author
Robert Sellar
1841–1919
A sharp, outspoken newspaper editor from Quebec’s English-speaking minority, this Scottish-born writer spent decades turning local history and politics into lively public debate. He is best known for founding the Canadian Gleaner and for writing closely observed histories of the Huntingdon region.
1 Audiobook
Gleaner Tales
by Robert Sellar
About the author
Born in Glasgow on August 1, 1841, he came to Canada as a teenager and learned the newspaper trade after leaving school young to help support his family. He worked for major papers including the Toronto Globe and the Montreal Herald before settling in Huntingdon, Quebec, where he founded the Canadian Gleaner in 1863.
For much of his life, he edited that paper and became one of the best-known rural newspapermen in Canada. His writing was forceful and often controversial, especially on Confederation, Protestant minority rights, and French-Canadian nationalism, which made him an influential voice far beyond his small town.
He also wrote local and regional history, including The History of the County of Huntingdon and of the Seigniories of Chateaugay and Beauharnois from Their Settlement to the Year 1838. He died in Huntingdon on November 29, 1919, leaving behind both a substantial historical record and a vivid example of how one local editor could shape public conversation.