James Cotter was a farmer, judge and political figure in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

.

He was born in New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

 state in 1772, the son of a United Empire Loyalist. He settled in Adolphustown Township

Adolphustown, Ontario

Adolphustown is a geographic area located in Greater Napanee, Ontario, Canada, at on the Adolphus Reach of the Bay of Quinte in Lake Ontario. It was founded in 1784 by United Empire Loyalists. The original Loyalist Landing site is now the U.E.L...

 in 1794 and, around 1817, moved to Sophiasburgh Township

Sophiasburgh Township, Ontario

Sophiasburgh is a historic township in southern Ontario, Canada, one of the three original townships that formed Prince Edward County. The other two townships were Ameliasburgh and Marysburgh. It was named in 1798 after Princess Sophia, the fifth daughter of George III...

. He served as captain in the local militia during the War of 1812

War of 1812

The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...

, becoming lieutenant colonel in 1830. He was elected as representative for Prince Edward

Prince Edward County, Ontario

Prince Edward County is a single-tier municipality and a census division of the Canadian province of Ontario.-Geography:Prince Edward County is located in Southern Ontario on a large irregular headland or littoral at the eastern end of Lake Ontario, just west of the head of the St. Lawrence River...

 in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada...

in 1816. In 1837, he was named a judge in the Prince Edward District. He died in Sophiasburgh Township in 1849.