Richard Atherton

1738 - 1804


Biography

Brother of William Atherton of Prescot, Lancashire, and Jamaica. Under the will of his brother William, he was heir to William's property in Jamaica as co-tenant-for-life subject to the life-interest of his brother John. William died in 1803 and John died in 1820; it is likely that Richard had died before the latter death. His will was written in 1803 but not proved until 1822; John's will (written in 1815) makes no mention of Richard but leaves his share of the Jamaican estates to Richard's son Edward. John's will also omits to mention Richard's eldest son William the younger (the main beneficiary of Richard's will) who is also assumed to have died before John Atherton in 1820.

A Richard Atherton, age 66, was buried at St John's, Preston, 02/09/1804.

Mentioned in Richard's will are his wife Mary and children William, Lucy (married to James Allan Park), Mary, Edward, Elizabeth and Catherine. No baptisms have been found for William and Lucy. The four youngest children were baptised in St John's, Preston betwwen 1767 and 1771. The eldest two may have been from an earlier marriage.

Lucy Atherton's husband James Allan Park is in the ODNB as a judge. This entry gives Lucy's father as "a woollen draper of Preston and one of the original partners of Preston Old Bank". James Allan Parke's obituary in the Gentleman's Magazine gives Lucy as "daughter of Mr. Richard Atherton, who was for many years a respectable woollen-draper at Preston, and one of the original partners in the Old Bank, when opened under the firm of Messrs. Atherton, Greaves, and Denison."


Sources

See entry for William Atherton.

Familysearch.org batch no. C00713-2.

J. A. Hamilton, ‘Park, Sir James Alan (1763–1838)’, rev. Jonathan Harris, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography online edition (Oxford University Press, 2004). Gentleman's Magazine Vol. 11 (February 1839) p. 211.


Further Information

Absentee?
British/Irish
Spouse
Mary
Children
William, Lucy, Mary, Edward, Elizabeth, Catherine
Will

PROB 11/1654/174 - precis.

Richard Atherton of Greenbank in Preston, Lancashire.

All my real estates to be liable to the payment of my debts and of the legacies, annuities and other charges in my will.

To my wife Mary Atherton, the income of all my estates, real and personal, in England and the mortgage on Mr Heath's estate called Spring Mount in Jamaica for her natural life, subject to the payment of an annuity of £24 to Miss Gwynn of Prescot, this annuity to Miss Gwynn to be paid by my son William after the death of my wife.

To my wife, all my houshold furniture, plate, books and linen to be used by her in my house at Green Bank for her life.

After the death of my wife then all my real and personal estate in England and Jamaica to my son William Atherton subject to the payment of £3,000 each to my five younger children: Lucy, wife of James Allan Park Esquire of London in trust; Mary, Edward, Elizabeth and Catherine Atherton.

The whole of the moity of the property left to me by my brother William Atherton of Prescot consisting of Green Park Estate and others in Jamaica worth £50,000 and various mortgages and bonds and money in the funds in England to my son William Atherton forever subject to payment of £8,000 each to my five youngest children.

Executors to be my wife Mary Atherton, my brother John Atherton, Thomas Greaves, Mr Aspden[?] and Rev. R. Harris.

To my old servant Richard Sutton £10 a year for life and to his wife Ann Sutton £10 a year for life should she outlive him.

Signed 23/07/1803.

Proved 04/03/1822 by James Allan Park, son of Lucy Lady Park and Sir James Allan Park.

Occupation
Woollen draper and banker

Associated Estates (3)

The dates listed below have different categories as denoted by the letters in the brackets following each date. Here is a key to explain those letter codes:

  • SD - Association Start Date
  • SY - Association Start Year
  • EA - Earliest Known Association
  • ED - Association End Date
  • EY - Association End Year
  • LA - Latest Known Association
1803 [SY] - 1804 [EY] → Tenant-in-tail or Remainderman
- 1803 [LA] → Mortgage Holder

In his will made in 1803, Richard Atherton left a mortgage on Mr Heath's estate called Spring Mount in Jamaica to his wife for life, then to his son William.

1803 [SY] - 1804 [EY] → Tenant-in-tail or Remainderman

Relationships (17)

Brothers
Wife → Husband
Brother-in-law → Sister-in-law
Brothers
Father → Daughter
Father → Daughter
Father → Son
Father → Daughter
Father → Daughter
Uncle → Niece
Uncle → Niece
Uncle → Nephew
Uncle → Niece
Father-in-law → Daughter-in-law
Brothers
Father → Daughter
Father-in-law → Son-in-law

Addresses (1)

Green Bank, Preston, Lancashire, North-west England, England