He also traded in many other commodities and invested in other businesses in the Kingston area such as the Kingston and Pembroke Railway, and the Kingston Railway Company. His firm took an interest in the promising mining operations north of Kingston in the area of Canada known as the Canadian Shield. In the 1880s, the firm acquired mineral rights to a feldspar and mica mine in Frontenac County, near Godfrey, known as the Richardson Feldspar Mine. Not mined until 1900, the mine became the largest feldspar producer in Ontario. In 1892, James' wife became owner and executor of the firm. Later, ownership of the firm was to be transferred to their children, already full partners in the firm. George became president of the company, serving from 1892 through 1906, when his brother Henry, became president and served until 1918. Political life As a lifelong Conservative and former Alderman of the Victoria Ward, Richardson established a relationship with John A. Macdonald. "It was Sir John Macdonald's wish, on more than one occasion, that Mr. Richardson should stand as Conservative candidate for Kingston." MacDonald stated, "The Richardsons are and always have been strong and influential friends of mine." James' son, Henry Westman Richardson, became a Canadian Senator for the Kingston Senatorial Division and a member of the Standing Committee on Railways, Telegraphs and Harbours. Queen's University The Toronto Daily Mail reported that James was "one of the most liberal benefactors" of Queen's University . James' grandson, James Armstrong Richardson, Sr., son of George Armstrong, became the chancellor of University in 1929 and was noted for donating funds that built the Richardson Memorial Stadium in honor of his brother, Captain George Taylor Richardson who died on the battlefield in World War I. References External links Dictionary of Canadian Biography 1819 births 1892 deaths Businesspeople from Ontario Richardson family