Peter Fisher

Who was Peter Fisher?

Peter Fisher was a historian and merchant in the British colony of New Brunswick.

Fisher emigrated to New Brunswick from Staten Island, New York at 15 months of age. He was the son of United Empire Loyalist refugees of the American Revolutionary War who fled north in 1783. Fisher's family settled at St. Anne’s Point on the Saint John River, which was an area set aside for the Loyalist military regiments. St. Anne's Point was later renamed Fredericton and designated the capital of the newly established colony.

Fisher received a good education for the time and was married in 1807 and had eleven children, some of whom were noteworthy in New Brunswick history. Little is known of his personal life other than he was a merchant and also probably farmed as would have been customary of the era. Fisher was a writer and is often referred to as "the first historian of New Brunswick." The two histories, Sketches and Notitia, can definitely be attributed to him. Other works may be his, however, an apparent unwillingness to claim authorship on his part has made authentication difficult.

Fisher's writings have illustrated a man of only moderate literary skills, however, he possessed sharp observation skills and maintained a keen interest in the developmental steps being taken by the colony during his lifetime.