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Joseph Frederick Ledsam (16 April 1791 - 28 December 1862)[1][2] was a Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Warwick, High Sheriff of Worcestershire (1848-1849)[3] and deputy chairman of the London and North Western Railway (1849-1862).
Joseph Frederick Ledsam | |
|---|---|
.png) 1852 Mezzotint by Samuel Cousins (engraver), after Eden Upton Eddis (painter) | |
| Born | 16 April 1791  |
| Died | 29 December 1862 (aged 71) |
| Position held | justice of the peace, High Sheriff of Worcestershire (1848–1849), Deputy Lieutenant (Warwickshire) |
He was born on 16 April 1791 in Birmingham, the son of Joseph Moreton Ledsam (1767-1816) and Mary Bullock. He married Elizabeth Ann Ashton Goddington on 4 December 1817 in St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Aston. They had nine children: Frederick Goddington; Joseph; Mary Elizabeth; Frederick George; Anne Julia; Thomas Moreton; William; Emily Agnes; and James Goddington Ledsam.[4]
He had an involvement in railways from an early stage, and became a director and deputy chairman of the London and Birmingham Railway. He was also chairman of the Warwick and Leamington Union Railway.[5] In 1846 it was reported that he had invested £186,000 (equivalent to £22,750,000 in 2023)[6] in railway speculation.[7] In 1848 he was chairman of the Birmingham, Wolverhampton and Stour Valley Railway.[8]
In 1849[9] he succeeded Charles Lawrence as deputy chairman of the London and North Western Railway.[1]
He was also involved in other commercial undertakings holding the position of director of the Birmingham Banking Company[10] and the Birmingham and Staffordshire Gas Light Company.
He acted in a philanthropic context being a governor of King Edward VI School, Birmingham and chairman of the Birmingham Triennial Music Festival. He was a significant contributor to the cost of building St Mary's Church in Selly Oak,[11][12] a district of Birmingham here he had major land holdings, including Weoley Castle.[13]
He died on 28 December 1862 and was buried on 3 January 1863 in Christ Church, Birmingham. His will was proved on 23 February 1863 and his estate was valued at under £60,000.
There is a street named after Ledsam in Ladywood, Birmingham,[14] as was another in Wolverton,[15] since demolished.[16]
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