Head, SIR FRANCIS BOND, Bart.

Head, SIR FRANCIS BOND, Bart., author, and governor of Upper Canada, was born at Hermitage, near Rochester, 1st January 1793. He entered the corps of Royal Engineers, served at Waterloo and elsewhere, and had attained the rank of major when he retired from the service. In 1825 he accepted an engagement from a private company to work some gold and silver mines on the river Plate; and his spirited Rough Notes of his travels across the pampas and over the Andes gained for him the name of 'Galloping Head.' In 1835 he became governor of Upper Canada, where, at the head of the militia, he succeeded in suppressing an insurrection, which had its origin, as it was said, in his injudicious measures; but this charge he may fairly be held to have refuted in his Narrative (1839) of these events. In 1837 he resigned his post, and was created a baronet in 1838. After his retirement he devoted himself to literary pursuits, and for some years enjoyed a pension of £100 'for his services to literature.' His books include Bubbles from the Brunnens of Nassau, A Fugget of French Sticks, Stokers and Pokers, A Visit to Ireland, The Emigrant, The Horse and his Rider, The Royal Engineer, and Lives of Bruce, the traveller, and Sir John Burgoyne. He died 20th July 1875.