Col. James Kerby

James Kerby, 2nd Regiment Lincoln Artillery

Kerby was a militia officer, businessman, Justice of the Peace, office holder, and politician; b 1785 at Park Farm near Sandwich (Windsor, Ont.), son of John Kerby and Alison Donaldson; m 1811 Jane Lambert, and they had three children; d 20 June 1854 at Fort Erie, Upper Canada.

James KerbyIn 1805 Kerby began working at Queenston as a clerk-bookkeeper for Thomas Clark who not only ran a series of profitable businesses but was also a senior officer in the militia. When Clark became commanding officer of the 2nd Regiment Lincoln Militia on 9 July 1809, Kerby was appointed regimental adjutant. The outbreak of hostilities with the United States in the summer of 1812 disrupted trade along the frontier and ended the business activities of Grant and Kerby. Both men were immediately involved in militia affairs.

Kerby remained adjutant of the 2nd Lincoln and also commanded an Artillery Company in support of it. On the morning of 9 Oct 1812 his company was manning the British batteries on the Niagara River opposite Black Rock (Buffalo, NY) when it was ordered to open fire on the Detroit and the Caledonia, ships which had been captured by an American raiding party. In this, his first action under fire, Kerby seems to have performed well. After the death of Sir Isaac Brock at Queenston Heights, the Americans mounted another offensive on 28 November. The attack was countered and, for his part in the action, Kerby received his first official commendation for service under battle conditions. Following the abortive offensive, the British continued to fire at troop movements on the opposite shore and during one such fire fight, on 2 Dec 1812, a twenty-four pound cannon burst and Kerby was wounded severely in the right hand...

In his later years Kerby seems to have been hard pressed for funds. In 1843 he sold his mill, though he retained his positions as postmaster and collector of customs. Illness continued to be a difficulty: he was frequently sick and in 1839 both his wife and his mother died; in 1846 his son died at 24 and the death of a son-in-law meant that one of Kerby’s daughters and her small child became dependent on him. None the less, he remained active in the militia. With the reorganization resulting from the Militia Act of 1846 came the formation of the Welland Regiment. Kerby became commanding officer of the 1st Battalion and remained the senior militia officer in the Niagara District. He was a member of the committee formed to superintend construction of a new memorial to Sir Isaac Brock, designed by William Thomas. When the memorial cornerstone was laid, he acted as one of the honorary pallbearers for Brock’s coffin. Kerby died on 20 June 1854, allegedly of cholera brought on by eating greens. He was buried at Fort Erie in St Paul’s where a memorial window and tombstone commemorate him.
https://gravesideproject.ca/?p=585
This biography has been taken directly from the Dictionary of Canadian Biographies.

Inscription
SACRED/ TO THE MEMORY OF/ COL. THE HON. JAMES KERBY/ WHO DEPARTED THIS LIFE/ JUNE 20, 1854/ AGED 69 Y'RS./ HE WAS A FAITHFUL SUBJECT/ OF THE CROWN AND FOR HIS/ GALLANTRY DURING THE WAR/ OF 1812 HE RECEIVED THE/ THANKS OF HIS COUNTRY AND/ WAS PRESENTED WITH A/ VALUABLE SWORD BY THE/ LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY OF/ UPPER CANADA./ IN PRIVATE LIFE HE WAS/ ESTEEMED FOR HIS AIMIABLE/ QUALITIES HIS GENEROUS AND BENEVOLENT DISPOSITION, AND/ FOR HIS EXEMPLARY/ CHARACTER AS A PARENT/ A FRIEND AND A/ CHRISTIAN
https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/144854300/james_kerby