Lt-Gen. Sir Francis Cockburn (; 10 November 1780 – 24 August 1868) was a British colonial administrator who served in the

British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...

, and played an important role in the early settlement of eastern

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

Early life and marriage

Cockburn was born in England in 1780. He was the fifth and last son of

Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet Sir James Cockburn, 8th Baronet (1729 – 26 July 1804) was a Member of Parliament, Member of the Parliament of Great Britain for Lanark Burghs (UK Parliament constituency), Linlithgow Burghs from 1772 to 1784 and a Director of the East India Comp ...

(1729–1804) and his second wife Augusta Anne Ayscough. His maternal grandfather was Francis Ayscough,

Dean of Bristol The Dean of Bristol is the head of the Chapter of the Cathedral Church of the Holy and Undivided Trinity, Bristol, England. The Dean is Mandy Ford, since her installation on 3 October 2020. List of deans Early modern *1542–1551 William Sn ...

and Royal tutor. On 19 November 1804, at

Harbledown Harbledown is a village in Kent, England, immediately west of Canterbury and contiguous with the city. At local government level the village is designated as a separate civil parish, that of Harbledown and Rough Common. The High Street is a c ...

, Kent, England, he married Alicia Arabella (1782–1854), daughter of Richard Sandys, a descendant of Archbishop Sandys.

Military and colonial career

He had first joined the 7th Dragoon Guards at the age of 19 and served in South America and the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, comprisin ...

. Following his marriage, he was sent to Canada in 1811 as a captain in the Canadian Fencibles and fought in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

against the United States. He served with the Quartermaster-General for

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada () was a Province, part of The Canadas, British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the Province of Queb ...

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

and

Kingston Kingston may refer to: Places * List of places called Kingston, including the six most populated: ** Kingston, Jamaica ** Kingston upon Hull, England ** City of Kingston, Victoria, Australia ** Kingston, Ontario, Canada ** Kingston upon Thames, ...

. In 1815, he became assistant quartermaster-general for Upper Canada and assisted in settling immigrants near

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

in the Bathurst District. In 1818, he became deputy quartermaster-general for Upper and

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada () was a British colonization of the Americas, British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence established in 1791 and abolished in 1841. It covered the southern portion o ...

. He helped establish military settlements at Perth,

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a city in the United States * Richmond, London, a town in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town ...

Lanark Lanark ( ; ; ) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a populatio ...

, the

Bay of Quinte The Bay of Quinte () is a long, narrow bay shaped like the letter "Z" on the northern shore of Lake Ontario in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is just west of the head of the Saint Lawrence River that drains the Great Lakes into the Gulf of ...

, Glengarry County and on the

Saint-François River The Saint-François River (, ) is a right tributary of the St. Lawrence River in Quebec, Canada. Its source is Lake Saint-François in Chaudière-Appalaches, southeast of Thetford Mines. It flows southwest towards Sherbrooke, where it changes ...

in Lower Canada. He also founded a village at Franktown, Ontario. In 1819, he accompanied the

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...

on the tour of Perth and Richmond which led to the Duke's death. He returned to England in 1823. During his time there, he helped establish the price of lands for properties in Upper Canada and provided advice on the best locations for settlement in the region. He served as superintendent of

British Honduras British Honduras was a Crown colony on the east coast of Central America — specifically located on the southern edge of the Yucatan Peninsula from 1783 to 1964, then a self-governing colony — renamed Belize from June 1973

from 1830 to 1837 and Governor of the

Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...

from 1837 to 1844. Cockburn Town, the largest settlement on

San Salvador Island San Salvador Island, previously Watling's Island, is an islands of the Bahamas, island and districts of The Bahamas, district of The Bahamas, famed for being the probable location of Christopher Columbus's first landing of the Americas on 12 Oc ...

in the Bahamas, was named after him, as was Cockburn Island in Ontario. Cockburn was knighted by Letters Patent on 8 Sept 1841. He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant-General in 1860.

Death

Cockburn died in 1868 and was buried at Harbledown, Kent, where he had married, on 29 August 1868.Burial: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JZY9-YZH

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cockburn, Francis 1780 births 1868 deaths British Army lieutenant generals Upper Canada people British people of the War of 1812 British colonial governors and administrators in the Americas 7th Dragoon Guards officers British governors of the Bahamas

Francis Francis may refer to: People and characters *Pope Francis, head of the Catholic Church (2013–2025) *Francis (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Francis (surname) * Francis, a character played by YouTuber Boogie2 ...

Younger sons of baronets Lower Canada people Governors of British Honduras