Matthias RICHARDS, Congress, PA (1758-1830)

RICHARDS Matthias , a Representative from Pennsylvania; born near Pottstown, New Hanover Township, Montgomery County, Pa., on February 26, 1758; completed preparatory studies under private tutoring; served during the Revolutionary War as a private in Col. Daniel Udree's second battalion, Berks County Militia, from August 5, 1777, until January 5, 1778; major of the Fourth Battalion, Philadelphia County Militia, in 1780; appointed justice of the peace in 1788 and held this office for forty years; judge of Berks County Courts in Pennsylvania 1791-1797; inspector of customs in 1801 and 1802; elected as a Republican to the Tenth and Eleventh Congresses (March 4, 1807-March 3, 1811); was not a candidate for renomination in 1810; appointed collector of revenue for the ninth district of Pennsylvania in 1813; clerk of the orphans' court for Berks County in 1823; was appointed associate judge of Berks County Courts by Governor Shulze; engaged in mercantile pursuits in Reading, Pa., until his death in that city on August 4, 1830; interment in the Charles Evans Cemetery.

Source: Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1771-Present