William Leatham (banker)
Encyclopedia
William Leatham was a leading Banker in Wakefield
, a Quaker and an abolitionist.
Leatham married Margaret Walker, the daughter of a Leeds Doctor in 1813.
The Leatham family were part of an influential Quaker community in Yorkshire. His children included William Henry Leatham
and Edward Aldam Leatham
who was born in 1828 who both became Liberal politicians, together with his grandson William Leatham Bright
.
In 1840 Leatham published a series of letters he had sent to try to influence the government's policy with respect to banking. He had a number of well argued points which he detailed in letters to the chairman of the relevant committee, Charles Wood
. He believed that they were making a big mistake in not including in the considerations of the British economy the currency of Bill of Exchange. Leatham argued that these made up a substantial part of the economy which he estimated to be of the size of £100 million. He was concerned that this currency was backed up by only a relatively small quantity of gold, most of which had been borrowed from the French government. He additionally suggested that Britain should add silver to gold as a metal it used to establish value in its currency
.
Leatham is recorded in a painting of the 1840 Anti Slavery conference with hundreds of delegates from around the world together with other significant bankers like George Head Head
, Samuel Gurney
and George William Alexander
and notable business people like Joseph Pease, John Ellis
and Tapper Cadbury
. In the painting he is by the French delegate and right behind the main speaker Thomas Clarkson
.
In his late fifties he retired to Leamington for his health and he died there aged 58 in 1842.
Wakefield
Wakefield is the main settlement and administrative centre of the City of Wakefield, a metropolitan district of West Yorkshire, England. Located by the River Calder on the eastern edge of the Pennines, the urban area is and had a population of 76,886 in 2001....
, a Quaker and an abolitionist.
Biography
Leatham was born in Pontefract to a father who would set up the family bank around 1800. Leatham attended Mr Tatum's academy in Leeds, but he was apprenticed to his father's bank by the age of about 15. Leatham extended the business when he was 23 and he was given the branch at Wakefield to manage. Another branch at Doncaster was successfully managed by Edward Tew.Leatham married Margaret Walker, the daughter of a Leeds Doctor in 1813.
The Leatham family were part of an influential Quaker community in Yorkshire. His children included William Henry Leatham
William Henry Leatham
William Henry Leatham was a British banker, poet and Liberal politician.He was a member of a Yorkshire Quaker family. His father was William Leatham, a banker from Heath, near Wakefield and his mother was Margaret née Walker of Leeds.Leatham entered banking, working in Wakefield, Pontefract and...
and Edward Aldam Leatham
Edward Aldam Leatham
Edward Aldam Leatham was an English Liberal politician.Leatham was the son of William Leatham of Heath near Wakefield, and his wife Margaret Walker. The family was part of an influential Quaker community in Yorkshire. He was a scholar and published Charmione: a tale of the great Athenian...
who was born in 1828 who both became Liberal politicians, together with his grandson William Leatham Bright
William Leatham Bright
William Leatham Bright was an English Liberal politician.Bright was the son of John Bright, M.P., of One Ash, Rochdale and his wife Margaret Elizabeth Leatham. He was educated at Grove House School, Tottenham, and at the University of London...
.
In 1840 Leatham published a series of letters he had sent to try to influence the government's policy with respect to banking. He had a number of well argued points which he detailed in letters to the chairman of the relevant committee, Charles Wood
Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax
Charles Wood, 1st Viscount Halifax GCB PC , known as Sir Charles Wood, 3rd Bt between 1846 and 1866, was a British Whig politician and Member of Parliament. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1846 to 1852....
. He believed that they were making a big mistake in not including in the considerations of the British economy the currency of Bill of Exchange. Leatham argued that these made up a substantial part of the economy which he estimated to be of the size of £100 million. He was concerned that this currency was backed up by only a relatively small quantity of gold, most of which had been borrowed from the French government. He additionally suggested that Britain should add silver to gold as a metal it used to establish value in its currency
Currency
In economics, currency refers to a generally accepted medium of exchange. These are usually the coins and banknotes of a particular government, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply...
.
Leatham is recorded in a painting of the 1840 Anti Slavery conference with hundreds of delegates from around the world together with other significant bankers like George Head Head
George Head Head
George Head Head was a mayor, magistrate, banker in Carlisle. The bank was started by his father, but was improved and rebuilt in his lifetime. He attended an important convention in 1840 on Anti-Slavery, where a painting records his involvement....
, Samuel Gurney
Samuel Gurney
Samuel Gurney was an English banker and philanthropist.He should not be confused with his second son, Samuel , also described as banker and philanthropist, and a Member of Parliament.-Early years and marriage:...
and George William Alexander
George William Alexander
George William Alexander was an English financier and philanthropist. He was the founding Treasurer of the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society in 1839. The American statesman Frederick Douglass said that he "has spent more than an American fortune in promoting the anti-slavery cause...
and notable business people like Joseph Pease, John Ellis
John Ellis (businessman)
John Ellis , of Beaumont Leys in Leicester, was instrumental in interesting George Stephenson in the proposed Leicester and Swannington Railway....
and Tapper Cadbury
Richard Tapper Cadbury
Richard Tapper Cadbury came to Birmingham in 1794 and started a linen draper's business in partnership with a fellow Quaker His children included John Cadbury who was given help to start a tea and coffee business that would develop into Cadbury's.-Biography:Cadbury came from Exeter and he was born...
. In the painting he is by the French delegate and right behind the main speaker Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson
Thomas Clarkson , was an English abolitionist, and a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He helped found The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade and helped achieve passage of the Slave Trade Act of 1807, which ended British trade in slaves...
.
In his late fifties he retired to Leamington for his health and he died there aged 58 in 1842.