Robinson, Peter

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Wendy Cameron, “ROBINSON, PETER,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/robinson_peter_7E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Office holder, businessman, fur trader, militia officer, politician, and jp; b. 1785 in New Brunswick, eldest son of Christopher Robinson and Esther Sayre; brother of John Beverley and William Benjamin; he had at least a son and two daughters; d. 8 July 1838 in Toronto.
    • Peter Robinson spent his childhood on the move. He was in New Brunswick for three years, in Lower Canada for four, and in Kingston, Upper Canada, for six before his family settled in York (Toronto) in 1798, the year his father died. As a loyalist and surveyor general of woods and forests, Christopher Robinson left his wife and six children an established place in York society. 
    • A staunch government supporter, Peter chaired a committee on St Lawrence River navigation and reported on the repair and construction of the parliament buildings. In 1818 he received his first commission of the peace for the Home District. Five years later he became a director of the newly formed Bank of Upper Canada.
    • Peterborough was named in his honour.
    • Peter Robinson fought during the War of 1812, where he commanded a rifle company at the capture of Detroit. After the war, he was as a fur trader and established a number of businesses in the Lake Simcoe area. By 1817, he had been elected to represent the riding of (East) York & Simcoe in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada (Parliament). Between 1823-1825 he oversaw the immigration and settlement of over 2500 impoverished Irish who settled in the Lanark and Carleton Counties of Canada West (now eastern Ontario), as well as Scott’s Plains (which was renamed Peterborough in his honour). Between 1827-1836 he was Commissioner of Crown Lands and had a seat representing York (Toronto) in both the Legislative and Executive councils.
    • The plans for immigration which Wilmot-Horton introduced would have been dangerously theoretical without Peter Robinson. He provided the local knowledge and practical good sense missing from many 19th-century colonization schemes. Robinson also brought an unusual amount of first-hand experience to the job of commissioner of crown lands. So long as the emphasis was on opening the province by making land available to actual settlers, his priorities were right. Once attention shifted to the administration of his office, he appeared old-fashioned. As John Beverley Robinson feared, Peter’s lack-lustre performance in York overshadowed his achievements. Robinson is remembered for Peterborough, but not for his sustained interest in promoting the settlement which helped to shape many other parts of the province.
  • Son of Proven Loyalist in Loyalist Directory –https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=7058
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/106708987/peter-robinson