Sir Francis Cockburn () (10 November 1780 – 24 August 1868) served in the
British Army, played an important role in the early settlement of eastern
Canada and was a colonial administrator.
Cockburn was born in England in 1780. He was the fifth and last son of
Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729–1804) and his second wife
Augusta Anne Ayscough. His maternal grandfather was
Francis Ayscough,
Dean of Bristol and royal tutor.
He joined the 7th Dragoon Guards at the age of 19 and served in South America and the
Iberian Peninsula. He arrived in Canada in 1811 as a captain in the
Canadian Fencibles and fought in the
War of 1812. He served with the Quartermaster-General for
Upper Canada at
York and
Kingston. In 1815, he became assistant quartermaster-general for Upper Canada and assisted in settling immigrants near
Perth in the Bathurst District.
In 1818, he became deputy quartermaster-general for Upper and
Lower Canada. He helped establish military settlements at Perth,
Richmond,
Lanark, the
Bay of Quinte,
Glengarry County and on the
Saint-François River in Lower Canada. He also founded a village at
Franktown, Ontario. In 1819, he accompanied the
Duke of Richmond on the tour of Perth and Richmond which led to the Duke's death.
He returned to England in 1823. During his time there, he helped establish the price of lands for properties in Upper Canada and provided advice on the best locations for settlement in the region.
He served as superintendent of
British Honduras from 1830 to...
Read More