Author: Wood, James Riddall
Biography:
WOOD, James Riddall (c. 1797-1853: ancestry.co.uk)
He was possibly born in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, although no record of his baptism or birth family have been found. Nothing is known about his education. He married Hannah Healey Weaver on 27 Dec. 1826 at St. Peter and St Paul, Mansfield. They had at least six children. She died on 25 Dec. 1834 at Manchester. He then married Mary Haygarth on 30 May 1836 at St. David’s, Liverpool and they also had at least six children. Between 1828 and 1846, when he was declared bankrupt, he was involved in several business partnerships as mercer, woollen cord manufacturer, and waterproof sheeting manufacturer; he also independently operated as a bookseller in 1832 and as a schoolmaster for the deaf and dumb. Four of his poems were reprinted in James Wheeler’s Manchester Poetry (1838) which also included contributions by Ner Gardiner (1797-1874), one of his former business partners. He sailed from London with his family--consisting of his second wife, five sons and six daughters--on 20 Oct. 1849 and arrived at Port Natal Durban, South Africa, on 22 Jan. 1850. As a Byrne settler, he initially taught evening classes from a tent and his wife Mary taught day classes. He eventually obtained some clerical work and set himself up as a notary although he had no legal qualifications. He also became the first Deputy Sheriff of Durban. He was granted 160 acres of farmland at Woodlands Cotton Lands, near Verulam, Natal, and died there on 6 Apr. 1853. His wife Mary died in 1885. Their son John Medley Wood (1827-1915) became a noted botanist. (ancestry.co.uk 30 Apr. 2024; Miller, 514; Sheffield Independent 6 Jan. 1827; Birmingham Journal 30 Sept. 1837; Kendal Mercury 10 May 1851; London Gazette various issues; Pigot’s Directory, various issues; Natal Mercury 14 Apr. 1853; Rudolf G. Strey, “The Father of Natal Botany: John Medley Wood,” Natalia 7 [1977], 43-5; “Byrne Settlers 1749-1851,” shelaghspencer.com) AA