James Moir Ferres (1813 – April 21, 1870) was a journalist and political figure in

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of th ...

. He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

, Scotland in 1813 and studied at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long ...

in Aberdeen. Ferres came to

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in 1833 and taught at Edward Black's school there. He then became director of the academy at Frelighsburg in the

Eastern Townships The Eastern Townships (french: Cantons de l'Est) is an historical administrative region in southeastern Quebec, Canada. It lies between the St. Lawrence Lowlands and the American border, and extends from Granby in the southwest, to Drummond ...

. In 1835, he was a co-founder of the ''Missiskoui Standard'', a weekly newspaper. In 1836, he returned to Montreal to work with the '' Montreal Herald''; he became editor in 1839. As a Tory supporter, Ferres received a number of political appointments. He served as secretary of the Montreal Turnpike Trust from 1840 to 1842 and, from 1844 to 1848, he was a revenue inspector at Montreal. In 1848, Ferres became editor and chief owner of the ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

''; he remained editor until the paper was sold in 1854. He opposed the

Rebellion Losses Bill The Rebellion Losses Bill (full name: ''An Act to provide for the Indemnification of Parties in Lower Canada whose Property was destroyed during the Rebellion in the years 1837 and 1838'') was a controversial law enacted by the legislature of ...

of 1849 and was arrested but never prosecuted following the burning of the parliament buildings at Montreal. In 1854, he was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada The Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada was the lower house of the legislature for the Province of Canada, which consisted of the former provinces of Lower Canada, then known as Canada East and later the province of Quebec, and Upper C ...

in East Missisquoi as a Conservative. He was elected in Brome in 1858. He was named to the Board of Inspectors of Asylums and Prisons in 1861 and became chairman of the Board in 1868. In 1869, Ferres was named warden for

Kingston Penitentiary Kingston Penitentiary (known locally as KP and Kingston Pen) is a former maximum security prison located in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, between King Street West and Lake Ontario. History Constructed from 1833 to 1834, and opened on June 1, 18 ...

; Ferres died in Kingston in 1870 and was buried at Lachine, Quebec.

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ferres, James Moir 1813 births 1870 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada East Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation Quebec Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People from Aberdeen Immigrants to Lower Canada