William Ralph Cartwright

Born in 1771, Cartwright was a sitting Tory MP between 1797 and 1846. In 1793 a highwayman was transported for robbing him of £32 10s worth of goods and money. In 1797 he became the MP for Northamptonshire until 1831, then from 1832 he was the MP for South Northamptonshire until 1846. During the Napoleonic Wars, he was a lieutenant-colonel in his local militia. In the time of agricultural depression and increasing population, Cartwright helped settle many dozens of his surplus agricultural labourers in Wellington County, Ontario from the late 1820s until his death. He ran up huge debts, mainly from playing the stock market, which he did unsuccessfully. He initially married the Honourable Emma Mary Maude, with whom he had two children, though he was widowed in 1808. In 1810, he remarried to Julia Francis Aubrey, with whom he had five more children.