John Richards

RICHARDS, JOHN. farmer and stock breeder; b. 4 October 1857 in Port Hill, son of Captain William Richards and Susan Yeo; m. 1 October 1884 Isabel Alice Broad, and they had one son, Kenneth; Anglican; d. 8 March 1917 in Los Angeles, California. Richards, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1908 for 2nd Prince. He was re-elected in the general election of 1912. He served as Provincial Secretary- Treasurer and Commissioner of Agriculture in the Haszard* Administration from 1908 to 1912. When the liberal government was defeated in the 1912 general election. Richards was re-elected and chosen as Leader of the Opposition. Richards was educated first in local schools and then at St. Dunstan's College in Charlottetown. He attended the Collegiate School and King's College in Windsor, Nova Scotia. In his early career, Richards was associated with his father in shipbuilding and produce export. He was a successful and prominent farmer and stock breeder. He was one of the leading stock breeders in Canada, specializing in Shorthorn and Aberdeen Angus cattle. He also raised purebred Clydesdales and Standard Bred Horses. Richards owned and operated one of the largest farms in Prince County. He was also a successful pioneer of oyster culture on the Island. Richards was a founder of the Provincial Exhibition Association and one of its honoured directors, and a director of a number of Canadian stock breeding associations. He was a director and one of the largest shareholders of the Steam Navigation Company, and held the position of a director of the Charlottetown Driving Park Association and the Standardbred Association of Canada. John Richards died 8 March 1917 while visiting Los Angeles with his wife. Isabel Richards, the daughter of T. C. Broad of St. Eleanors, was born 31 March 1858 and died 18 March 1937. John Richards' older brother, James William Richards*, also served in the Legislative Assembly.