James Robertson – A Loyalist Printer’s Journey from New York to PEI

James Robertson (1747 – 1816), a Loyalist from New York first settled in Shelbourne, Nova Scotia where, in 1783, he, along with his brother Alexander, revived their newspaper, The Royal American Gazette. They had initially started the paper in New York in 1777. It migrated north with the brothers and they continued to print it until at least two years after Alexander’s death around 1784.

In 1787, at the invitation of the Lieutenant-Governor of St. John’s Island (later Prince Edward Island), Robertson moved his press from Shelbourne to Charlottetown. On September 15, 1787, he published the initial issue of The Royal American Gazette and Weekly Intelligencer of the Island of Saint John, the colony’s earliest newspaper.It lasted less than a year but during that year, Robertson printed the assembly’s Journal and the statutes of the colony. He also served as deputy postmaster and sheriff.

Upon his arrival on Prince Edward Island, there was no existing printing office, and neither the records of the House of Assembly nor the acts of the legislature had ever been published. Robertson addressed this by publishing the current laws but faced difficulties with the provincial government over his fees. Although he was appointed King’s Printer by the London government, he did not receive the promised salary.

Following the American Revolution, Britain imposed an embargo on American goods, which affected Canadian territories, including Prince Edward Island. The island, managed by absentee landlords, suffered from limited trade, scarce cash, and occasionally severe food shortages until the embargo was lifted in 1789. Robertson printed the proclamation announcing the end of the embargo.

Unable to support himself, Robertson went to Quebec in 1789, leaving his journeyman, William Alexander Rind, to continue printing the paper. By 1790 he was back in Britain, still petitioning for a salary as King’s Printer. Whether he was successful is not recorded but within a few years he was in Edinburgh where he set up as a printer. He died in Edinburgh in 1816.

Timeline

• 1747 – James Robertson is born in New York.

• 1777 – Robertson and his brother Alexander launch The Royal American Gazette in New York.

• 1783 – As Loyalists, the Robertson brothers settle in Shelburne, Nova Scotia, and resume publication of The Royal American Gazette.

• c.1784 – Alexander Robertson dies; James continues printing for at least two more years.

• 1787 – Robertson moves his press to Charlottetown, St. John’s Island (Prince Edward Island), at the request of the Lieutenant-Governor.

• September 15, 1787 – First issue of The Royal American Gazette and Weekly Intelligencer of the Island of Saint John is published – the island’s first newspaper.

• 1787–1788 – Robertson prints the assembly’s journal and the statutes of the colony. Also serves as deputy postmaster and sheriff.

• 1789 – Robertson prints the proclamation ending the British embargo on American goods.

• 1789 – Leaves Prince Edward Island for Quebec, leaving journeyman William Alexander Rind in charge.

• 1790 – Robertson returns to Britain, continuing to petition for his unpaid salary as King’s Printer.

• Early 1790s – Settles in Edinburgh and sets up a printing business.

• 1816 – James Robertson dies in Edinburgh.

Old proclamation by Edmund Fanning regarding imports to St. John, dated 1789

The Proclamation, printed by James Robertson, lifting the embargo on trade with the United States, to permit importation of food for the Island of St. John (Prince Edward Island) in the ‘hungry year’, 1789.

Image Source:

Toronto Public Library, (1940, p.57). Canadian Book of Printing, How Printing Came to Canada and the Story of the Graphic Arts, Told Mainly in Pictures

Vector map of Prince Edward Island
https://freevectormaps.com/canada/prince-edward-island/CA-PE-EPS-02-4001?ref=atr

References

Toronto Public Library, (1940). Canadian Book of Printing, How Printing Came to Canada and the Story of the Graphic Arts, Told Mainly in Pictures, p57.

Pigot, F. L., (2003), “ROBERTSON, JAMES (1747-1816),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 5, University of Toronto/Université Laval, https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/robertson_james_1747_1816_5E.html