William Aldam (20 August 1813 – 27 July 1890) was an English

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

politician and MP for the

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 ...

constituency of

Leeds Leeds is a city in West Yorkshire, England. It is the largest settlement in Yorkshire and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds Metropolitan Borough, which is the second most populous district in the United Kingdom. It is built aro ...

between 1841 and 1847. Aldam studied law at the

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beginning in 1834 and was called to the bar in 1839 but never practised as a barrister. He became a Justice of the Peace in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire was one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the riding was an administrative county named County of York, West Riding. The Lord Lieutenant of the West Riding of Yorkshire, lieu ...

court of

quarter sessions The courts of quarter sessions or quarter sessions were local courts that were traditionally held at four set times each year in the Kingdom of England from 1388; they were extended to Wales following the Laws in Wales Act 1535. Scotland establ ...

in 1842 and

High Sheriff of Yorkshire The Sheriff is the oldest secular office under the Crown. Formerly the Sheriff was the principal law enforcement officer in the county but over the centuries most of the responsibilities associated with the post have been transferred elsewhere o ...

in 1878. Aldam was noted for promoting the development of railways and canals and for his staunch supporter of free trade. He was born a

Quaker 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 ...

but converted to

Anglicanism Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

. A ship named ''William Aldam'' was registered at

Goole Goole is a port town and civil parish on the River Ouse, Yorkshire, River Ouse in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. The town's Historic counties of England, historic county is the West Riding of Yorkshire. At the 2021 United Kingdom censu ...

in 1854 and wrecked in 1856.

Family

His father, also called William Aldam (died 1828), was a cloth merchant in Leeds. The family name was originally Pease, but his father changed it when he inherited the estate of the Aldam family at Frickley, near

Doncaster Doncaster ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, Yorkshire, River Don, it is the administrative centre of the City of Doncaster metropolitan borough, and is the second largest se ...

).Burke, John, 1871, Burke's genealogical and heraldic history of the landed gentry, Volume 1, page 8. On 13 November 1845 he married Mary Stables, daughter of Rev. Godfrey Wright, of Bilham; she died 4 October 1867. His son and heir William Wright Aldam (1853–1925) married Sarah Julia Warde in 1878 and took the surname of Warde-Aldam; he was High Sheriff of Yorkshire in 1905. His nephew William Aldam Milner (via his sister Susan) was

High Sheriff of Derbyshire This is a list of Sheriffs of Derbyshire from 1567 until 1974 and High Sheriffs since. The ancient Sheriff title originating in the time of the Angles, not long after the invasion of the Kingdom of England, which was in existence for around ...

in 1911.

References

External links

* 1813 births 1890 deaths Liberal Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies UK MPs 1841–1847 High sheriffs of Yorkshire {{England-Liberal-UK-MP-stub