Robert Milligan (politician)

Robert Milligan (10 October 1786 – 1 July 1862) was a Liberal Party politician and the first mayor of Bradford.[1]

Robert Milligan
Born10 October 1786
Dunnance, Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland
Died1 July 1862 (aged 75)
Acacia, Rawdon
Occupation(s)Member of Parliament for Bradford, 1851–1857
SpousePhoebe Briggs
Parent(s)John Milligan and Elizabeth Charters

He was elected unopposed as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bradford in West Yorkshire at a by-election in October 1851, and held the seat until the 1857 general election.[2]

Biography

Robert Milligan was born at Dunnance, Balmaghie, Kirkcudbrightshire, Scotland on 10 October 1786 to John Milligan (1740–1819). John Milligan was a tenant farmer who married his second wife Elizabeth Charters(1739–1831) in 1783. The couple had five children of which Robert was the second child.[3]

Robert Milligan moved to Cross Hills in Craven in about 1802 as a "Travelling Scotchman" working as a door to door salesman. He married Phoebe Briggs (1796–1868) at Guiseley in 1818. They had no children but adopted Susan (1813–1886), the daughter of Robert's brother, John jnr.[4] By 1810 he had opened a drapers shop in Westgate, Bradford[1] eventually becoming a buyer for Leo Schuster & Co. of Manchester and through that job met Henry Forbes (1790–1870).[4] Together they formed Milligan, Forbes & Co, Stuff Merchants that became synonymous with the stuff trade of Bradford and housed in an impressive new premises on Hall Ings, Bradford in 1853. The Milligan and Forbes Warehouse, now considered Bradford's first palazzo, has been the headquarters of the Telegraph and Argus since the 1920s.

By 1847, Robert Milligan's esteem had risen enough for him to become the town's first mayor and chairman of the new borough magistrates.[5] He was later Liberal MP for the borough in three successive Parliaments from 1851–1857.[1] Of a strongly liberal position, Milligan was sympathetic to the Chartists who were active in Bradford during his tenure as M.P.[6] and held strong views on parliamentary reform.[4] In 1833 he was one of the Bradford Anti-Slavery Society’s delegates to the Exeter Hall assembly which called for immediate and outright emancipation of slaves in the British colonies, and in 1835 he presided at a meeting to celebrate Benjamin Godwin’s abolitionist work.[7]

Death

Milligan died at his Acacia estate in Rawdon on 1 July 1862. He is buried under an impressive 20 feet (6.1 m) pillar in Undercliffe Cemetery, whose very existence is at least partly due to Milligan as a member of The Bradford Cemetery Company. The flattering inscription reads:

"In memory of Robert Milligan of Acacia Road, Rawdon. Born in Scotland he became a resident in Bradford in 1808. His talents and industry guided by integrity and honour raised him to high distinction as a merchant. He was the first Mayor of Bradford in 1847. He represented the town in two successive parliaments with fidelity and distinction. He was generous and warm hearted in his hospitalities, liberal in his support of religious and other benevolent institutions. He departed this life in faith and hope of the gospel July 1, 1862 aged 75."[8]

References
  1. James, John (1866). History of Bradford. Manchester: E.J Morten. p. 15.
  2. Craig, F. W. S. (1989) [1977]. British parliamentary election results 1832–1885 (2 ed.). Chichester: Parliamentary Research Services. p. 57. ISBN 0-900178-26-4.
  3. Cox, Sheila (1987). "The Travelling Scotchmen - The Milligans of Dumfriesshire and Yorkshire". The Bradford Antiquary. Archived from the original on 15 October 2006. Retrieved 18 September 2013.
  4. Wilcock, D.C. (2000). "A History of Rawdon". Aireborough and Horsforth Museum Society. Retrieved 19 September 2013.
  5. Wright, D.G. (1987). The Chartist Risings in Bradford. Bradford: Bradford Libraries and Information Service. p. 40.
  6. Wright, D.G. (1987). The Chartist Risings in Bradford. Bradford: Bradford Libraries and Information Service. p. 47.
  7. Leeds Intelligencer, 18 May 1833; Bradford Observer, 30 April 1835.
  8. Article by Stuart Firth on Undercliffe Cemetery Charity website.
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