James Richardson (1819 – 15 November 1892) was a Canadian businessman, founder of James Richardson and Sons, Limited, politician, and a colleague and personal friend of Sir

John A. Macdonald Sir John Alexander Macdonald (January 10 or 11, 1815 – June 6, 1891) was the first prime minister of Canada, serving from 1867 to 1873 and from 1878 to 1891. The dominant figure of Canadian Confederation, he had a political career that sp ...

. James had two sons: George Armstrong Richardson and

Henry Westman Richardson Henry Westman Richardson (July 21, 1855 – October 27, 1918) was a Canadian businessman and Senator. He was the head of James Richardson and Sons, a commodities firm based in Kingston, Ontario that was founded by his father which handled virt ...

. James died on 15 November 1892 leaving a business enterprise that survives today as James Richardson and Sons, Limited, the largest grain firm in the

British Commonwealth The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Co ...

. It is a privately-owned agribusiness that is also involved with real estate, energy exploration, and food processing. He is buried in

Cataraqui Cemetery Cataraqui Cemetery is a non-denominational cemetery located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1850, it predates Canadian Confederation, and continues as an active burial ground. The cemetery is 91 acres in a rural setting with rolling wo ...

in Kingston, in the same cemetery as John A. Macdonald.

Early life

James Richardson was born in 1819 in Aughnacloy,

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

to Daniel Richardson and Janet Armstrong. He emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in approximately 1823 and at the age of ten years moved to Kingston. His business interests started in tailoring and soon moved to grain and potash speculation. In 1844, based on an advertisement in the 17 January 1844 ''Chronicle & Gazette'', he and "Little" started their own merchant tailor's business on Princess Street in Kingston. The advertisement indicated that their specialties included "broad cloths, plain and figured beavers, cassimeres, doe skine ic tweeds, fancy and clan tartans, and an assortment of vestings". And those cloths were promised to be "made to order in the latest and most approved fashionable styles, on moderate terms, and at the shortest possible notice".

James Richardson & Sons, Limited

Richardson lived above his merchant tailor's shop where he accepted grain as payment for some of his tailoring work. Sometime between the 1840s and the late 1860s, Richardson focused solely on the

grain trade The grain trade refers to the local and international trade in cereals and other food grains such as wheat, barley, maize, and rice. Grain is an important trade item because it is easily stored and transported with limited spoilage, unlike other ...

. In 1857, he founded James Richardson and Sons, Limited The firm purchased "a wharf and warehouse on the Kingston waterfront" in 1868 becoming the first to export grain from Kingston. The 1871 Canada Federal Census lists James' occupation as "grain dealer". In the 1873–74 Kingston Directory, the business was referred to as "Richardson & Sons, Grain Dealers, Commercial Wharf, Foot of Princess St.". At this time his sons, George Algernon Richardson and

became managing partners in the business. In 1880, the Richardsons built the first grain elevator in Kingston with a capacity of 60,000 bushels. Richardson exported grain to several countries in Europe and South America. As early as 1855, Richardson had been shipping grain to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

to help feed British troops during the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. He also traded in many other commodities and invested in other businesses in the Kingston area such as the

Kingston and Pembroke Railway The Kingston and Pembroke Railway (K&P) was a Canadian railway that operated in eastern Ontario. The railway was seen as a business opportunity which would support the lumber and mining industries, as well as the agricultural economy in eastern On ...

, and the Kingston Railway Company. His firm took an interest in the promising mining operations north of Kingston in the area of Canada known as the

Canadian Shield The Canadian Shield (french: Bouclier canadien ), also called the Laurentian Plateau, is a geologic shield, a large area of exposed Precambrian igneous and high-grade metamorphic rocks. It forms the North American Craton (or Laurentia), the anc ...

. In the 1880s, the firm acquired mineral rights to a feldspar and mica mine in

Frontenac County Frontenac County is a county and census division of the Canadian province of Ontario. It is located in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario. The city of Kingston is in the Frontenac census division, but is separated from the County of Fron ...

, near Godfrey, known as the Richardson Feldspar Mine. Not mined until 1900, the mine became the largest feldspar producer in Ontario. In 1892, James' wife became owner and executor of the firm. Later, ownership of the firm was to be transferred to their children, already full partners in the firm. George became president of the company, serving from 1892 through 1906, when his brother Henry, became president and served until 1918.

Political life

As a lifelong Conservative and former

Alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many Jurisdiction, jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council membe ...

of the Victoria Ward, Richardson established a relationship with

. "It was Sir John Macdonald's wish, on more than one occasion, that Mr. Richardson should stand as Conservative candidate for Kingston." MacDonald stated, "The Richardsons are and always have been strong and influential friends of mine." James' son,

, became a Canadian Senator for the Kingston Senatorial Division and a member of the Standing Committee on Railways, Telegraphs and Harbours.

Queen's University

The ''Toronto Daily Mail'' reported that James was "one of the most liberal benefactors" of Queen's University . James' grandson, James Armstrong Richardson, Sr., son of George Armstrong, became the chancellor of University in 1929 and was noted for donating funds that built the

Richardson Memorial Stadium There have been three versions of George Taylor Richardson Memorial Stadium, a Canadian football stadium located on the campus of the Queen's University in Kingston, Ontario. All three have been the home of the Golden Gaels/Gaels football team. ...

in honor of his brother, Captain George Taylor Richardson who died on the battlefield in World War I.

References

External links

Dictionary of Canadian Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Richardson, James 1819 births 1892 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Richardson family People from Aughnacloy, County Tyrone Businesspeople from County Tyrone Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Canada