James Bagnall ( bap. 16 November 1783 – 20 June 1855) was a printer, publisher and politician in Prince Edward Island. Born in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, he was the son of United Empire Loyalists from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. His family settled in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

, Prince Edward Island around 1787. Bagnall received a limited education on the island but apprenticed with his brother-in-law, a printer, who left Prince Edward Island for the United States. There, Bagnall received experience on two newspapers that his brother-in-law published. He returned to Prince Edward Island in 1804 with a printing press and was appointed King's Printer by the Lieutenant Governor, Edmund Fanning. The newspaper business was unprofitable but better arrangements were made for government printing with

Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres (22 November 1721 or April–May 1729 – 24 or 27 October 1824) was a Canadian cartographer who served in the Seven Years' War, as the aide-de-camp to General James Wolfe. He later went on to serve as the L ...

, the new

Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...

. Bagnall made a successful entry into colonial politics with his election to the General Assembly in 1808. However, the economics of the printing business in such a small center made him leave briefly for Nova Scotia where he had limited success with two newspapers. Bagnall returned to Prince Edward Island in 1810 and, from that point onward, struggled to keep his printing business viable. He also returned to politics with some success but his main accomplishments were as a printer. By that endeavour, he ensured that the colony was kept informed through his printed material. In 1813, he competed and won against Samuel Martin (better known as "Black Sam") for land in the neighbourhood formerly known as

The Bog The Bog is a former mining community in Shropshire, England. It lies north of Bishops Castle, east of the A488, at grid reference . It was once a busy village with over 200 buildings. Now only a few remain. The local mines produced lead and ...

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bagnall, James 1783 births 1855 deaths People from Shelburne County, Nova Scotia Members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island Colony of Prince Edward Island people 19th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people)