Charles A. Richards spent the days of his boyhood and youth in Schuylkill, Pennsylvania, and when fourteen years of age he began the battle of life on his own account. In upper Austin, adjoining the store of General J. R. Williams, he engaged in business in 1869, and since his residence here he has made four trips to the east to visit his aged mother. In political matters he has been a life-long Republican, but was active in the movement to remonetize silver, and in 1890 was elected a member of the state assembly, to which position he was re-elected in 1892. In 1894 he was made a member of the senate, serving as such during a four-year term with credit to himself and to his constituents.

In 1875 Mr. Richards was united in marriage to Miss Letitia Brown who was born in the city of London but was reared in Austin, Nevada. Two children have blessed their home, the elder of whom, Charles L., a native son of Austin, is a graduate of the law department of Stanford Unversity and is now serving as district attorney of Nye county, Nevada. The daughter, M. Letitia, is a graduate of Mills Seminary, and is now in Oakland, California. Mr. and Mrs. Richards reside in one of Austin's pleasant homes, and she is a member of the Episcopal church. Mr. Richards affiliates with the Knights of Pythias fraternity, and in his business relations it may be truthfully stated that he is "sixteen ounces to the pound and one hundred cents on the dollar," and has a wide and favorable acquaintance throughout this portion of the state, both in business and political circles.

Source:
A History of the State of Nevada: Its Resources and People
By Thomas Wren, Lewis Publishing Company
Published by The Lewis publishing company, 1904