Ralph Richardson (politician born 1812)

Dr Ralph Richardson (1812–1897/1898) was a Member of the New Zealand Legislative Council. He lived in New Zealand for less than a decade, and retired to Devon in England, and later to London.

Biography

Richardson was born in Capenhurst, Cheshire, England in 1812.[1] He was educated at Chester Grammar School, at Edinburgh University (from where he graduated MD) and Downing College, Cambridge (from where he graduated MA and became a fellow); Richardson never practised as a doctor.[1] Aged 28, he married Marie Louise Seymour, a daughter of George Turner Seymour of Wraxall, Somerset.[1] They emigrated to New Zealand in 1851 on the Maori and first settled in Meadowbank near Blenheim.[2][3] Arthur Seymour, Marie's brother, accompanied them to New Zealand and settled in Picton.[4] Henry Seymour, who also returned to Nelson on that ship, was unrelated.[4][5][6] By 1854, the Richardsons were living in Nelson.[2]

Richardson was appointed to the Legislative Council on 31 December 1853.[7] He was a Member of the Executive Council in the first Fox Ministry from 24 May to 2 June 1856.[8] He resigned from the Legislative Council on 13 December 1856.[7] The Richardsons returned to England in 1858.[2] According to Henry Sewell's diary, "Mrs Richarson like[d] New Zealand, but the want of Servants [was] the one intolerable grievance."[9] They bought an estate in Devon where they lived until the 1880s.[1] His wife died in 1880,[10] and he later moved to London.[1] After his son Ralph (who was a New Zealand MHR from 1871 to 1873) died in Nelson on 22 December 1889,[11] he took in his daughter-in-law and her two small girls.[10] Richardson died in 1897[2] or 1898.[10]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Scholefield 1940, pp. 235f.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Sewell 1980, p. 14.
  3. ↑ Cyclopedia Company Limited (1906). "Present And Past Members Of Parliament". The Cyclopedia of New Zealand : Nelson, Marlborough & Westland Provincial Districts. Christchurch. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
  4. 1 2 "Shipping Intelligence". Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle. X (572). 27 December 1851. p. 174. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Nelson Examiner". Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle. X (572). 27 December 1851. p. 174. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  6. ↑ Stephens, Joy. "Seymour Square". The Prow. Retrieved 9 September 2014.
  7. 1 2 Wilson 1985, p. 162.
  8. ↑ Wilson 1985, p. 60.
  9. ↑ Sewell 1980, p. 182.
  10. 1 2 3 Richardson 1995, p. 13.
  11. ↑ "Death". The Nelson Evening Mail. XXIII (325). 24 December 1889. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
Sources
  • Richardson, Lesley (1995). "Ralphine Richardson". Journal of the Nelson and Marlborough Historical Societies. Nelson Historical Society (Inc.). 2 (6). Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  • Scholefield, Guy, ed. (1940). A Dictionary of New Zealand Biography : M–Addenda (PDF). II. Wellington: Department of Internal Affairs. Retrieved 21 June 2015.
  • Sewell, Henry (1980). W. David McIntyre, ed. The Journal of Henry Sewell 1853–7 : Volume II. Christchurch: Whitcoulls Publishers. ISBN 0 7233 0625 7.
  • Wilson, James Oakley (1985) [First ed. published 1913]. New Zealand parliamentary record, 1840-1984 (4 ed.). Wellington: V.R. Ward, Govt. Printer. OCLC 154283103.
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