EDWARD WILLARD RICHTER county attorney of Steele County, Minnesota, is a native of Waushara County, Wisconsin, where he was born on March 31, 1852. He is of Irish and German extraction.  His father, Ferdinand Richter, was a native of Hamburg, Germany, and was a professor of languages and a man of culture and refinement.  A good classical scholar, he spoke German, French, Italian and English with equal ease and fluency. His wife was Miss Catherine Reilly, who was born and reared in the city of Dublin.  They came to America in 1849 and settled in Wisconsin. Mr. Richter readily espoused the faith of his adopted country, growing to be a warm supporter of her institutions. He became an adherent of the Whig party, and with the birth of the Republican party in 1856 he enthusiastically joined the cause of freedom. In Wisconsin he was a pioneer, the government survey having not been completed when he took up his farm.

It was in this wild frontier life that the eldest son of the family, Edward Willard, found the influences which surrounded his childhood.  The farmer’s boy of those days went to the common country schools in winter, but saw little of the schoolhouse in summer; at least after he became old enough to drive a team of horses or to do other work on the farm. The schoolhouses were far apart and the winters were severe, and schooling, when obtained, was paid for with the endurance of hardship and the performance of much hard work. Young Edward, however, had a receptive mind and made good progress. At the age of sixteen he entered Ripon College and remained one year a part of the time walking four miles to reach that institution every morning and back again at night. He afterwards attended St. Francis’ seminary, near Milwaukee, for two years, but was called away before graduating for lack of means to continue. For a year or two he assisted in maintaining the family by teaching school in winter and working on the farm in summer. At about this time his father moved with his family to Dodge County, Minnesota, and soon after, in 1872, was accidentally killed while engaged in logging in the pine woods in the northern part of the state. It devolved upon Edward as the eldest son, and the only one of mature years, to settle up his father’s affairs and to maintain a home for his mother and a large family of brothers and sisters. He had just arrived at his majority but he entered on his task bravely, and after five years was able to make some decision as to his own future career.

His tastes were for the law, and he entered the law office of the Hon. C. C. Wilson, of Rochester.  After a time he was associated with Start & Gove in the same city, and later he went to Owatonna, where he was admitted to the bar. Since then he has lived continuously in Owatonna practicing his profession. With the exception of about a year’s partnership with the Hon. Amos Coggswell early in the eighties, Mr. Richter has been alone. Ever since arriving at manhood he has taken an active interest in politics and he has been a Republican from the first. In Owatonna he has been honored with election to the office of city attorney, a post which he has held for three years. For two years he has been prosecuting attorney for the county. Mr. Richter was married in September, 1881, to Miss J. O’Connor, of Owatonna. They have had four children, two boys and two girls, of whom three are living.  Mr. Richter has always been a Roman Catholic.