Robert Bell (March 16, 1808 – April 2, 1894) was a businessman and political figure in

Canada West The Province of Canada (or the United Province of Canada or the United Canadas) was a British colony in North America from 1841 to 1867. Its formation reflected recommendations made by John Lambton, 1st Earl of Durham, in the Report on the ...

. He was born in London, England in 1808, the son of William Bell, and came to

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

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 ...

with his family in 1817. He worked as a printer at the ''Brockville Recorder'' under

William Buell William Buell (October 5, 1751 – August 8, 1832) was an American-born jurist, miller and political figure in Upper Canada. He was born in Hebron, Connecticut in 1751, to Timothy Buell and Mercy Peters. He was descended from William Buell (160 ...

. In 1829, he opened a general store at

Carleton Place Carleton Place is a town in Eastern Ontario, Canada, in Lanark County, about west of downtown Ottawa. It is located at the crossroads of Highway 15 and Highway 7, halfway between the towns of Perth, Almonte, Smiths Falls, and the nation's cap ...

as a partnership with his brother

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

's Perth business. He was postmaster at Carleton Place from 1834 to 1856. He was also later appointed justice of the peace. In 1842, Bell represented Beckwith Township on the first council for

Bathurst District The Bathurst District was a historic district in Upper Canada. It was created in 1822 from the Johnstown District. Containing Carleton County, it existed until 1849. The district town was Perth. History In 1824, Lanark County was created from par ...

and he was district warden from 1847 to 1848. In 1850, he served as reeve for Beckwith Township and warden for the

United Counties of Lanark and Renfrew United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

. He represented

Lanark County Lanark County is a county located in the Canadian province of Ontario. Its county seat is Perth, which was first settled in 1816.Brown, Howard Morton, 1984. Lanark Legacy, Nineteenth Century Glimpses of on Ontario County. Corporation of the Cou ...

in the Legislative Assembly from 1848 to 1851 and Lanark North from 1854 to 1864, when he was appointed inspector of canal revenues in the Department of Finance. He operated a number of businesses at Carleton Place including several mills and was a director of the

Brockville and Ottawa Railway The Brockville and Ottawa Railway (B&O) was an early railway in Upper Canada, today's Ontario. It ran north from the town of Brockville on the Saint Lawrence River to Sand Point on the Ottawa River. It was built primarily to serve the timber tr ...

and the

Canada Central Railway The Brockville and Ottawa Railway (B&O) was an early railway in Upper Canada, today's Ontario. It ran north from the town of Brockville on the Saint Lawrence River to Sand Point on the Ottawa River. It was built primarily to serve the timber ...

. He also served as lieutenant-colonel in the local militia. He died at Carleton Place in 1894 and was buried at Perth.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bell, Robert 1808 births 1894 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West People from Perth, Ontario English emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Politicians from London Immigrants to Upper Canada Canadian justices of the peace