Date Published:
March 2005

L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia

James Cuthbert

(1741-1798)

Cuthbert, James (fl. 1741-1798), legislative councillor, was the son of Alexander Cuthbert, of Inverness, Scotland, and Beatrix, daughter of David Cuthbert, of Ardresier, and belonged to a cadet branch of the barons of Castlehill. He served first in the British navy, and was present at the bombardment of Cartagena, Columbia, in 1741. Later he obtained a commission in the British army. He was attached first to the Black Watch, and then to the 15th Regiment, and attained the rank of captain. He was present at Louisbourg in 1758 and the Plains of Abraham in 1759; and he was sent by General Murray, whose aide-de-camp he was, to England to carry the news of the capture of Quebec. In 1765 he acquired the seigniory of Berthier, and he lived at Berthier for the rest of his life. In 1766 he was appointed by Murray to the Executive Council; and in 1775 he became a member of the Legislative Council. He encountered the hostility of both Carleton and Haldimand; and in 1786 he was dropped from the Council. The exact date of his death does not appear to be known; but died in 1798. He was thrice married. By his wife Catherine (d. 1785), he had three sons and seven daughters. See Abbé S. A. Moreau, L'honorable James Cuthbert, père (Bull. rech. hist., 1901).

Source  : W. Stewart WALLACE, ed., The Encyclopedia of Canada, Vol. II, Toronto, University Associates of Canada, 1948, 411p., pp. 168-169