CARTWRIGHT, Hon. Richard: 1759 - 1815
Tile ordered and paid for by Venerable Archbishop Bedford Jones, LB, Napanee, Ontario, March 1889
Richard Cartwright was born in 1759 in Albany, New York. Well-established there, his family’s prosperity enabled Richard to attend private primary and advanced schools. Then, the American Revolution disrupted the life of the Cartwright family and their property was plundered and destroyed. Young Richard left for British territory in 1777. During the war, he was secretary to Colonel Butler of the Queen’s Rangers in the Niagara area and took part in military expeditions into New York.
After leaving the military, Cartwright proved to be a gifted and successful entrepreneur. He established a business in Kingston to supply the military garrisons and entered into partnership with Robert Hamilton, a prominent merchant and trader in the Niagara area. As a result of his entrepreneurial efforts, Richard Cartwright became one of the foremost merchants of the province. He also involved himself in shipbuilding.
In 1788, he was appointed Judge of the Court of Common Pleas for the District of Mecklenburgh (now Lennox & Addington and Frontenac counties) and was regarded as a conscientious, astute judge. In 1792 he became a member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. In 1800, Cartwright was appointed one of the commissioners in the Midland District (formerly Mecklenburgh) for administering the oath of allegiance to settlers claiming land. Cartwright actively encouraged the improvement of Upper Canada’s educational facilities and in 1799 he brought to Upper Canada a young Scottish teacher, John Strachan, who was destined to educate many of the next generation of Upper Canadian leaders. Richard Cartwright was active in the militia as early as 1807, inspiring Upper Canadians to resist the anticipated American invasion. During the War of 1812, Cartwright was Commandant of the Midland District. George Rawlyk, former Head of Queen’s University History Department, described Cartwright as “without question one of Upper Canada’s bright ornaments... a very gifted linguist, fluently bilingual, a truly remarkable person and an unusually exceptional entrepreneur.”(1)
Richard married Magdalen Secord (1764-1827) member of a well-known Loyalist family and sister-in-law of Laura Ingersoll Secord. Their first-born son, James, was baptized in St. George’s Cathedral, Kingston on January 9, 1785. Richard and Magdalen had eight children, four of whom predeceased Richard.
Richard Cartwright died in Kingston on July 27, 1815. He was survived by his wife and four children: Mary Magdalen (Dobbs); Thomas who died at the age of twenty-seven; Robert who became an Anglican minister and the father of Sir Richard John Cartwright (prominent cabinet member in Prime Minister Laurier’s government); and John, a distinguished Kingston lawyer and politician.(2)
1. “The Hon. Richard Cartwright 1759-1815,” Historic Kingston, Vol. 3 (Kingston Historical Society, 1985).
2. “Cartwright, Richard,” Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, Vol. V.