James Blackburn (July 22, 1799 – 1851) was a businessman and political figure in
Lower Canada
The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...
.
He was born in
Glasgow, Scotland
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
, in 1799 and came to the
Gatineau River
The Gatineau River (french: Rivière Gatineau, ) is a river in western Quebec, Canada, which rises in lakes north of the Baskatong Reservoir and flows south to join the Ottawa River at the city of Gatineau, Quebec. The river is long and drains ...
region around 1830 to join other members of his family. He was the first person to operate a
steamboat
A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...
service on the
Ottawa River
The Ottawa River (french: Rivière des Outaouais, Algonquin: ''Kichi-Sìbì/Kitchissippi'') is a river in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. It is named after the Algonquin word 'to trade', as it was the major trade route of Eastern ...
near
Aylmer. Blackburn was elected to the
Legislative Assembly of Lower Canada for the
County of Ottawa in 1834.
He died of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
in
Beardstown, Illinois in 1851.
His nephew,
Robert Blackburn, served as a member of the House of Commons.
External links
*
''History of the Ottawa Valley'', JL Gourlay (1896)
1799 births
1851 deaths
Bowman, Baxter
Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec
Deaths from cholera
Immigrants to Lower Canada
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