David Russell Jack (5 May 1864,

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John () is a port#seaport, seaport city located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. It is Canada's oldest Municipal corporation, incorporated city, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign ...

–2 December 1913,

Clifton Springs, New York Clifton Springs is a village located in Ontario County, New York, United States. The population was 2,127 at the 2010 census. The village takes its name from local mineral springs. The Village of Clifton Springs is located primarily in the To ...

) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

author, editor, publisher, and politician. Jack's ancestors were

United Empire Loyalist United Empire Loyalist (UEL; or simply Loyalist) 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 Ameri ...

s who settled in

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

. Jack attended the Saint John Grammar School, graduating in 1881. In 1883 he published his ''Centennial prize essay on the history of the city and county of St. John'', which was greatly acclaimed. In 1884, following the death of his father, Jack took over the family insurance business and also inherited his father's position as Spanish

vice-consul A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

. In the decade which followed he served his city on the Common Council as well as the Board of School Trustees. Some of his political accomplishments included the introduction of electric

street light A street light, light pole, lamp pole, lamppost, streetlamp, light standard, or lamp standard is a raised source of light on the edge of a road or path. Similar lights may be found on a railway platform. When urban electric power distribution b ...

ing in Saint John, preparation for Prince George's 1901 visit, and the 1910 erection of the city's Champlain Monument. From 1901 until 1908 Jack published ''

Acadiensis ''Acadiensis: Journal of the History of the Atlantic Region'' (fr: ''Acadiensis: Revue d'histoire de la région Atlantique'') is a semi-annual peer-reviewed academic journal covering the history of Atlantic Canada. The current editors-in-chief are ...

'', a quarterly journal of the history of the

Maritime provinces The Maritimes, also called the Maritime provinces, is a region of Eastern Canada consisting of three provinces: New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island. The Maritimes had a population of 1,899,324 in 2021, which makes up 5.1% of ...

. Jack also contributed to the '' Montreal Daily Star'', the ''University Magazine'' (Montreal) and the ''

Queen's Quarterly ''Queen's Quarterly'' is a Canadian quarterly peer-reviewed literary and academic journal of cultural studies. Established in 1893, Queen's Quarterly is Canada's oldest academic quarterly. This magazine has won numerous awards including awards and ...

'' (Kingston). Jack accumulated an excellent collection of historical documents related to the Maritimes. Many of these were donated to the city library. Jack died in 1913 at a sanatorium in New York where he was being treated for heart disease.

Bibliography

*1883, Saint John, ''Centennial prize essay on the history of the city and county of St. John'' *1900, Saint John, ''Summer tourists: a manual for the New Brunswick farmer'' *1900, Boston, ''Biographical review ... of leading citizens of the province of New Brunswick'' (contributed essay on his grandfather, David William Jack) *1913, Saint John, ''History of Saint Andrew’s Church, Saint John, N.B.''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jack, David Russell 1864 births 1913 deaths Canadian non-fiction writers Canadian publishers (people) New Brunswick municipal councillors Canadian expatriates in the United States