Peter Robinson (1785 – July 8, 1838) was a Canadian politician who served as Commissioner of Crown Lands as well as on the Legislative Assembly, Legislative Council, Executive Council of Upper Canada. He is known for his work in organizing the migration and settlement of what is now

Peterborough, Ontario Peterborough ( ) is a city on the Otonabee River in Ontario, Canada, about 125 kilometres (78 miles) northeast of Toronto. According to the 2021 Census, the population of the City of Peterborough was 83,651. The population of the Peterborough ...

Early life

Robinson was born in (the parish of Queensbury)

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 ...

, the eldest son of Christopher Robinson (an officer of the

Queen's Rangers The Queen's Rangers, also known as the Queen's American Rangers, and later Simcoe's Rangers, were a Loyalist military unit of the American Revolutionary War. Formed in 1776, they were named for Queen Charlotte, consort of George III. The Queen ...

) and Esther Sayre. He had two brothers, John Beverley and William Benjamin, and two sisters. The family settled first at

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Tor ...

, in 1792 and then

York, Upper Canada York was a town and second capital of the colony of Upper Canada. It is the predecessor to the old city of Toronto (1834–1998). It was established in 1793 by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe as a "temporary" location for the capital of ...

, (now

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

) in 1798.
History of the County of Peterborough, Ontario: Containing a History of the County; History of Haliburton County; Their Townships, Towns, Schools, Churches, Etc.; General and Local Statistics; Biographical Sketches; and an Outline History of the Dominion of Canada, Etc., Etc
'. C. Blackett Robinson; 1884. p. 273–274.

Career

Robinson fought during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It be ...

, where he commanded a rifle company at the capture of

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. In 1813, he distinguished himself in the defence of Fort Michilimackinac. After the war, he operated as a

fur trade The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal ecosystem, boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals h ...

r and established a number of businesses in the

Lake Simcoe Lake Simcoe is a lake in southern Ontario, Canada, the fourth-largest lake wholly in the province, after Lake Nipigon, Lac Seul, and Lake Nipissing. At the time of the first European contact in the 17th century the lake was called ''Ouentironk' ...

area. By 1817 he had been elected to represent the riding of (East)

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Simcoe Simcoe may refer to: Geography Canada * Simcoe, Ontario, a town in southwestern Ontario, near Lake Erie, Canada * Simcoe County, a county in central Ontario, Canada * Lake Simcoe, a lake in central Ontario, Canada * Simcoe North, a federal and pr ...

in the

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was the elected part of the legislature for the province of Upper Canada, functioning as the lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada. Its legislative power was subject to veto by the appointed Lie ...

( 7th Parliament of Upper Canada and

8th Parliament of Upper Canada The 8th Parliament of Upper Canada was opened 31 January 1821. Elections in Upper Canada had been held in July 1820. All sessions were held at York, Upper Canada and sat in the second Parliament Buildings of Upper Canada. This parliament wa ...

). Starting in 1823 through to 1825 he administered the passage and settlement of over 2500 poor Catholic families mostly from

County Cork, Ireland County Cork ( ga, Contae Chorcaí) is the largest and the southernmost county of Ireland, named after the city of Cork, the state's second-largest city. It is in the province of Munster and the Southern Region. Its largest market towns are ...

to settle in the hinterlands of

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 C ...

Carleton County Carleton County (2016 population 26,220) is located in west-central New Brunswick, Canada. The western border is Aroostook County, Maine, the northern border is Victoria County, and the southeastern border is York County from which it was fo ...

(today

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

) and Scott's Plains. Scott's Plains was renamed

Peterborough Peterborough () is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, east of England. It is the largest part of the City of Peterborough unitary authority district (which covers a larger area than Peterborough itself). It was part of Northamptonshire unti ...

in his honour. In 1827 he was appointed Commissioner of Crown Lands and he had a seat representing York in both the

Legislative 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 ...

and

Executive Executive ( exe., exec., execu.) may refer to: Role or title * Executive, a senior management role in an organization ** Chief executive officer (CEO), one of the highest-ranking corporate officers (executives) or administrators ** Executive di ...

councils. In 1836 he resigned, with the rest of the Executive Council, from his responsibilities on the Council to protest the council's treatment by Lieutenant Governor Sir.

Francis Bond Head Sir Francis Bond Head, 1st Baronet KCH PC (1 January 1793 – 20 July 1875), known as "Galloping Head", was Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada during the rebellion of 1837. Biography Head was an officer in the corps of Royal Engineers of ...

. He died in

in 1838 and was survived by Isabella (1818-1873) and Frederick (1830-?), two of his three children.

List of ships used for the settlement scheme

1823

* *

1825

* – Thomas Lewis, master; 287 immigrants * – Anthony Ward, master; 227 immigrants * – John Mills, master; 187 immigrants * * – Joseph Becket, master; c.214 immigrants * – William Arrowsmith, master; 149 immigrants * – George Dixon, master; 157 immigrants * *

References

*Bill LaBranche.
The Peter Robinson Settlement of 1825: A Story of the Irish Immigration to the City and County of Peterborough, Ontario
'. Homecoming '75 Committee; 1975. *Carol Bennett McCuaig,
Peter Robinson's Settlers
'. Juniper Books; 1987. .

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''source materials related to 1823 & 1825 Emigrations''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Robinson, Peter 1785 births 1838 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada Members of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada People from York County, New Brunswick