David Robertson was an Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

 physician and political figure. He represented Halton

Halton (electoral district)

Halton is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1988 and again since 1997. Its population in 2001 was 100,055.-Geography:...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario

Legislative Assembly of Ontario

The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...

 from 1879 to 1883 as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member.

He was born in Esquesing Township, Halton County

Halton County, Ontario

Halton County is a historic county in the Canadian province of Ontario. It is also one of the oldest counties in Canada.-History:Halton County is named after Major William Mathew Halton who was appointed in 1805 as Secretary to the Upper Canada provincial Lieutenant-Governor Sir Francis...

, Canada West in 1841, the son of Alexander Robertson, a Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 immigrant, and Nancy Moore, a native of New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

. Robertson studied at McGill College

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

 and graduated with an M.D.

Doctor of Medicine

Doctor of Medicine is a doctoral degree for physicians. The degree is granted by medical schools...

 in 1864. He first practised medicine in Nassagaweya

Nassagaweya Township, Ontario

Nassagaweya Township is a geographic township and former municipality in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada.The township was created in 1819, its name derived from the Mississauga word nazhesahgewayyong, meaning 'river with two outlets.' This refers to the fact that watercourses in the township drain...

 before moving to Milton

Milton, Ontario

Milton is a town in Southern Ontario, Canada, and part of the Halton Region in the Greater Toronto Area. Milton received a tremendous amount of awareness following the release of the results of the 2006 Census, which indicated that Milton is the fastest growing municipality in the Greater Golden...

. Robertson was a captain in the local militia and raised a company of volunteers that served during the Fenian raids

Fenian raids

Between 1866 and 1871, the Fenian raids of the Fenian Brotherhood who were based in the United States; on British army forts, customs posts and other targets in Canada, were fought to bring pressure on Britain to withdraw from Ireland. They divided many Catholic Irish-Canadians, many of whom were...

. He owned a large amount of real estate, including a large farm. In 1867, he married Jennie S. Morse. He served four years as mayor of Milton and eight years as treasurer for the board of education.