Richardson, John

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: David R. Beasley, “RICHARDSON, JOHN (John Frederick),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/richardson_john_1796_1852_8E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • (He also on occasion used the middle name Frederick), army officer, author, newspaperman, and office holder; b. 4 Oct. 1796 probably at Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake), Upper Canada, son of Robert Richardson and Madelaine Askin; m. first 12 Aug. 1825 Jane Marsh; m. secondly 2 April 1832 Maria Caroline Drayson; he had no children; d. 12 May 1852 in New York City.
    • John Richardson was a grandson on his mother’s side of the fur trader and merchant John Askin and Manette (Monette), a native woman believed to have been an Ottawa. His father came to Upper Canada from the Annandale district of Scotland as a surgeon with the Queen’s Rangers. He met and married Madelaine Askin in Queenston in 1793 and eventually settled in Amherstburg on the Detroit River. There John spent his adolescent years.
    • In July 1812, one month after war had broken out between the United States and Great Britain, Richardson, at the age of 15, joined the 41st Foot as a volunteer. He took part in several military engagements near Lake Erie. Fighting with Indian forces led by his hero Tecumseh, Richardson had an opportunity to observe the character of Indian warriors. He relied upon this experience when he came to write the novels Wacousta, Hardscrabble, and Wau-nan-gee. On 5 Oct. 1813 he was captured at the battle of Moraviantown and imprisoned in Kentucky. He was later to describe his war service in an essay, “A Canadian campaign, by a British officer.”
    • Unrecognized by Canadians, he was almost forgotten, and in one of his frequent moments of frustration in Canada wrote that “should a more refined and cultivated taste ever be introduced into the matter-of-fact country in which I have derived my being, its people will decline to do me the honor of placing my name in the list of their Authors.” It was a long time before his life aroused interest and his novels began to receive attention as energetic and complex creations. A promoter of a Canadian national literature in his day, Richardson would have been pleased to find that his works are now recognized as a contribution to its development.
  • Grandson of Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=238
  • Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/256945446/john-richardson