Robert Pagan (November 16, 1750 – November 23, 1821) was a Scottish-born merchant, judge and political figure in

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. He represented Charlotte County in the

Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

from 1786 to 1819. He was born in

Glasgow 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 ...

, the son of William Pagan and Margaret Maxwell. In 1768 or 1769, he went to Falmouth Neck, Massachusetts (now

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

), where he became involved in the timber trade and ship building. He married Miriam Pote. His brother Thomas joined him in 1775. In October 1775, his premises were destroyed by American forces who were reacting to rebel activity in the area. The two brothers departed to the

West Indies The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greate ...

. They returned in 1777, joining their 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. Pagan was named in the

Massachusetts Banishment Act The Massachusetts Banishment Act, officially named the "Banishment Act of the State of Massachusetts", was passed in September 1778 "to prevent the return to this state of certain persons therein named and others who have left this state or either o ...

of 1778. In 1780, Pagan settled at the mouth of the Penobscot River, believing that this would become a loyalist settlement, and established sawmills, stores and engaged in ship building. In 1783, learning that the border would be established further east, he relocated to

Passamaquoddy Bay Passamaquoddy Bay (french: Baie de Passamaquoddy) is an inlet of the Bay of Fundy, between the U.S. state of Maine and the Canadian province of New Brunswick, at the mouth of the St. Croix River. Most of the bay lies within Canada, with its w ...

. He was named a justice of the peace for the area and was later named a judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas for the county. The community there was named St. Andrews in 1786. Pagan was involved in the timber trade, operating mills, shipbuilding and the fish trade and was a wholesale and retail merchant. He assisted in research and surveys which helped establish the St. Croix River as the international boundary with Maine. Pagan helped found the Bank of New Brunswick in 1820. He died in St Andrews the following year at the age of 71.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pagan, Robert 1750 births 1821 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of New Brunswick Scottish emigrants to pre-Confederation New Brunswick Colony of New Brunswick judges