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William Alford Richards
| Name: William
Alford Richards |
| Aliases: None |
| Date of Birth:
March 9, 1849 |
| Location of
Birth: Grant County, Wisconsin |
| Occupation: Governor
of Wyoming (1885-1899) |
| Relationships:
Harriet Alice Hunt (spouse) |
| Affiliations: Politician |
| Date of Death:
July 25, 1912 |
| Cause of
Death: Heart Attack |
| Location of
Death: Australia |
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William Alford Richards
was born on March 9, 1849 in Hazel Green, Wisconsin. In 1874 Richards
traveled to Wyoming for the first time as a member of a surveying party.
Later that same year, Richards moved on to California where he met Harriet
Alice Hunt, his future wife.
Together the couple
moved to Wyoming permanently in 1884. Ten years later, William A. Richards
would become the fourth governor of Wyoming holding the position from 1895
to 1899.
While serving as
governor, Richards took the opportunity to pardon a twenty-nine year old
horse thief by the name of George Cassidy nearing the end of a two-year
stint in the Wyoming Territorial Prison. Legend has it the governor
offered Cassidy a pardon if he would promise to give up rustling for good.
The young outlaw turned down the governor’s offer; as it was a promise
he didn’t feel he could keep. Instead, Cassidy offered the governor his
own deal. In return for his freedom, Cassidy would promise not to rustle
in Wyoming, sparing the governor more than a few headaches. The governor
agreed and on January 29, 1896, George “Butch” Cassidy walked out of
prison a free man.
After his reign as
governor came to an end, Richards became the Commissioner of the General
Land Office under President McKinley in 1903. In 1909, Richards returned
to local government when he took on the role of Commissioner for Taxation
for the sate of Wyoming.
Three years later,
Richards died from a heart attack while visiting Australia on July 25,
1912.
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