W. Earl Richards, the
present efficient and popular of the village of
Edgewood, is likewise one of the able and
representative members of the bar of his native
county. He was born at Edgewood, this county, on the
27th of July, 1874, and is a son of S.T. and Cynthia
(Baker) Richards, the former of whom was in the state
of New York and the latter in Vermont, their marriage
having been solemnized after they had become
residents of Clayton county and the father having
here passed the residue of his life, the major part
of his active career having been devoted to the law.
He passed to the life eternal on the 14th of April,
1911, and his widow now maintains her home at
Manchester, this state; they became the parents of
three children, all of whom survive the honored
father.
W. Earl Richards is indebted to the public schools of
Clayton county for his early educational discipline
and in consonance with his ambitious purpose he
finally entered the law department of Drake
University, in the city of Des Moines, in which
institution he was graduated as a member of the class
of 1898 and from which he received the degree of
Bachelor of Laws.
He has been an influential figure in the Clayton
county contingent of the Republican party and was
appointed postmaster of Edgewood in 1912, the year
that marked the election of a Democratic president,
his term in this office expiring in June, 1916, but
is still postmaster. He is the owner of a modest home
at Edgewood and is a leader in the furtherance of
those measures and enterprises that make for civic
and material prosperity in the community.
In December, 1902, was solemnized the marriage of Mr.
Richards to Miss Vic Ethel Smith, of Edgewood, this
state. She was born and reared in Clayton county and
is a daughter of John W. and Alvira (Beemer) Smith,
who came to Iowa from their native state of
Pennsylvania and became pioneers of Clayton county,
where the father passed the residue of his life and
where the venerable mother still maintains her home.
Mr. and Mrs. Richards have one daughter, Maxine, who
was born January 23, 1909.
source: History of
Clayton County, Iowa; From The Earliest Historical
Times Down to the Present; by Realto E. Price,
Vol. II; pg. 350
-OCR scanned by S. Ferrall
