Phinehas Richards

Who was Phinehas Richards?

Phinehas Howe Richards was an early leader in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and in Utah Territory. His first name is also spelled Phineas in some records.

Richards was born in Framingham, Middlesex County, Massachusetts. He was a brother of Willard Richards and the father of Franklin D. Richards and Henry P. Richards. He married Wealthy Dewey in 1818. In, 1825 he was appointed county coroner. His oldest son, George Spencer Richards died at age 15 at the Haun's Mill Massacre in 1838.

Richards joined the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1837. He was a member of high councils at Kirtland, Nauvoo, Winter Quarters and Salt Lake City. He also served as a member of the Nauvoo City Council and the 1st Utah territorial legislature, where he also was the chaplain. In 1844, Richards published an appeal to the citizens of Massachusetts asking them to take action on the matter of the wrongs Missouri had inflicted upon the Latter-day Saints.