Peter Fisher (9 June 1782 – 15 August 1848) was a

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

and merchant in the British colony of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. Fisher emigrated to

from Staten Island, New York at 15 months of age. He was the son of

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalists (or simply Loyalists) is an honorific title which was first given by the 1st Lord Dorchester, the Governor of Quebec, and Governor General of The Canadas, to American Loyalists who resettled in British North America du ...

refugees of the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

who fled north in 1783. Fisher's family settled at St. Anne's Point on the Saint John River, which was an area set aside for the Loyalist military regiments. St. Anne's Point was later renamed Fredericton and designated the capital of the newly established colony. Fisher received a good education for the time and was married in 1807 and had eleven children. Anne Connell, Henry Fisher, Isabel Martha Fisher, (name unknown) Fisher, William Fisher, Lewis Peter Fisher, Edward Fisher, Edward Bealing Fisher, Susan Isabella Smith and George Fisher. Some of whom were noteworthy in

history. Of his sons; Charles Fisher became a Supreme Court of New Brunswick judge. Henry Fisher was the Chief Superintendent of Education for New Brunswick. William Fisher became New Brunswick's Indian Commissioner, and Lewis P. Fisher was elected the first mayor of Woodstock, New Brunswick. His daughter, Ann, married

Charles Connell Charles Connell (1810 – June 28, 1873) was a Canadian politician, now remembered mainly for placing his image on a 5-cent postage stamp. Born in Northampton in the then-British colony of New Brunswick to a family of Loyalists who had fled ...

. Little is known of his personal life other than he was a merchant and also probably farmed as would have been customary of the era. Fisher was a writer and is often referred to as "the first historian of New Brunswick." The two histories, ''Sketches'' and ''Notitia,'' can definitely be attributed to him. Other works may be his, however, an apparent unwillingness to claim authorship on his part has made authentication difficult. Fisher's writings have illustrated a man of only moderate literary skills, however, he possessed sharp observation skills and maintained a keen interest in the developmental steps being taken by the colony during his lifetime.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
* * * 1782 births 1848 deaths Writers from Staten Island Writers from Fredericton 19th-century Canadian historians Canadian male non-fiction writers {{Canada-hist-stub