Dr. Joseph Richards represented Dedham, Massachusetts in the Great and General Court. [1] [2] Beginning in 1731, he served five terms as selectman. [3] [2]
He married the daughter of Rev. Joseph Belcher but did not get along with Belcher's successor, Samuel Dexter. [2] He was one of the richest men in Dedham and a Lt. Colonel in the Suffolk Regiment. [2] Richards was graduated from Harvard College in 1721. [2]