Nichol Latimer

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Nichol Latimer
Born1830 (1830)
England
Died28 September 1865(1865-09-28) (aged 34–35)
Shanghai
OccupationsMerchant, Shipbroker, Publisher
Known forPublisher of The North China Herald
Relatives

Nichol Latimer (1830 – 28 September 1865) a British businessman who was the publisher of The North China Herald, which was the most influential newspaper in treaty port China.

Family

Nichol Latimer's father David was the owner of Kirklinton Hall

His father was the farmer[1] David Latimer[2] (b. 1781)[3] of Berwickstown, Kirklinton,[4] and later of Kirklinton Hall, and later of Leeds.[2] His maternal uncle was the Oxford and Headington vintner Edward Latimer (1775 - 1845),[5] whose wine is described as ‘Latimer’s immortal tun’ in the Oxford University poem 'Brasenose Ale', and who was vintner to The Duke of Marlborough.[6] There is a memorial plaque to Edward Latimer and his wife Elizabeth (d. 1843) at St. Andrew's Church, Headington, where they and several other members of their family are buried.[5] They had twelve children who survived into adulthood.[5]

Nichol Latimer's mother was Anne Moody, who was the daughter of the surgeon George Moody (1773–1844),[6] of Arthuret, Longtown, Cumbria,[7] and later of Leeds.[8] Anne Moody was a ladies' school founder, of Warwick Place, Leeds.[9] His maternal uncle was the high church clergyman, theologian, classical scholar, and freemason, Clement Moody, Vicar of Newcastle.[10][7]

His niece[2] Mary Latimer R. R. C. (d. 1936),[11] who was the daughter of the solicitor John Latimer (b. 1827, Kirklinton Hall, d. aged 54 years), of Horsfall and Latimer Solicitors, Park Row, Leeds, and of St. Mark's Villas, Leeds,[12] married Colonel Thomas Moody ADC Kt.'s grandson Colonel Richard Stanley Hawks Moody CB.[13]

His nephew Hugh Graham Latimer (b. 1863) was articled to his father as a solicitor, served as a Lieutenant in 3rd Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment, and inherited his father's farming, before emigrating to Almyra, Arkansas, by 1904.[12]

Career

He was educated at Leeds Grammar School with his younger brother Thomas[2] and his nephew Hugh Graham Latimer.[14]

He worked for the merchants Smith, Kennedy & Co. before he founded his own trading company, Nichol Latimer & Co (which was later renamed Latimer, Little, & Co.), at Foochow Road Shanghai in 1864.[15] Partners in his company included Archibald Little,[15] J. Nutt, and J. B. Tootal.[16] He also was the manager of the Shanghai Steam Navigation Co. of Russell & Company, which was the largest American trading company during Quing dynasty China, until his death.[17][15][18]

He was the publisher of The North China Herald which was the most influential newspaper in China.[17][19]

He was a member of the Royal Asiatic Society China.[15]

He died on 28 September 1865, from an overdose of morphine, and is buried at Shantung Road Cemetery, Shanghai,[15][20] where his grave ID No. is 1064.[21]

References

  1. The Leeds Grammar School Admissions Books, from 1820 to 1900, Ed. by Edmund Wilson F. S. A., Leeds, 1906, p. 73
  2. The Register of the Leeds Grammar School, 1820–1896, Printed by J. Laycock and Sons, Leeds, 1897, p. 45
  3. The Leeds Mercury, 12 January 1839, p. 1
  4. The Carlisle Journal, 17 December 1858, p.8
  5. "The Latimer Family of Headington". Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  6. Stephanie Jenkins, 2011. "The Latimers of the Parish of All Saints, Oxford, and Headington" (PDF). Retrieved 6 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  7. Foster, Joseph (1888–1891). "Moody, Clement" . Alumni Oxonienses: the Members of the University of Oxford, 1715–1886. Oxford: James Parker – via Wikisource.
  8. The Leeds Intelligencer, 04 January 1845, Deaths
  9. The Leeds Mercury, 12 January 1839, p. 1
  10. "Legacies of British Slave-Ownership: Lieutenant-Colonel Thomas Moody: Profile and Legacies Summary". University College London. Retrieved 6 June 2016.
  11. Grave Cross of George Latimer (1834–1897), that commemorates Mary Moody (Latimer) R. R. C. (d. 1936), Ocklynge Cemetery, Eastbourne, East Sussex, England
  12. The Leeds Grammar School Admissions Books, from 1820 to 1900, Ed. by Edmund Wilson F. S. A., Leeds, 1906, p. 221
  13. The York Herald, 7 November 1881, p. 5
  14. The Register of the Leeds Grammar School, 1820–1896, Printed by J. Laycock and Sons, Leeds, 1897, p. 128
  15. 'The Shanghai Municipal Council, 1850 – 1865, Some Biographical Notes', by J. H. Haan, in Journal of the Hong Kong Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, Vol. 24 (1984), pp. 207–229
  16. The Chronicle And Directory for China, Japan, and the Philippines, for 1865, Published by the Daily Press Office, Wyndham Street, Hong Kong
  17. He, Sibing (2011). Russell and Company in Shanghai, 1843–1891:U. S. Trade and Diplomacy in Treaty Port China. University of Hong Kong. p. 11.
  18. Supplement to the Overland China Mail, 15 October 1865, p. 5
  19. Prescott, Frank HH (1965). King; Clarke (eds.). A Research Guide to China Coast Newspapers, 1822–1911. East Asian Research Centre, Harvard University. pp. 77, 122–133.
  20. The North China Herald, 30 September 1865
  21. "Entry for Latimer, Nichol, Shantung Road Cemetery, China Families Project, The University of Bristol". The University of Bristol.