. Erected by Richardson and others in 1809, it still stands today at
Place Jacques-Cartier. in 1821, and served as its first president. When the west wing was built in 1832 it was named for him. . In 1816, her niece, Helen Richardson, married her husband's nephew, George Auldjo In 1806, Richardson formed part of a committee with
Louis Chaboillez,
Sir James Monk,
Sir John Johnson,
John Forsyth and John Ogilvie, to build
Nelson's Column, Montreal. Richardson's interests spread far beyond business. He was President of the
Natural History Society of Montreal and well read in modern and
ancient history,
law,
economics, and
British poetry. He maintained an excellent understanding of
British,
American, and European politics. For the most part he admired the economist
Adam Smith, and
Lord Byron was his favourite poet, but he neither admired the man or his politics.
Edmund Burke had governed his constitutional thinking on
Lower Canada, but in 1831, in the thinking of
Edward Ellice and
Lord Durham he thought a moderate reform of parliament justified. In personality, he had much of the "state and distance" he so admired in General Sir
James Henry Craig, which suited his considerable height and majestic bearing. In 1821, Richardson,
William McGillivray and
Samuel Gerrard formed a committee to purchase land on which to build the
Montreal General Hospital. It was built in 1821, and Richardson was appointed chairman of a committee to superintend its construction, and afterwards served as the first president of the hospital. In 1832, the new west wing was named for him and the plaque to his memory commemorated "the public and private virtues of the Honorable John Richardson.. a liberal contributor to its (the hospital's) foundation and support..". He was a member of and generously gave to both the
Presbyterian and the
Anglican churches. He was an
executor of his friend,
James McGill's, will. In 1794, at the Anglican
Christ Church in
Montreal, John Richardson married Sarah Ann Grant (1773-1847), niece and heiress of The Hon.
William Grant and his wife, widow of the 3rd
Baron de Longueuil. The Richardsons were the parents of seven children, including, • Ann Richardson (1797–1880), married firstly David Ogden (1772–1823), son of Chief Justice Isaac Ogden, of Montreal, and grandson of Judge
David A. Ogden. Her first husband was a brother of
Charles Richard Ogden and
Peter Skene Ogden. Secondly, in 1827, Ann married The Hon.
Thomas Brown Anderson, President of the
Bank of Montreal. • Eweretta Richardson (d.1874). In 1846, at
Montreal, she married
Colonel William Denny (1804-1886), of the
71st (Highland) Regiment of Foot, and
Tralee,
County Kerry. Denny was also an artist, and the son of Anthony Denny (first cousin of
Sir Edward Denny, 3rd Bt., of
Tralee Castle) and Frances, daughter of William Blennerhassett (1735-1797) of Ballyseedy, County Kerry. • Helen Richardson. In 1816, at Montreal, she married George Auldjo (1790–1846) J.P., of Montreal and afterwards Skene Terrace;
Chief Magistrate of
Aberdeen. He was a nephew of
Alexander Auldjo, the husband of Helen's aunt, Eweretta Richardson • John Richardson born 13 February 1804 in Montreal, Quebec and died in 1819 • Elizabeth Jane Richardson born 16 June 1806 in Montreal, Quebec and died on 13 July 1826 • Thomas Richardson (d. 1834), merchant at
Calcutta, India. • Charlotte Richardson (1808–1884), married Rev. James Ramsay, of Montreal, formerly of Glebe House,
Templemore,
County Tipperary. He ran a school for the boys of Montreal's elite. == See also ==