823, he became clerk of the orphans’ court for Berks County, handling matters related to estates, guardianships, and the welfare of minors, and further extending his long record of public service.

In his later years Richards engaged in mercantile pursuits in Reading, Pennsylvania, where he spent most of his life. The city, closely tied to his family through business and marriage connections—including the Van Leer family, which owned much of Reading at the time—served as the center of his professional and personal activities. Matthias Richards died in Reading on August 4, 1830. He was laid to rest in Charles Evans Cemetery in that city, leaving a legacy of military service, long tenure in local judicial and administrative offices, and two terms in the United States Congress during a formative period of the early republic.