Heartz, Richard Jacob

DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Peter E. Rider, “HEARTZ, RICHARD JACOB,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 13, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/heartz_richard_jacob_13E.html
DCB profile notes:
- Businessman and politician; b. 11 June 1816 in North River, P.E.I., son of John Martin Heartz and Ann Margaret Dawson; m. 2 March 1841 Jane Howard, and they had three sons and three daughters; d. 15 July 1908 in Charlottetown.
- Richard Heartz was born into a well-established Island family. His paternal grandfather was a loyalist of German background who had immigrated to New York and had subsequently been granted 500 acres on the Yorke (North) River; his mother was the daughter of an Irish-born militia officer who had acquired a similar holding.
- After receiving no more than a basic formal education, Heartz moved to Charlottetown in 1832 to train as a tanner and currier in the business of his uncle Thomas Dawson. By 1838 he had opened his own firm as a tanner and general merchant. During the next 20 years he steadily increased this enterprise.
- Heartz’s commercial activity appears to have been secondary to his interest in banking. He became involved in finance at a time when the absence of local banks was contributing to the retardation of Island commerce. Private sources of capital were often required by merchants short of funds. Though some independent moneylenders were reportedly severe in their dealings, Heartz had a reputation for fairness. He was an original director of the Bank of Prince Edward Island, founded in 1856, and he sat on its board until its cessation of business in 1881.
- Richard Heartz lived in a community which was substantial by 19th-century standards but which provided few opportunities for personal or civic flamboyance. He was a notable representative of the group that formed Charlottetown’s economic and social backbone and oversaw the integration of the city into the broader mainstream of national life.
Grandson of Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=3724
Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/189754937/richard-jacob-heartz