Robert Bell (Ottawa politician) (original) (raw)

Robert Bell (1821 – February 25, 1873) was a surveyor, journalist and political figure in Canada West. He was born in Ireland in 1821 and arrived in New York state with his parents. In 1823, they moved to a farm near Kemptville, Upper Canada. He qualified as a land surveyor for the province in 1843. He moved to Bytown, where he began work as a surveyor. He surveyed the Muskoka, Haliburton and Nipissing areas as part of the government's plan to open up these areas for settlement. He died in Hull, Quebec in 1873.