Stewart Derbishire (1796-1863)

He was the son of Philip Derbishire of Bath (and later London), and Ann Masterton , daughter of Allan Masterton (d.1799), Writing-Master at the High School of Edinburgh. His mother's charms were famously written about in a poem (1790) by Robbie Burns, Beware O' Bonie Ann. He became a soldier, lawyer and public official who was called to the English bar from Gray's Inns in 1830. He came to Canada in the employ of the 1st Earl of Durham, Governor-General of Canada, as his 'point man' and took part in his investigative mission following the rebellions in Upper and Lower Canada. He settled in Montreal in 1840 where he edited the Morning Courier and was elected the member for Bytown in the Legislative Assembly (1841-44). He was a shareholder in the Montreal Mining Company, President of the Huron and St. Mary's Copper Company (1847), and a director of the Huron Copper Bay Company (1849). He later relocated to Quebec where he went into partnership with Georges Desbarats as the Queens' Printers there. His portrait was painted by William Home Clift (1803-1833) and he died at Quebec.