Edmund Backhouse (1824 – 7 June 1906), banker and J.P. on the

County Durham County Durham, officially simply Durham, is a ceremonial county in North East England.UK General Acts 1997 c. 23Lieutenancies Act 1997 Schedule 1(3). From legislation.gov.uk, retrieved 6 April 2022. The county borders Northumberland and Tyne an ...

and North Riding of

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

benches. He was a Member of Parliament for

Darlington Darlington is a market town in the Borough of Darlington, County Durham, England. It lies on the River Skerne, west of Middlesbrough and south of Durham. Darlington had a population of 107,800 at the 2021 Census, making it a "large town" ...

Family

He was the youngest son of Jonathan Backhouse (1779–1842), banker, of Polam Hill,

, and of his wife Hannah Chapman Backhouse, daughter of Joseph Gurney (1757–1841) and Jane Gurney, born Chapman of Norwich.

Parents

Both parents were ministers of the

Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...

(Quakers), travelling in Great Britain and North America.

Marriage

Edmund Backhouse married Juliet Mary, daughter and sole heiress of Charles Fox of Trebah in Cornwall, and his wife, Sarah. After the deaths of his sister and brother-in-law, Jane and Barclay Fox, the Backhouses brought up their daughter, Jane Hannah Fox. They were the parents of Sir Jonathan Backhouse, 1st Baronet and grandparents of Sir Edmund Backhouse, 2nd Baronet, Admiral Oliver Backhouse (1876–1943), twins: Lt-Col Miles Roland Charles Backhouse (1878–1962), Admiral of the Fleet Sir Roger Roland Charles Backhouse (1878–1939) and Lady Harriet Findlay DBE (1880–1954).

Business

In 1845, he became a junior partner in Jonathan Backhouse & Company, the family bank.

Politics

In 1867, he was elected M.P. for Darlington as a Liberal. He was re-elected in 1874and later retired from Parliament in 1880. He was succeeded by

Theodore Fry Sir Theodore Fry, 1st Baronet (1 May 1836 – 5 February 1912) was an English businessman and Liberal Party politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1880 to 1895. Life He was the son of Francis Fry, of Bristol, and his wife Matilda Pe ...

Residence in Cornwall

He bought Trebah from his father-in-Law. He probably played a large part in the development of the remarkable garden, which is now open to the public.

Death

He died at Trebah on 7 June 1906, aged 82 years, and was buried at the Quaker Burial Ground in Budock. His executors sold Trebah to Mr. and Mrs. Hext

Obituary in ''The Times''

Obituary An obituary (wikt:obit#Etymology 2, obit for short) is an Article (publishing), article about a recently death, deceased person. Newspapers often publish obituaries as Article (publishing), news articles. Although obituaries tend to focus on p ...

in ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' 8 June 1906, Page 3, Column F

"Mr. Backhouse was a genial good-hearted gentleman, at once a banker and a country squire. He was diligent and painstaking in all he undertook in public or private life, and was considered one of the ablest representatives sent from the north to Parliament. He was not an orator, but his speeches were characterised by good sense and extreme caution. His judgement was considered safe and he was always conscientious."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Backhouse, Edmund 1824 births 1906 deaths

Edmund Edmund is a masculine given name in the English language. The name is derived from the Old English elements ''ēad'', meaning "prosperity" or "riches", and ''mund'', meaning "protector". Persons named Edmund include: People Kings and nobles *Ed ...

Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies English Quakers English bankers UK MPs 1868–1874 UK MPs 1874–1880 Edmund Backhouse 19th-century English businesspeople