RAMSDEN, William (c.1618-80), of Hull, Yorks.

Published in The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660-1690, ed. B.D. Henning, 1983
Available from Boydell and Brewer

Constituency

Dates

25 Nov. 1678

Family and Education

b. c.1618. m. 20 Feb. 1650, Anne (d. 23 Apr. 1667), da. of Thomas Boynton of Rawcliffe, Yorks., 1s. 2da.1

Offices Held

Alderman, Hull by 1652-d., chamberlain 1652-3, sheriff 1656-7, mayor 1659-60; commr. for assessment, Hull Aug. 1660-74, 1679-80, York Aug. 1660-1, Yorks. (E. Riding) 1679-80; dep. merchant adventurers’ co. and eastland co. Hull, gov. merchants’ co. by 1665.2

Biography

Ramsden, a merchant and member of the Hull merchant adventurers, was probably a kinsman of John Ramsden I. Although he had held office in Hull during the Interregnum he accepted the Restoration, signing the town’s congratulatory address to Charles II in June 1660. He was confirmed as an alderman in the new charter issued in 1661. Returned for the borough in November 1678 at the by-election caused by the death of Andrew Marvell, he played no part in the last session of the Cavalier Parliament, although he sent reports of parliamentary proceedings to the corporation, and Shaftesbury retained the assessment of ‘thrice worthy’ accorded to his predecessor. On his reelection he was marked ‘worthy’ on Shaftesbury’s list. On 16 May he was added to the inquiry into abuses in the Post Office, his only committee appointment, but he abstained from the division on the exclusion bill. He did not stand again, but on 9 Oct. the corporation authorized the payment of £38 for his 114 days’ attendance in the two Parliaments. He died on 2 Sept. 1680 in his 63rd year, and was buried at Holy Trinity, Hull.3

Ref Volumes: 1660-1690

Authors: P. A. Bolton / Basil Duke Henning

Notes

  • 1. Clay, Dugdale’s Vis. Yorks. ii. 154; Fam. Min. Gent. (Harl. Soc. xxxviii), 781.
  • 2. T. Gent, Hull, 40; Hull corp. bench bks. 6, ff. 47, 67, 99; J. J. Sheaham, Hull, 461-2; J. M. Lambert, Two Thousand Yrs. of Gild Hist. 182; Acts and Orders of the Eastland Co. (Cam. Soc. ser. 3, xi), pp. lxv-lxvii.
  • 3. Hull Charters ed. Boyle, 158; Misc. Gen. et Her. (ser. 2), i, 172; Cal. Hull Deeds, ed. Stanewell, 262-6; Marvell ed. Margoliouth, ii. 342-3; Yorks. Arch. Jnl. xiv. 211.