The Hon. Richard Cartwright (February 2, 1759 – July 27, 1815) was a businessman, judge and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

Early life

Richard Cartwright was born at

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

in 1759. His father, Richard Cartwright, had immigrated there from

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in 1742. His mother, Joanne Beasley, was from a 'loyal Dutch family', and his father, an innkeeper and small landowner, soon became a pillar of the local community and was able to educate Richard privately.

Family loyalty questioned

During the

American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...

his father tried to remain as neutral as possible in the now rebel-occupied Albany, but a letter from Richard was intercepted by the authorities in 1777; this showed his loyalty was not with the American Patriots.

Departs for Canada

The younger Richard was allowed to leave for

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, but following his departure, now tainted by their son's loyalism to the Crown, his parents were abused and their property was 'destroyed and plundered', before they were 'conveyed away by guard to Crown Point' in 1778. At

Fort Niagara Fort Niagara is a fortification originally built by New France to protect its interests in North America, specifically control of access between the Niagara River and Lake Ontario, the easternmost of the Great Lakes. The fort is on the river's e ...

, the young Cartwright found employment as secretary to

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, and took part in military expeditions with his Loyalist regiment into New York. He soon saw the potential profits in supplying the

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army; in 1780 he ended his military career and formed a partnership with Robert Hamilton.

Life at Kingston

In 1783, Cartwright moved from

Carleton Island Carleton Island is located in the St Lawrence River in upstate New York. It is part of the Town of Cape Vincent, in Jefferson County. History Originally held by the Iroquois, one of the first Europeans to take notice of the island was Pierre F ...

where he operated a trading post, and settled at nearby Cataraqui (now Kingston) where he continued his business endeavours. His business interests expanded to include importing and exporting goods, manufacturing, retailing, milling, shipbuilding, and

land speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.) Many ...

. He was an early proponent of free trade with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

Political career

In 1788, he became a judge in the Court of Common Pleas and, in 1789, was named to the land board for the Mecklenburg District. He became a member of the Legislative Council for the province in 1792. He helped bring

John Strachan John Strachan (; 12 April 1778 – 1 November 1867) was a notable figure in Upper Canada and the first Anglican Bishop of Toronto. He is best known as a political bishop who held many government positions and promoted education from common sc ...

in 1792 to help improve educational facilities in the province. Unlike Lieutenant Governor

John Graves Simcoe John Graves Simcoe (25 February 1752 – 26 October 1806) was a British Army general and the first lieutenant governor of Upper Canada from 1791 until 1796 in southern Ontario and the watersheds of Georgian Bay and Lake Superior. He founded Yor ...

, Cartwright believed that English institutions should be adapted to Upper Canada's needs, and he opposed encouraging Americans to immigrate to the province. He served as an officer in the militia during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States, United States of America and its Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom ...

. Cartwright died in Kingston in 1815.

Family

He was a cousin of politician and businessman Richard Beasley. In 1785 Cartwright married Magdalen Secord, from a well-known Loyalist family, sister-in-law of

Laura Secord Laura Secord ( Ingersoll; 13 September 1775 – 17 October 1868) was a Canadian heroine of the War of 1812. She is known for having walked out of American-occupied territory in 1813 to warn British forces of an impending American atta ...

. His son, John Solomon, became a judge, businessman and political figure in the

Province of Canada The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on th ...

. Another son, Robert, married Harriet Dobbs, a Christian philanthropist. Their son, Sir

Richard John Cartwright Sir Richard John Cartwright (December 4, 1835 – September 24, 1912) was a Canadian businessman and politician. Cartwright was one of Canada's most distinguished federal politicians during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He was a ...

, became a Kingston lawyer and Canadian political figure. The former township of Cartwright in Durham County was named in his honour.

References

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
Retrieved 2016-04-07 *Osborne, Brian S. and Donald Swainson. ''Kingston, Building on the Past for the Future''. Quarry Heritage Books, 2011. *Mika, Nick and Helma et al. ''Kingston, Historic City''. Belleville: Mika Publishing Co., 1987. .

External links

Life and letters of the late Hon. Richard CartwrightCartwright family fonds
Archives of Ontario {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartwright, Richard 1759 births 1815 deaths American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Canadian people of English descent Immigrants to the Province of Quebec (1763–1791) Lawyers from Albany, New York Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada Politicians from Albany, New York Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople Province of Quebec (1763–1791) judges United Empire Loyalists Upper Canada judges 19th-century American lawyers