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. In 1849, he purchased the Bytown Packet newspaper, renamed the Ottawa Citizen in 1851, from Henry J. Friel and John George Bell. In it Bell expounded his ideas for promoting the settlement of the waste lands between Bytown and Lake Huron. He helped found the Bytown and Prescott Railway and later became president. He served on the town council for Bytown and later represented Russell in the 7th and 8th Parliaments for the Province of Canada. He died in Hull, Quebec in 1873. References External links 1821 births 1873 deaths Members of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada from Canada West British surveyors Canadian surveyors Journalists from Ontario People from Leeds and Grenville United Counties Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent Ottawa Citizen people 19th-century Canadian journalists Canadian male journalists Ontario municipal councillors 19th-century Canadian male writers Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario Immigrants to Upper Canada