William Richardson

1738 — 21/08/1799
A brief biography

Ancestors


Christopher Richardson — 1734 —
William Richardson 1738 — 1799
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Mentioned in

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William Richardson Solebay Log Book 1764 ...
William Richardson of Gainford 1738-1799
Michael Hogan and his ''Indian Princess' ...

Diary of a Leycester
The Richardsons of Leatherhead



William Richardson


Son of Christopher Richardson and Jane Potter. .

Born in Limehouse, London, England in 1738, the eleventh year of the reign of King George II, and died aged sixty-one in Gainford, Yorkshire in the thirty-ninth year of the reign of King George III  He has 236 direct descendants in the family.

The Solebay


On 29th May 1764, the 350 ton, Honorable East India Company trading ship “Solebay” passed the Downs and left the English Channel, bound for Bombay. She was under the command of 27 year old Captain William Richardson, who evidently had already spent many years at sea, and may even have sailed to India before.

The Solebay had been purchased from the Royal Navy the year before by Charles Dingley. William's younger brother Christopher became clerk to Charles Dingley, and became a partner in the timber merchants upon Charles' death in 1769.

The East India Company instructed William Richardson to proceed to Madagascar together with the Beckenham ''to purchase slaves for the use of our settlements upon the West coast of Sumatra ... they are hired also for the run to India only and then to be disposed of on account of their owners
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William Richardson based himself in Calcutta, where he married Anna Marie Lacy, from Tirhut state in present-day Bihar.

Much of what we know about William comes from his extensive Will (available in the Library).



The Country Trader

Captain William Richardson was born in 1738, the son of Jane and Christopher Richardson. He had two sons and six daughters with Anna Maria LACY. His Euro/Indian bride .Who he lived with for most of his life, although never offically married .He returned to England , without Anna Maria .
He died in August 1799 in Gainford, Durham, at the age of 61.
Capt. William Richardson, a merchant trader, and mentor to James Hogan and later his father-in-law. When he was in his early 20s, Hogan married Frances, who was born to Richardson and his ethnically Indian housekeeper, referred to as Anna Marie Lacy, from Tirhut state in present-day Bihar. Richardson acquired a charter enabling him to function as a privateer; the “letter of marque” displayed on Hogan’s ship was both a warning and a statement of fact. This meant that while Richardson (and Hogan) weren’t employees of the East India Company, they could trade, and as privateers, attack and plunder ships belonging to other nations./ppThrough Richardson, Hogan was introduced to well-known traders who had worldwide links—they sold rice and slaves to the Americas and conducted silk, tea, and opium trade in China and the East


Fort Marlborough in Java


Fort Marlborough in Bengkulu was once built by the British colonial era during 1713-1719 under the leadership of Governor Joseph Callet. After the Fort George in Madras, India, Fort Marlborough lined up as the biggest British fortress in Southeast Asia. The total area of this building is around 44,100 square meters and surrounded by 8.5 meters-height walls.

This is a location Captain William transport personal to from London .


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Latest Updates

William Arthur Mckitrick

William Arthur McKitrick
Name Correction - capitalized "K" in McKitrick Add date of death: 2015

1135 relatives found

Eleanor Adele Richardson is the latest relative on the Richardson website - thanks to Tim Richardson for this contribution.
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Simon Hebeler

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