Zachariah Pearson

Zachariah Pearson (died 1891) was an English shipowner, best known for the gift of land to Kingston upon Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire, which was used to establish the City's first public park, later known as Pearson Park.

He was bankrupted in the 1860s due to loss of ships which were attempting trade with the Confederate states during the United States civil war.

Biography

Pearson became Sheriff of Kingston upon Hull for the year 1858,^[1] and Chief Magistrate of the same town in 1859, and again in 1861,^[2] he was Mayor in 1859 and 1862.^[3] During his first term as Mayor he was instrumental in organising the construction of Hull's first purpose built town Hall. (opened 1862, to a design of Cuthbert Brodrick)^[4]

In 1860 he gave a gift of 27 acres (11 ha) of the 37 acres (15 ha) of land he had acquired near Beveley Road to the Hull Board of Health, for the establishment of a public park (now named Pearson Park), keeping the remainder of the land for building development; and paid £300 for the construction of an access road.^[5] In the early 1860s Pearson acquired several ships on credit from the Banking house of Overend and Gurney;^[6][7] In 1862 Pearson attempted to use his ships to break the blockade of the Confederate states during the American civil war;^[8] Pearson, a Wesleyan, was at variance with abolitionist views held by some of his non-conformist peers in his apparent support for the confederate cause; one motivation for this act was the need to obtain cotton for the Hull Flax and Cotton Mill, which employed 1500.^[9]

Six of his ships were captured by the Federal forces, and a seventh was run aground and destroyed; this coupled with previous losses of two ships in the Baltic and another lost to fire in the Thames, London led to his bankruptcy - in 1862 was declared bankrupt with over £600,000 of debts and liabilities.^[8] He resigned as Chief Magistrate and as Alderman of Hull in October 1862.^[2]

Pearson did not recover financially from his 1862 bankruptcy. He died in Hull in 1891.^[10]

References

Sources

• Xenos, Stefanos (1869), Depredations: or, Overend, Gurney, & Co., and the Greek & Oriental Steam Navigation Company 
• Bennett, John D., The London Confederates: The Officials, Clergy, Businessmen and Journalists who Backed the American South During the Civil War, ISBN 9780786430567 
• Sheahan, James Joseph (1864), General and concise history and description of the town and port of Kingston-upon-Hull, Simpkin, Marshall & Co. (London), John Green (Beverley) 
• Barwick, Nigel; Elsom, Ken; Hotham, Nick; Kaye, Ken; Oxaal, Ivar; Purkis, Harry; Scruton, J.S.; Watkins, Gareth (1989), Ketchell, Christopher, ed., An Illustrated History of the Avenues and Pearson Park Hull, Avenues and Pearson Park Residents Association, ISBN 0951542001 

External links

• Zachariah Charles Pearson (1821–1891), Mayor (1859 & 1861) (Painting, likeness), BBC - Your paintings, 1859