William Richards (born May 15, 1819), was a political figure in

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

. He was a member of the

Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island () together with the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island form the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at ...

from 1870 to 1872. He was born in

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, the son of Captain William Richards, and was educated in Wales and

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 ...

. At the age of eighteen, he went to sea with his father, going on to become owner of his own ship and then a ship builder, building about one hundred ships in his career. Richards settled at Bideford, Prince Edward Island where he built a shipyard. He also owned shipyards at Summerside and Egmont Bay. Rogers purchased a sawmill and cutting rights in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. In 1849, he married Susan, the daughter of James Yeo. He supported the bill for the construction of a Prince Edward Island Railway. Richards was elected to the

Legislative Council A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

in 1876 for one term. He was president of the Charlottetown Steam Navigation Company. His son James William served in the provincial assembly and the Canadian House of Commons.

External links

''Past and Present of Prince Edward Island ...'', DA MacKinnon & AB Warburton (1906)
1819 births Year of death missing Politicians from Swansea Welsh emigrants to pre-Confederation Prince Edward Island 19th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island Members of the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island Colony of Prince Edward Island people {{PrinceEdwardIsland-politician-stub