Source: Pennsylvania, A History, George P. Donehoo, (New York: Lewis Historical Publishing Co., 1926), p. 169
Surnames: Richards, Garber, Weiser, Muhlenberg, Paul, Roeder, Turner, Van Leer, Bittner, Peck, Bennetch
A descendant on both his father's and his mother's side from an ancestry of patriotic and distinguished men and women, Mr. Richards has contributed his full share to the family honors and has most worthily lived up to the family tradition of public service to community, State and country. Throughout his long life, filled with activities as varied as they were useful, he has reached eminence in whatever he has undertaken and has established for himself a high reputation in three distinct fields, military, industrial, and literary.
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards was born at Easton, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, August 16, 1848, a son of Rev. John William and Andora (Garber) Richards. His paternal grandfather was Matthias Richards, Jr., younger son of a prominent and wealthy landed proprietor of New Hanover Township, Philadelphia, now Montgomery County, where he was born in 1758. He came to Reading in 1776 and served as a private in the militia from 1777 until the Continental Army went into camp at Valley Forge when the militia was discharged, taking part in the battles of Brandywine and Germantown, and promoted to major of Fourth Battalion, 1780. He was a self-made man, remarkably well educated for his times, and greatly respected by his fellow-citizens. He served as a justice of the peace for a total of forty years; was Associate Judge of the Berks County courts; was appointed inspector of customs under Tenche Cox and General Peter Muhlenberg; became a member of Congress for the counties of Berks and Lancaster, from 1807 to 1811; was appointed collector of revenue by President Madison in 1812; and was appointed clerk of the Orphans' Court in 1823 by his intimate friend, Governor Joseph Hiester. He was like all of his family a faithful Lutheran, being a member and trustee of Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, in which city he died in 1830. In 1782 he married Maria Salome Muhlenberg, born in 1766, died in 1827, the youngest daughter of Henry Melchior and Anna Maria (Weiser) Muhlenberg, the latter a daughter of Colonel Conrad Weiser, of Berks County, a lieutenant-colonel in the French and Indian War, and later head of the Indian Bureau of the Province of Pennsylvania. Henry Melchior Muhlenberg, D. D., considered the Patriarch of the Lutheran Church in America, was the founder of the Muhlenberg family in this country to which he had come from Germany in 1742. He first went to Georgia, but soon afterwards came to Pennsylvania where he settled at The Trappe, now in Montgomery County, living there until his death in 1787 and establishing a high reputation for learning. He was the father of three sons, all of whom became eminent leaders in the affairs of their country: Major General Peter Muhlenberg, one of President Washington's generals throughout the entire Revolutionary War, a member of Congress while Washington was President, and later United States Senator from Pennsylvania; Frederick Augustus Muhlenberg, a member of the Continental Congress, Speaker of the House during the First and Third congresses of the United States, and twice candidate of the Federal party for governor of Pennsylvania; Henry Ernest Muhlenberg, D. D., eminent naturalist and Lutheran clergyman. The descendants of these three eminent men, as well as those of their four sisters, all achieved much distinction in the many different fields of human endeavor to which they devoted themselves.
John William Richards, D. D., the father of Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards, was born April 18, 1803, and died at Reading, January 24, 1854. He was one of the children of Matthias, Jr., and Maria Salome (Muhlenberg) Richards, and was educated at the Reading Academy under Dr. John Grier, later reading theology under the Rev. Henry Augustus Muhlenberg. In 1828 he was ordained a minister in the Lutheran Church, and from then on until 1843 served with great distinction various Lutheran congregations in Lancaster, Berks and Montgomery counties, and finally in Germantown. In 1843 he was made secretary of the Lutheran Ministerium of Pennsylvania, in which office he served three terms, and in 1850 was elected president of this body, holding this office until the time of his death. In the same year he was called to Trinity Lutheran Church, Reading, having been pastor of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church at Easton since 1845. In 1851 the degree of D. D. was conferred upon him by Jefferson College, a Presbyterian institution of the old school. In 1835 he married Andora Garber, only daughter of Henry and Susanna (Paul) Garber, of Garwood, Montgomery County, born May 21, 1815, died May 26, 1892. Dr. and Mrs. Richards were the parents of four children: Adelaide Susanna; Andora Elizabeth; Matthias Henry; and Henry Melchior Muhlenberg.
Henry Melchior Muhlenberg Richards came to Reading with his parents as a small child, and was educated in the public schools of Reading, graduating from its high school in 1864. During the Civil War, in 1863, he served as a private in Company A, 26th Emergency Regiment of Pennsylvania Volunteers, doing duty as a drummer. He participated in the battle of Gettysburg and served throughout the entire campaign incident to that battle, narrowly escaping from capture and imprisonment. In 1864 he reenlisted in Company A, 195th Regiment, Pennsylvania Volunteers, and served under General Sheridan in West Virginia. He entered the United States Naval Academy n 1865 and graduated in 1869, being a star or honor graduate, was publicly complimented by Admiral David D. Porter, and received his diploma at the hands of General Ulysses S. Grant. During his attendance at the Naval Academy he made a cruise in 1866 on the historic U. S. S. "Macedonian," captured from the British in the War of 1812; in 1867 he cruised along the coasts of Europe on the U. S. S. "Savannah," participating in the great naval ovation to the Empress Eugenie at Cherbourg, France, and in 1868, on the same ship, among the islands off the west coast of Africa. He was one of the last officers to be attached to the U. S. S. "Constitution" ("Old Ironsides").
After graduation he was ordered to the U. S. S. "Juniata," attached to the European squadron, and during this turn of service he participated in the following important and interesting events: At Tunis, Africa, in April, 1870, averting a threatened outbreak against the Christians; on active duty in Spain during the Carlist Insurrection in May and June, 1870, when he was attacked by brigands near San Roque and narrowly escaped death or capture; during the Franco-German War of 1870-1871, with the French fleet off Heligoland, in August and September, 1870, awaiting an attack by the German fleet until dispersed by a hurricane, and later with the German fleet at Wilhelmshaven; in October and November, 1870, at Havre, France, anticipating an attack by Prussian Uhlans; with Bourbaki's army in Switzerland, after its defeat at Belfort in January, 1871; and in Marseilles, in April, 1871, during the outbreak of the Commune and its defeat by the governmental troops. During 1872 he was on duty at the Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island, at which time he invented an earth connection, circuit closing fuse, which was far in advance of anything then in use and which was adopted by the United States Government. In 1873 and 1874 he was attached to the U. S. S. "Narragansett" under Commander, later Admiral, George Dewey on surveying duty in the Pacific Ocean. In April, 1873, he was on duty in Panama during a revolutionary outbreak, and later visited the savage Indians of Tiburon Island and the Yaqui tribes along the River Mayo. In January, 1875, having reached the rank of lieutenant, he retired to civil life in order to devote more of his time to his family.
After retiring from the Naval Service, Mr. Richards became connected with the Philadelphia & Reading Railway, at Reading, at first in the office of the general superintendent and later in that of the engineer of machinery, remaining until the fall of 1878. From 1878 to 1881 he was associated with Charles M. Roeder in the insurance business and then became identified with the Reading Bolt & Nut Works and the rolling mills of J. H. Sternbergh & Son. In 1899 he assisted in the consolidation of that plant and others, and in their organization into the American Iron & Steel Manufacturing Company, the largest bolt and nut works in the world, with general offices at Lebanon. At that time he was made general auditor, treasurer, and a director of the new company, in which offices he served until 1917 when the various plants of his company were taken over by the Bethlehem Steel Company and when Mr. Richards retired into private life.
During the Spanish-American War he returned to active duty with the Navy, serving throughout all the operations in the West Indies under Admiral Sampson. Previously, in 1892, when war seemed imminent between the United States and Chile, he had also volunteered for service. During the World War Lieutenant Richards volunteered for active service in both the Navy and Army, but could not be commissioned, having passed the legal age. However he served most effectively as director of naval service for the Lebanon County branch of the Pennsylvania Council of National Defense and Committee of Public Safety, and was also one of the "four-minute" speakers at many public gatherings.
In politics he is a supporter of the Republican Party, but, though frequently pressed to accept public office, has always declined to do so. The only office he ever held was that of city treasurer of Lebanon, in which he served from 1918 to 1920, and which was thrust upon him unexpectedly and without solicitation on his part. However he has been at various times the recipient of honorary appointments in connection with his well-known and deep interest in historical matters. In 1893 he was appointed by Governor Pattison a member of the commission on "Frontier Forts of Pennsylvania, Prior to 1783," and his exhaustive report on this subject was ordered printed by the Legislature and has become the standard work on the subject. In 1918 he was appointed by Governor Brumbaugh a member of the advisory committee for the Preservation of Public Records, and later in the same year he was made a member of the Pennsylvania War History Commission. Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, conferred upon him, June 16, 1910, the honorary degree of Literary Doctor in recognition of his many published works, mainly of a historic character, which have appeared from time to time in the leading periodicals of the country and from the presses of various prominent publishers.
His religious affiliations are with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, of which all his ancestors have been distinguished members. For eighteen years he was superintendent of the Trinity Lutheran Sunday School at Reading, introducing many changes and improvements. Upon his removal to Lebanon he was elected a trustee of Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church and engaged actively in the work of its Bible School. Later he became identified with St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church, and became superintendent of its Sunday School. While a resident of Reading he was for some time a member of the board of directors of the Homeopathic Hospital. In Lebanon he was far [for] many years president of the Associated Charities, and a trustee of the Southeastern Playground Association, as well as president of the Fidelity Building & Loan Association.
He is a member of many societies, including the following: Pennsylvania Society, Sons of the Revolution; Military Order, Loyal Legion of the United States; Grand Army of the Republic, in which he has been National Aide-de-Camp, Post Quartermaster, and a delegate to many encampments; Naval Order of the United States, in which he has been General Registrar, State Historian, and has also held other offices; Military Order of Foreign Wars, in which he has been a national delegate; Naval and Military Order Spanish-American War; Veterans of Foreign Wars of United States, in which he has been National Officer of the Day, Department Patriotic Instructor and delegate to many encampments; Naval Association of Reading; Order of Washington, in which he has been Deputy Commander for Pennsylavnia; Naval Academy Graduates' Association; Navy Athletic Association; Military Society of the Frontier, in which he has been Second Vice-Commander General; United Spanish War Veterans, in which he has been Camp Chaplain; St. John's Lodge, No. 435, Reading, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is a Past Master; American National Red Cross Society; American Humane Association; American Red Star Animal Relief; National Security League; American Forestry Society; Societe Academique d'Histoire Internationale, Paris, France, of which is is a member of honor; Pennsylvania Federation of Historical Societies, of which he has been president; Historical Society of Pennsylvania; Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania; National Geographic Society; National Genealogical Society, of which he has been State President for Pennsylvania; Pennsylvania-German Society, of which he has been secretary, president and chairman of the executive board; Wyoming Historical and Geological Society of Pennsylvania; Site and Relic Society of Germantown, Pennsylvania; Lebanon County Historical Society, of which he has been president; Historical Society of Berks County, Pennsylvania; Historical Society of Montgomery County, Pennsylvania; Lutheran Historical Society, of which he has been vice-president; and Northampton County Historical and Genealogical Society. He is not very much interested in club life, but is a member of the Authors' Club of London, England, and of La Renaissance Nationale of Paris, France.
Mr. Richards married, at Reading, December 26, 1871, Ella Van Leer, daughter of Branson and Drucilla (Turner) Van Leer, the former a descendant of Werner von Loehr, Patrician Mayor of the ancient German city of Mayence in 1521, the latter descended from many distinguished English and allied lines. Mr. and Mrs. Richards are the parents of four children: 1. Rev. Henry Branson Richards, born February 5, 1873; married Martha Ann Bittner. 2. Charles Matthias Richards, M. D., born April 19, 1875; married Laura May Peck. 3. Florence Richards, born March 23, 1878. 4. Alice Richards, born September 8, 1880; married Ira Leonard Bennetch, the latter a descendant of the ancient French family of Basnage. The Richards family home is located at No. 4 West High Street, Lebanon.
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