John Snowdon Henry

John Snowdon Henry (30 September 1824 – 30 October 1896)[1] was a British businessman and Conservative Party politician.

John Snowdon Henry
Born	30 September 1824 Manchester, United Kingdom
Died	30 October 1896 (aged 72) Bonchurch, Isle of Wight
Known for	Businessman, Parliamentarian and Volunteer officer
Spouse(s)	Annie Wood

Family life

He was the eldest son of Alexander Henry, founder of A & S Henry & Co, a Manchester-based firm of cotton merchants, who was a Conservative Member of parliament (MP) for South Lancashire from 1847 to 1852.[2] His younger brother was Mitchell Henry who was to become a Liberal Party parliamentarian.[3] He married Annie Wood of County Durham, and they had two daughters.[4]

A resident of Crumpsall, near Manchester, in 1865 Henry purchased East Dene, Bonchurch, Isle of Wight, the childhood home of the poet Algernon Charles Swinburne.[5]

Volunteering

During the invasion scare of 1859, he recruited a company of Rifle Volunteers from employees of the family firm, which was soon joined by other companies to form the 3rd Manchester Rifles. Henry served as Major and first commanding officer of the unit before handing over to the Hon Algernon Egerton, MP for South Lancashire and younger son of the Earl of Ellesmere.[6][7]

Political career

At the 1868 general election, Henry was selected by the Conservatives to contest the newly created South-Eastern Division of Lancashire,[3] which would return two Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons. He was elected along with his party colleague, Algernon Egerton.[2][8] He held the seat until the 1874 general election, when he did not seek re-election.[8]

Henry died at East Dene in October 1896,[4][9] aged 72.

References

1. "Historical list of MPs: House of Commons constituencies beginning with "L" (part 1)". Leigh Rayment's House of Commons pages. Archived from the original on 24 January 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2009.
2. "Our New Members of Parliament". The Times. 8 December 1868. p. 4.
3. "Election Intelligence". Daily News. 5 September 1868. p. 3.
4. "Will of Mr J Snowdon Henry". Leeds Mercury. 10 December 1896.
5. Lloyd, David Wharton; Pevsner, Nikolaus (2006). The Isle of Wight. The Buildings of England. Yale University Press. p. 88. ISBN 978-0-300-10733-3.
6. Rupert Bonner, 'The Development of the Rifle Volunteer Movement in Manchester', Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, 2008, Vol 86, No 347, pp. 216–35.
7. Ray Westlake, Tracing the Rifle Volunteers, Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2010, ISBN 978-1-84884-211-3, p. 145.
8. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2nd ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 413. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
9. "Obituaries". Leeds Mercury. 7 November 1896.

External links

• Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Mr John Henry