Matthew Henry Horsley, JP (24 June 1867 – 17 February 1925) was an English timber merchant, shipowner, and philatelist noted for his collections of Canadian and Australian stamps.

Early life and family

Matthew Horsley was born at

Hartlepool Hartlepool () is a seaside and port town in County Durham, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Borough of Hartlepool. With an estimated population of 90,123, it is the second-largest settlement in County ...

on 24 June 1867, the oldest son of timber merchant

George Horsley George Horsley (22 June 1836 – 2 December 1895) was a Hartlepool ship-owner, alderman and mayor of Hartlepool in 1875 and 1876. His oldest son was Matthew Henry Horsley (1867–1925) who entered the family firm and became a noted ship-o ...

and his wife. He attended The Leys School in Cambridge and matriculated at Christ's College, University of Cambridge, in 1884 but did not take a degree. He married Clara Maclean at Hartlepool in 1893. They had sons, George, Henry, and Neville, and a daughter Clara. In 1923, the engagement was announced of Clara, daughter of M.H. Horsley and Mrs Horsley of Brinkburn, West Hartlepool, to Guy Mainwaring Morton, barrister.

Career

Horsley joined his father's firm of timber merchants, George Horsley & Company of West Hartlepool. He was the appointed manager of the ''

Mobile Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

'', owned by the Horsley Line Limited, when the ship was lost in the Atlantic with all hands (26) some time after leaving the United States for Britain on 28 December 1900. He was also a ship-owner and regularly appeared in the maritime news in ''The Times'' from 1904. He owned the steamer ''Verax'', insured for £19,000, when she was in collision of St John (Orleans Island) with the ''Athenia'' in 1904 and in 1905 he was the owner of the turret-decked steamer ''Greenbank'' of 3,880 tons, insured for £36,000. In 1906, his ship the ''Horsley'', of 3,717 tons built in 1901, en route from Grimsby to Bombay, was reported aground at Nicok Spit according to a telegram from Suez.

Politics and civic affairs

Horsely was active in local politics and civic affairs. He was elected mayor of Hartlepool in 1910 and in 1922 he gave a banquet at West Hartlepool in honour of former prime minister and Liberal Party politician, H. H. Asquith. He was vice-chairman of the Northern Liberal Federation."The Death of M.H. Horsley J.P.", '' The London Philatelist'', Vol. 34 (1925), p. 27. In addition, he was a

justice of the peace A justice of the peace (JP) is a judicial officer of a lower or ''puisne'' court, elected or appointed by means of a commission ( letters patent) to keep the peace. In past centuries the term commissioner of the peace was often used with the sa ...

for Durham and the county borough of West Hartlepool.

Recreations

Horsley played cricket for Durham in the

Minor Counties Championship The NCCA 3 Day Championship (previously the Minor Counties Cricket Championship) is a season-long competition in England and Wales that is contested by the members of the National Counties Cricket Association (NCCA), the so-called national cou ...

of 1897 and other matches. He later gave up cricket for fishing. He began to collect stamps in 1900 after buying some for his son and formed a leading collection of Canadian stamps. He later moved on to the stamps of Australian states and had a fine collection of the Sydney Views of New South Wales"Notable Philatelists. M. H. Horsley"
'' The Philatelic Record'', Vol. 30 (1908), pp. 122-123. as well as notable collections of Victoria and Western Australia. He was elected to membership of the

Philatelic Society London The Royal Philatelic Society London (RPSL) is the oldest philatelic society in the world. It was founded on 10 April 1869 as ''The Philatelic Society, London''. The society runs a postal museum, the Spear Museum of Philatelic History, at its ...

, later the Royal Philatelic Society London, in 1901 and gave a display of his Canadian stamps there in January 1907. He was elected a fellow of the society.

Death and legacy

Horsley died at Sidmouth, Devonshire, on 17 February 1925 of a heart attack following influenza. He was buried at

Stranton Grange Cemetery Stranton Grange Cemetery is located in Tanfield Road, Stranton, Hartlepool. It is also the site of Hartlepool Crematorium. It opened in May 1912. It now covers over 30 acres in extent. War graves The cemetery contains the war graves of 43 Common ...

, Hartlepool. His wife was buried in the same plot on her death in 1961. He left an estate of £274,009 with probate granted to his widow, George Horsley merchant,

William Share Maclean William is a masculine given name of Norman French origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conqu ...

shipowner and John Collingwood Fortune chartered accountant. He left a legacy of £1,000 to the Abbey Church of St Hilda, Hartlepool, which was used for the restoration of the building."Ecclesiastical News, ''The Times'', 18 November 1932, p. 9. His home of Brinkburn was purchased by the local authority and turned into a school.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Horsley, M. British philatelists Ship owners English cricketers of 1890 to 1918 1867 births 1925 deaths English merchants Mayors of Hartlepool Fellows of the Royal Philatelic Society London English justices of the peace People educated at The Leys School MH