Robert Biggar was an intrepid pioneer. In the early 1790's he and his family were among the first settlers on The Pulteney Association's settlement at Bath, N.Y. when that state opened up the Indian Lands for development. Later, in the early 1800’s he and his family moved on to the newly created British colony of Upper Canada.
Robert was born 2 April 1761 in Kirkcudbrightshire (now Dumfries and Galloway) in southwest Scotland and was a patriarch to a large family. He was the youngest son of Herbert Biggar and Agnes Coultart.[1] Robert was educated and had studied for the Ministry. He was married to Mary Lauder with whom he would have eleven children. With little chance of succeeding to the family estates because of the law at the time (all lands would go to the eldest son), Robert and Mary prepared to develop their own path in life in the New World. They and their descendants would thrive and prosper. They would contribute to the building of the Canadian nation in politics, in law, in medicine, in banking, in the military, in business and public administration.
In 1793 the Biggar family arrived in Bath, N.Y.,[2] and to a rugged and heavily forested region where homesteads and farms were nonexistent. There, the Biggars helped to establish their new pioneer community and commence a tannery business. They would live there for the next thirteen years with their growing family. In addition to their many homestead tasks, the Biggars were involved in the resolution of boundary and other land dispute issues within their community.
In 1806 the Biggars went to Upper Canada[3] settling initially in the Niagara region. During the War of 1812 Robert Biggar was too old (51) to participate directly in the battles, although three of his sons did participate as volunteers in the Militia.[4] During the battle of Queenston Heights (13 October 1812) and the battle of Stoney Creek (6 June 1813) Robert was more than a passive observer; he was involved in the collection and removal of the injured and the dead from the fields of battle.
In 1816, Robert purchased farm land from Thayendaneaga or Joseph Brant as he was also known, the stalwart aboriginal leader on The Six Nations Reserve near Mount Pleasant, Ontario. Over the next twenty years (with peace continuing) Robert would build his home there[5] and take up a more comfortable gentrified family life. He would become one of Brant County’s prominent citizens.[6]
In 1826 Robert Biggar's wife died and (ten years later) on 30 April 1836, Robert died. The Biggars are buried on the family farm.
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- ^ Family of Biggar:Genealogical Tables by G.W. Shirley, Sheet 1 & 6
- ^ The Centennial of Bath, New York, pgs. 114 & 123
- ^ The History of the County of Brant, Ontario, pgs. 185-186
- ^ The History of the County of Brant, Ontario, pgs. 185-186
- ^ The Work of Our Hands pg. 72
- ^ The History of the County of Brant, Ontario pgs. 185-186