William Henry Leatham (6 July 1815 – 14 November 1889) was a British banker, poet and

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

politician.

Life

He was a member of a Yorkshire

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

family. His father was William Leatham, a banker from Heath, near

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

and his mother was Margaret née Walker of

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...

. Leatham entered banking, working in Wakefield,

Pontefract Pontefract is a historic market town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England, east of Wakefield and south of Castleford. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, it is one of the towns in the City of Wake ...

and

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

from 1836 to 1852. In 1839 he married Priscilla Gurney of Upton,

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

. 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 ...

and deputy lieutenant for the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

, and in 1870 was deputy chairman of the West Riding

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388 (extending also to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535). They were also established in ...

. He made his home at Hemsworth Hall, Pontefract. Leatham was a poet and author, writing a collection of ''Poems'' in 1840, and ''Tales of English Life and Miscellanies''. Politically, he was described as an "advanced Whig", and first stood for election to parliament in at

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

, but failed to win the seat. He was subsequently elected as MP for Wakefield in

1859 Events January–March * January 21 – José Mariano Salas (1797–1867) becomes Conservative interim President of Mexico. * January 24 ( O. S.) – Wallachia and Moldavia are united under Alexandru Ioan Cuza (Romania since 1866, final u ...

, but was unseated on petition. Six years later, he was again the Liberal candidate at Wakefield, and was elected as the town's

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...

. He left the

Commons The commons is the cultural and natural resources accessible to all members of a society, including natural materials such as air, water, and a habitable Earth. These resources are held in common even when owned privately or publicly. Commons ...

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

. In

1874 Events January–March * January 1 – New York City annexes The Bronx. * January 2 – Ignacio María González becomes head of state of the Dominican Republic for the first time. * January 3 – Third Carlist War &ndas ...

he was again a parliamentary candidate, this time for the two-seat Southern Division of the West Riding, but failed to be elected. Six years later, in

1880 Events January–March * January 22 – Toowong State School is founded in Queensland, Australia. * January – The international White slave trade affair scandal in Brussels is exposed and attracts international infamy. * February � ...

, he was successfully returned to parliament for the constituency. In

1885 Events January–March * January 3– 4 – Sino-French War – Battle of Núi Bop: French troops under General Oscar de Négrier defeat a numerically superior Qing Chinese force, in northern Vietnam. * January 4 – ...

the seat was abolished, and Leatham left parliament. His younger brother,

Edward Aldam Leatham Edward Adam Leatham (2 August 1828 – 6 February 1900) was an English Liberal Member of Parliament. Background and early life Leatham was the son of William Leatham of Heath near Wakefield, by his wife Margaret Walker, daughter and heiress of ...

, was MP for

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence into ...

. W H Leatham died on 14 November 1889, aged 74.

Family

He married in 1839 Priscilla, daughter of Samuel Gurney of Upton, Essex, and then settled at Sandal, near

, the subject of his poem, 'Sandal in the Olden Time.' A few years after their marriage, Leatham and his wife formally joined the church of England, purchasing in 1851 Hemsworth Hall, which passed into the possession of their eldest son, Samuel Gurney Leatham.

Works

* * *

References

;Attribution

External links

* * 1815 births 1889 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1865–1868 UK MPs 1880–1885 Politics of Wakefield {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub