Alexander Cosby

Alexander Cosby (c 1685–1742) was born in Ireland and had a younger sister who married Richard Philipps, governor of Nova Scotia and a military man. Through this connection, Cosby was appointed major in the 40th regiment and was stationed in Nova Scotia around 1721. He looked to be appointed lieutenant governor in 1725 but the appointment went to Lawrence Armstrong.

This was a time when the governor was often absent as was the case with Philipps. Cosby refused to follow orders given by Armstrong and also was appointed lieutenant governor of Annapolis Royal in 1727 by Philipps to succeed John Doucett. It appears that Cosby was always in some kind of turmoil within the military and the governing body, a condition which continued until his death. Accounts of his actions must be tempered by the fact that his correspondence did not survive and accounts are only from the other perspectives.

External links

• Moody, Barry M. (1974). "Cosby, Alexander". In Halpenny, Francess G. Dictionary of Canadian Biography. III (1741–1770) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press. 

Lieutenant Governors of Nova Scotia
Post-Confederation (1867–present)	Williams Doyle Howe Archibald Richey McLelan Daly Jones D. Fraser McGregor MacKeen M. Grant Douglas Tory Stanfield Covert Irwin Mathers Kendall McCurdy A. Fraser Plow MacKeen Oland Gosse Shaffner Abraham Crouse Kinley Freeman Francis J. Grant
Lieutenant-Governors before Confederation (1786–1867)	Parr Bulkeley Wentworth Prévost (Croke) Sherbrooke Smyth Dalhousie Kempt Jeffrey Maitland Jeffrey C. Campbell Falkland Dickson Harvey Bazalgette Le Marchant Phipps Doyle MacDonnell Williams
Lieutenant-Governors of Cape Breton Island (1784–1820)	Desbarres Macarmick Mathews Ogilvie Murray Despard Nepean Swayne Ainslie
Governors before Confederation (1710–86)	Vetch Nicholson Caulfeild Vetch Caulfeild Philipps Doucett Armstrong Cosby Mascarene Cornwallis Hopson Lawrence Ellis Belcher Wilmot W. Campbell Green Francklin Legge Francklin Arbuthnot Hughes Hamond Parr
Lieutenant-Governors who served in the absence of Governors are listed in parentheses. Acting administrators are listed in italics.