Benjamin Parkyn Richardson
Encyclopedia
1st North-West Legislative Assembly
The 1st North-West Legislative Assembly lasted from 1888 to 1891. This Assembly was the third in the history of the Northwest Territories. The Assembly marked a huge milestone bringing responsible government to the territory for the first time.-Background:...
in Northwest Territories
Northwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, from 20 June 1888 until 10 October 1891. He settled in present-day Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
in 1884.
Early life
Richardson was the third son of the Reverend George Thomas Richardson (1822-1888), Methodist Minister of Toronto Conference, who came to Canada from Cornwall, England in 1854. He was born at BlenheimBlenheim, Ontario
Blenheim is a community located in south-central Chatham-Kent, Ontario, Canada, with a population of 4,800.- History :By 1783, there were French settlers in Detroit and Windsor. There were also settlers in the Niagara and Kingston region, but no real settlers to speak of in the Kent County region...
in York County
York County, Ontario
York County is a historic county in Upper Canada, Canada West, and the Canadian province of Ontario.York County was created in 1792 and was part of the jurisdiction of Home District of Upper Canada...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
in 1857.
Richardson was educated at the county public schools and Uxbridge
Uxbridge, Ontario
Uxbridge is a township in south-central Ontario, Canada, in the Regional Municipality of Durham, in the Greater Toronto Area.The main centre in the township is the namesake community of Uxbridge...
High School. He taught school for six years at Uxbridge, and then engaged in farming and stock-raising. He married Margaret Ethel Austin (1856-1928) of Clough Jordon, Tipperary, Ireland, at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, on 3 October 1882. In 1884, Richardson settled in the North-West Territories and established himself as a farmer and stock breeder.
Public life
Richardson earned 209 votes to be elected as member for Wolseley (in present-day Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
) in 1888. He campaigned again and lost in the 1891 Northwest Territories general election
Northwest Territories general election, 1891
The Northwest Territories general election of 1891 was held on 7 November 1891 to elect twenty five members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was the second general election in the Northwest Territories' history. The legislature gained three seats, and six new...
, earning 213 votes, while his opponent, James Dill
James Dill
James Peers Dill was a politician from old Northwest Territories Canada.Dill first ran in the 1888 Northwest Territories general election but was defeated by Benjamin Parkyn Richardson, with a 6 vote margin. In the 1891 Northwest Territories general election Dill would face Benjamin again this...
, earned 312. Richardson ran a third time for election in Grenfell in the 1898 Northwest Territories general election
Northwest Territories general election, 1898
The Northwest Territories general election of 1898 took place on 4 November 1898. This was the fourth general election in the history of the Northwest Territories, Canada. It was held to elect members of the Legislative Assembly of the Northwest Territories....
, earning 153 votes, while his opponent, Richard Stuart Lake, earned 351. Five general elections would occur between 1888 to 1905, as the territories underwent significant growth. As an assembly member, Richardson was twice appointed to the Advisory Council of Lieutenant Governor Joseph Royal
Joseph Royal
Joseph Royal was a Canadian journalist, lawyer, politician, businessman, and Lieutenant Governor of the Northwest Territories.-Early life and career:...
. He also served on its Education, Irrigation, Municipal, and Prairie and Forest Fires committees, among others. Samples of his correspondence with Lieutenant Governor Edgar Dewdney
Edgar Dewdney
Edgar Dewdney, PC was a Canadian politician born in Devonshire, England. He served as Lieutenant Governor of the North-West Territories and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.-Early life and career:...
are housed in the archives of the Glenbow Museum in Calgary (Alberta).
Other Involvement
Richardson served as first president of the Grenfell Agricultural Society formed in 1884, director of the Hospital Board, chairman of the Public School Board, and editor of the Grenfell Sun, of which he was a founder. He was the first vice-president on the Board of Governors of Regina College at the time of its foundation (what has become the University of Regina
University of Regina
The University of Regina is a public research university located in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Founded in 1911 as a private denominational high school of the Methodist Church of Canada, it began an association with the University of Saskatchewan as a junior college in 1925, and was disaffiliated...
). As an active member of the Methodist Church, Richardson was vice-president of its Bible Society and the Lord's Day Alliance, a movement founded to combat Sabbath secularisation. He was also director of the Grenfell Cheese Company and Inspector of Agencies for the London and Lancashire Life Assurance Company in Manitoba and the North-West Territories.
Richardson died suddenly at age fifty-three of what was diagnosed as Bright's Disease
Bright's disease
Bright's disease is a historical classification of kidney diseases that would be described in modern medicine as acute or chronic nephritis. The term is no longer used, as diseases are now classified according to their more fully understood causes....
. His funeral service was reported to be crowded at the doors of the local church, and the procession to have numbered over one hundred carriages and to be more than one mile in length. He was survived by his wife and seven children.
See also
- List of Northwest Territories general elections
- Robert G. BrettRobert BrettRobert George Brett was a politician and physician in the North-West Territories and later Alberta, Canada....
, first territorial assembly chairman