Major John Richardson (1796-1852)

and

Major John Richardson 1796-1852

There are two plaques about this gentleman on this page.
The first is in the County of Essex.
The second is in the Region of Niagara.

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted June, 2009

Photo by contributor Wayne Adam - Posted September, 2011

Plaque Location

The County of Essex
The Town of Amherstburg
Behind the Fort Malden National Historic Site Visitor Centre
on Laird Avenue South near Elm Avenue

Coordinates: N 42 06.481 W 83 06.740

Plaque Text

Born at Queenston in Upper Canada, John Richardson served as a volunteer at Fort Malden during the War of 1812 and was taken prisoner by the Americans at Moraviantown. He was released at war's end, retired on half-pay in 1818, and spent most of the next 20 years in Europe. There he won a certain literary reputation with works such as the poem Techumseh and Wacousta, a historical novel. Returning to Canada as a journalist, he founded the New Era in Brockville where, in 1842, he published his history, The War of 1812. Financial success eluded him, and before 1850 he moved to New York where he died in poverty.

Photo by Alan L Brown - Posted August, 2004

Plaque Location

The Region of Niagara
The Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake
In Queenston, on the grounds of a school on the southeast corner of Queenston and Walnut Streets

Coordinates: N 43 10.019 W 79 03.353

Plaque Text

This pioneer historian, author and soldier was born in Queenston. His family moved to Amherstburg about 1802, and at the outbreak of the War of 1812 Richardson joined the British army. Retired on half pay in 1818 in London, England, he published the epic poem "Tecumseh" and the celebrated historical novel "Wacousta" which established his literary reputation. In 1838 Richardson returned to Upper Canada where he published two weekly newspapers, "The New Era" (1841-42) and "The Canadian Loyalist" (1843-44). His later works "Eight Years in Canada" and "The War of 1812" provide invaluable historical information. In 1848 he moved to New York City where he died in poverty.

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Posted May 30, 2010
IODE (Imperial Order Daughter of the Empire) pays tribute to Major John Richardson. An existing Chapter in Windsor, Ontario renamed their chapter formerly Ford City since 1918 to Major John Richardon in 1930.

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