The History: Understanding the Peter Robinson Emigration

Before the Peter Robinson Emigration Experiment

Even before the devastating Great Famine (1845-1852), Ireland was a land marked by profound social and economic challenges, entrenched in centuries of colonial rule and agrarian dependency. The early 19th century was a time of severe hardship for the Irish population, the majority of whom were small tenant farmers and labourers.

While famine certainly was the driving factor of emigration in the 1840’s it was not so in the 1820’s. Much of the emigration push in the 1820’s came from significant economic, social, population, and land factors.

Munster was the breadbasket of the United Kingdom and much of its produce in potatoes, dairy, and crops were imported from Ireland, making local agricultural prices high for the consumers in Ireland and effectively causing issues of affordability which lead to building societal tensions and unrest.

The growing cause of destitution was more closely related to the small acreage farms, landlord plans to create larger areas for more efficient agricultural production, and the cultural legacy of dividing small farms into even smaller farms to accommodate heirs. The inheritance system, wherein land was divided equally among sons, led to increasingly smaller plots which would not sustain larger and growing families.

On top of this, the local political issues caused by landlords and their agents evicting settlers abruptly led to a community response of violence directed at the offenders often by anonymous groups identified as “whiteboys” or followers of Captain Rock, a fictitious figure. Many landlords had influence in London especially since 1800 when Ireland lost its parliament in Dublin in exchange for some representation at Westminster. Some of the Irish influence was in the British cabinet with such figures as the Duke of Wellington and Sir Robert Peel.

Another huge factor was extraordinary population growth of Ireland between 1750 and 1830. Economic and social pressures were compounded by this rapid population growth. From 1800 to 1845, Ireland’s population swelled from approximately 5 million to over 8 million. Economists of the time were noting that there was a limit to how much population growth was feasible if it exceeded the ability to expand agriculture.

This demographic boom intensified the strain on the land and resources, leading to dire living conditions for many and went on to spark major political debate in the 1820’s, ultimately becoming a prime factor in Sir Robert Wilmot Horton’s enthusiasm for the Robinson experiment.

Discover more about Ireland to 1830 by reading Elwood Jones’ essay on “Old World Colony”. Click the button below to download and view the essay in PDF format.

Emigration as a Remedy

The Peter Robinson Emigration Experiment of 1825 is a significant example of emigration as a remedy to the building economic and social challenges Ireland faced in the early 1800’s. Named after the project’s overseer, Peter Robinson, this scheme aimed to relocate over 2,000 impoverished Irish families to Canada. The experiment was adovcated by Robert Wilmot Horton, a Member of the British Parliament and member of the Colonial Office. It was not merely an escape from hardship but also a strategic effort by the British to populate and develop their Canadian territories with industrious settlers who could cultivate the land and contribute to the colony’s growth.

This program was meticulously organized, involving detailed planning and support from the British government. The emigrants were provided with transportation, provisions for the journey, and support for the first 18 months after their arrival, including tools and supplies to establish their new lives in Canada. This support was critical in ensuring the success of the settlers and the sustainable development of the new communities they formed.

Records and Information

Because this was a uniquely government-sponsored project, the archival records are remarkably complete. It is possible to identify all the emigrants, the ships on which they travelled, and the details of their settlement. The records include the parliamentary reports of the several committees, the records of the Colonial Office, Emigration and Admiralty records, newspaper reports, and the reactions of those they met along the way.

Of great interest locally, Peter Robinson’s archival papers were donated to Peterborough in 1897. Particularly useful are the writings of Catharine Parr Traill who was interested in the experiences of the First Nations and of the botanical wonders she encountered. The local archives have gathered useful accounts by descendants and historians and supplement the records that are in England, Ottawa, and Toronto.

To find out more about these archival records, where to find them, and other resources please visit our Resources and Links page. 

The Blackwater Valley

This photo captures the wildness of the upper Blackwater Valley and its rugged terrain, which, in the early 19th century, saw violence from groups like the Ribbonmen and the Whiteboys who fought against local English authorities and landlords. Due to the unrest in this region, Robert Wilmot Horton, influenced by English Parliamentarians and Anglo-Irish landlords, directed Peter Robinson to target this area in County Cork for emigration candidates. As a result, Robinson set up his emigration headquarters in Fermoy, at the heart of the Blackwater Valley. Although the focus was on the Blackwater Valley region, Robinson also drew candidates from surrounding counties.

This view of Queenstown/Cobh is from about 45 years after the Robinson emigrations, but the town would have looked similar in 1823 and 1825. Known as Queenstown from 1855 to 1922, the harbour was the departure point for the Peter Robinson emigrations to Quebec. From these docks, emigrants bid farewell to their relatives and friends before setting off across the Atlantic to begin their new lives in Canada. This scene was the last view they had of their homeland.

This letter from May 7, 1825 reads:

We the undersigned certify that the four families who left Cap Clear for emigration to Canada under P. Robinson Esq viz Joseph Shehan and family-Cor[neliu]s Driscoll and family – Michael Driscoll – and Den[ni]s Driscoll and family were in such poor circumstances as to be unable to occupy the small farms which they held heretofore in said Island – and that if they did not obtain their passage over as a gratuity they could never have been other than starving paupers in their native country —

John N. Wright Esq Curate

Joseph Ambrose P P

Note: These families all sailed on the Brunswick.

This Embarkation Certificate from May 12, 1825 details the family information of the Leahys traveling from the Parish of Brigown in the County of Cork, Ireland.

The names are listed on the left and the ages of the family members to the right. As you can see this was a large family. 

The lower section reads “Ellen Burgess an aged woman, Mother in law to the above to have her passage (Montg[omery])”

Journey’s End: The Final Stage of the Emigrants’ Odyssey

From Cork, Ireland, to Their New Home in the Newcastle District

The lakefront town of Cobourg on Lake Ontario’s north shore was the launching point for the final 48 kilometre (30 miles) trek to the backwoods of what is now Nogojiwanong-Peterborough. This last leg of the journey posed new challenges. Peter Robinson had to repair the road from Cobourg to Gore’s Landing to make it passable for the wagons carrying the settlers and their provisions.

The emigrants followed the Gore’s Landing Road north from Cobourg, traveling on foot in small groups. They passed Sidey’s Tavern at Coldsprings and reached William’s Tavern along the south shore of Rice Lake. They then encamped at Lot 7, west of Sully’s Tavern, before moving to a shadier, sandier shore at Lot 9.

Robinson encountered another difficulty transporting his emigrants from Sully (Harwood) across Rice Lake to their final destination at The Depot (Scott’s Plains Area/Nogojiwanong -Peterborough). The boats he had brought were unsuitable for the Otonabee River’s shallow shoals, necessitating the construction of a large, shallow-draught scow at Sully (Harwood). This scow ferried the settlers across Rice Lake and up the Otonabee River to Scott’s Mills (Nogojiwanong-Peterborough).

Arrival and Settlement in Peterborough

By early October 1825, the nearly 2,000 Irish settlers from Cork had reached The Depot (supply hub) in what is now considered downtown Nogojiwanong-Peterborough, where they awaited Robinson’s direction to their new homes. The landing site was on the western bank of the Otonabee River, north of Adam Scott’s Mill, where a temporary camp of hundreds of tents was set up.

Over the next few weeks, Robinson assigned each family a settlement location from his log cabin at Water and Simcoe Streets. To prevent settlers from getting lost in the Upper Canada wilderness, guides accompanied each group of four or five families to their designated land. Small log cabins were built on each family’s assigned plot.

Daily rations and essential provisions were provided to help the settlers survive until they were established. Each family received pork, flour, a cow, farming tools, household utensils, and seeds for planting. Despite these efforts, many settlers fell ill from ague or swamp fever due to malnutrition and the exhausting journey, resulting in high mortality rates and leaving many children as orphans.

By the end of autumn 1825, the major part of Robinson’s work was complete. He had successfully recruited, transported, located, and supervised nearly 2,000 Irish emigrants in the Peterborough region, marking the end of their long journey from Cork to their new home.