James Irvine

Who was James Irvine?

Lt.-Colonel The Hon. James Irvine J.P., M.P. was a businessman and political figure in Lower Canada.

James Irvine was born in England in 1766, the son of Adam Irvine and Elizabeth, daughter of John Johnston, 3rd Laird of Outbrecks, Orkney. Irvine was a nephew of Lt.-Colonel James Johnston, of Quebec, brother-in-law of Mathew MacNider and grandfather of Lady Meredith. Adam Irvine, a merchant, came to Quebec City soon after James' birth. He formed a retail firm in partnership with John Munro that operated until 1797, when Irvine returned to England. The following year, he formed an import/export company with John McNaught and later James Leslie.

In 1801, he married Anne, the daughter of John George Pyke M.P., of Halifax, by his wife Elizabeth, sister of John Allan, two of the children of Major William Allan. Their son, Lt.-Colonel John George Irvine, served as A.D.C. to the Governor-General and was chosen to be acting adjutant-general to attend on the Prince of Wales during his visit to Canada in 1860/61. James and Anne Irvine were the grandparents of George Irvine, Acheson Irvine and Commissary-General Matthew Bell Irvine C.B., C.M.G., of the British Army.