Stephen Richards (May 19, 1820 – October 4, 1894) was a lawyer and political figure of Ontario, Canada. He represented Niagara in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario as a Conservative member from 1867 to 1874.
Career
He was educated in Toronto and was called to the bar in 1844. In 1858, he was named Queen's Counsel.
He first tried to run for office in the first Ontario provincial election for the Leeds South riding, but lost by just 7 votes. He was eventually elected to the provincial legislature in an 1867 by-election after the sitting member Donald Robertson resigned. He served as Commissioner of Crown Lands in the Executive Council of the province from 1867 to 1871 and provincial secretary in 1871.[1]
Personal Life
Born to Stephen Richard Sr. and Phoebe Buell, in Brockville, Upper Canada, in 1820 (approx.) He had two brothers, William Buell Richards, who was the first Chief Justice of Canada and Albert Norton Richards, who was a member of the Canadian House of Commons and Lieutenant-Governor of British Columbia.[2] His grandfather William Buell and uncle William Buell Jr. both served in the Parliament of Upper Canada.
He died in Toronto on October 11, 1894 of unknown causes.
Electoral history
| 1867 Ontario general election: Leeds South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Conservative | Benjamin Tett | 1,380 | 50.13 | |||||
| Liberal | Stephen Richards | 1,373 | 49.87 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 2,753 | 83.96 | ||||||
| Eligible voters | 3,279 | |||||||
| Conservative pickup new district. | ||||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[3] | ||||||||
| Ontario provincial by-election, December 1867: Niagara Resignation of Donald Robertson | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Conservative | Stephen Richards | 229 | 99.13 | +44.82 | ||||
| Independent | Mr. Geale | 2 | 0.87 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 231 | 100.0 | −58.45 | |||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +44.82 | ||||||
| Source: History of the Electoral Districts, Legislatures and Ministries of the Province of Ontario[4]: 230 | ||||||||
| 1871 Ontario general election: Niagara | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Conservative | Stephen Richards | 277 | 62.25 | −36.88 | ||||
| Liberal | Mr. Ball | 168 | 37.75 | |||||
| Turnout | 445 | 56.98 | +92.64 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 781 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −36.88 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Ontario[5] | ||||||||
References
- ^ "Stephen Richards | Legislative Assembly of Ontario". ola.org. 1867-12-11. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ "RICHARDS, Sir WILLIAM BUELL". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Retrieved 2025-02-25.
- ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1867. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
- ^ Lewis, Roderick (1968). Centennial Edition of a History of the Electoral Districts, Legislatures and Ministries of the Province of Ontario, 1867–1968. OCLC 1052682.
- ^ "Data Explorer". Elections Ontario. 1871. Retrieved March 31, 2024.