David Robertson (1820 - 1905)

Born 1 Oct 1820 in Scotland

Descendants

Died 5 Oct 1905 at age 85 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Sarah Robertson [send private message]

Biography

According to David's gravestone, he was born in 1820 in Scotland and is believed to have left Edinburgh with his father and presumably other family members for Montreal in 1831. His father was a Presbyterian minister who taught Sabbath School in Edinburgh and was given an engraved serving dish by his Sabbath School students as a farewell present in 1831.

David's birth:

David's gravestone says he was born in 1820 in Scotland. The 1901 census gives his date of birth as October 1, 1820.

There is a David Robertson born to a Reverend David Robertson in Kilmaurs, Scotland in 1820. However this Reverend David Robertson was minister of the Kilmaurs Associate Presbytery from 1810 to 1846 (his death)^[1], and the father of the David of this profile appears to have moved to Montreal in 1831 and been counted in the 1842 census in Montreal. So this David was not the one born in Kilmaurs.

There are two other David Robertsons with fathers named David Robertson with birth records for 1820 in Scotland. One was born in Nigg to a whitefisher, and the other in Dunblane to a mason, so neither of them are him either.

It looks like either this David did not have his birth recorded or the birth record is lost.

The 1842 Quebec census lists a Reverend Robertson with a household of ten people living in Montreal. David would have been about 21 or 22 at the time, and this appears to have been his father.

There is a David Robertson, age 28, operating a grocery store in the Quebec city area in the 1851 census. There is also a Jane Robertson, age 22. Both were single, Presbyterian, and from Scotland. This appears to be the same David, and Jane may have been his sister.

In 1861 David was a merchant in Brockville, Ontario.
In 1871 he was a grocer in Montreal, Quebec. His son Francis was born in Quebec (unlike their other children who were all born in Ontario) around 1867 so they would have moved to Montreal by that time.
In 1881 he was a merchant in Brockville again.
In 1891 he was listed as a gentleman in Brockville.
In 1901 he lived in Vancouver with his wife Ruth, his daughters Jessie and Elizabeth, and his sons William and Archibald.

David was Presbyterian, according to the censuses where his religion is listed.

Sources

1. ↑ Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church, page 403

• Find A Grave
• Lower Canada (Quebec) census 1842 pdf of scan
• Canada census 1851, Quebec (city) pdf of scan
• Canada census 1861 pdf of scan
• Canada census 1871 pdf of scan
• Canada census 1881 pdf of scan
• Canada census 1891 pdf of scan
• Canada census 1901 pdf of scan
• Robertson/Harvey summary compiled by Mrs H.J. Robertson, 1977; pdf available from Sarah Robertson
• Robertson family spreadsheet, pdf available from Sarah Robertson

• Scott, Hew, 1919. Fastiæ Scoticaniæ Scoticanæ: The succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation. Volume I. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1919.
• Scott, Hew, 1928. Fastiæ Scoticaniæ Scoticanæ: The succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the Reformation. Volume VII. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1928.
• MacKelvie, William. Annals and Statistics of the United Presbyterian Church. Edinburgh: Oliphant & Company, and Andrew Elliot; Glasgow: David Robertson, 1873.
• Campbell, Robert. A History of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, St. Gabriel Street, Montreal. Montreal: W. Drysdale & Co., 1887.
• Jacques Gagné, 2015. Presbyterian Churches of Quebec City and Montreal. [link]
• Scotland, Other Church Registers Baptisms CH3/193/21 10 Kilmaurs Associate
• Scotland, Old Parish Registers Births 266/ 40 8 Nigg
• Scotland, Old Parish Registers Births 348/ 40 5 Dunblane