Joseph Hardcastle

Joseph Hardcastle (1752–1819) was an English merchant. One of the founders of the Missionary Society, later the London Missionary Society, he devoted time and money to its affairs, becoming its first treasurer.

Life

Hardcastle was born in Leeds, where he lived until the age of 15, at which point he moved to London to join his uncle's business. He eventually became a merchant, still based in London, and was a director of the Sierra Leone Company. They included:

Anne (died 1827), the eldest daughter, who married in 1810 Henry Forster Burder. Mrs Arnould (Elizabeth, died 1827), mother of Anne Elizabeth Hardcastle Arnould, who married the Rev. Henry Olivier and was grandmother of Laurence Olivier. Alfred (1797–1841), second son, married firstly Anne Cobb Hurry (1789–1815); Joseph Alfred Hardcastle, MP, was their son. He married secondly Emma Smith, in 1820. Emma Corsbie (1800–1867), youngest daughter, who married in 1822 Alexander Haldane (1800–1882).

The other children were Selina, Joseph and Nathaniel.