Edward Richards (Massachusetts politician)

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

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]