Adolph Richter was born in Cincinnati in 1857, the middle child of Julius & Katerina Meissner Richter. Adolph's father was a German blacksmith from Saxony. One of his father's customers took Adolph under his wing and became a mentor to him. He gave him his own children's books to study and Adolph also befriended his son who was just 12 days older than Adolph. The mentor also employed him as a messenger clerk in his office starting at age 13 and put Adolph through law school, graduating in the class of 1879 in Cincinnati. That individual was Alphonso Taft, a judge and former US Attorney General and Secretary of War. Judge Taft gave Adolph an engraved silver pocket watch after he passed the bar exam on his 21st birthday which he carried throughout his life and still keeps time today. Adolph's boyhood pal Will would become a judge, Governor General of the Philippines, Secretary of War, President of the United States and finally Chief Justice of the Supreme Court... William Howard Taft. There are over 500 letters in the Library of Congress between the two spanning the years. Many are business related since Adolph handled all of Taft's family Cincinnati holdings but some are more personal and give an insight to their relationship. When Louise Taft, the mother of William Howard Taft died in 1907, Adolph was selected to probate the estate and she left a bequest in her will to Adolph in "recognition for his faithful services to my husband and myself." I write this story as a grandchild of Adolph who I never knew since he was almost sixty-two when my mother was born. Our family is grateful for the Taft family support. I hope that I have repaid a small part of their kindness by having served as the board president of the Friends of William Howard Taft National Historic Site. Those books that my grandfather received from the Tafts, including a first edition of the Lincoln Douglas Debates published in 1860 have all been donated back to the birthplace and are the only original volumes that occupy the Library where my grandfather studied and worked.
Adolph Richter was born in Cincinnati in 1857, the middle child of Julius & Katerina Meissner Richter. Adolph's father was a German blacksmith from Saxony. One of his father's customers took Adolph under his wing and became a mentor to him. He gave him his own children's books to study and Adolph also befriended his son who was just 12 days older than Adolph. The mentor also employed him as a messenger clerk in his office starting at age 13 and put Adolph through law school, graduating in the class of 1879 in Cincinnati. That individual was Alphonso Taft, a judge and former US Attorney General and Secretary of War. Judge Taft gave Adolph an engraved silver pocket watch after he passed the bar exam on his 21st birthday which he carried throughout his life and still keeps time today. Adolph's boyhood pal Will would become a judge, Governor General of the Philippines, Secretary of War, President of the United States and finally Chief Justice of the Supreme Court... William Howard Taft. There are over 500 letters in the Library of Congress between the two spanning the years. Many are business related since Adolph handled all of Taft's family Cincinnati holdings but some are more personal and give an insight to their relationship. When Louise Taft, the mother of William Howard Taft died in 1907, Adolph was selected to probate the estate and she left a bequest in her will to Adolph in "recognition for his faithful services to my husband and myself." I write this story as a grandchild of Adolph who I never knew since he was almost sixty-two when my mother was born. Our family is grateful for the Taft family support. I hope that I have repaid a small part of their kindness by having served as the board president of the Friends of William Howard Taft National Historic Site. Those books that my grandfather received from the Tafts, including a first edition of the Lincoln Douglas Debates published in 1860 have all been donated back to the birthplace and are the only original volumes that occupy the Library where my grandfather studied and worked.
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