Thomas Ridley (1799 – March 20, 1879) was a merchant and political figure in

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

. He represented

Conception Bay Conception Bay (CB) is a bay on the southeast coast of Newfoundland, Canada. The population (in 2011) of people living in municipalities (or unincorporated census subdivisions) located along the coast of Conception Bay was 90,490 making it ...

in the

Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly The Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly () is the Unicameralism, unicameral deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Newfoundland and Labrador of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It meets in the Confederation Bu ...

from 1842 to 1848. He was born in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

and came to Newfoundland around 1820 to work for his uncle William Bennett, later becoming his partner in the firm Bennett and Ridley. With a partner, he established Thomas Ridley and Company, a fishing supply business, in

Harbour Grace Harbour Grace is a town in Conception Bay on the Avalon Peninsula in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. With roots dating back to the 16th century, it is one of the oldest towns in North America. It is located about northwest of ...

; the firm was later renamed Ridley and Sons. He was a member of the Executive Council from 1843 to 1848. The business was declared insolvent in 1873. Ridley returned to England and died in Upper Tooting,

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

in 1879.

References

* 19th-century members of the Newfoundland House of Assembly 1799 births 1879 deaths British emigrants to pre-Confederation Newfoundland Members of the Executive Council of Newfoundland and Labrador Newfoundland Colony people {{Newfoundland-politician-stub