George Pemberton (1795-1868)

The Hon. George Pemberton, M.L.C., Merchant, of Quebec City & London

He was born at Mountjoy Square, Dublin. He came to Quebec City where he engaged in the timber business at Sillery, establishing the firm of W. & G. Pemberton & Co. with his brother, William, and William's brother-in-law, Joseph Bremner Provan. He was President of the Quebec Committee of Trade before co-founding the Quebec Board of Trade. His business interests extended to mining and railroads, and he was a director of the Grand Trunk Railway and the Garden River Company. He advocated for the union of Upper (Ontario) and Lower (Quebec) Canada. He turned down an invitation to serve on the Special Council but was elected as a Member of the Legislative Council from 1841 to 1849. He retired to England, living for a period on New Broad Street in the City of London, where he represented the Canadian interest at the London Board of the St. Andrew's & Quebec Railroad Company. He married Hélène-Henriette, daughter of Pierre-Édouard Desbarats, J.P., Publisher, of Quebec City. Their daughter married William Baring de Lotbiniere Bingham, of Broome Park, Kent, a first cousin of the Prime Minister of Quebec, Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbiniere.
Contributed by Mark Meredith on 31/01/2022 and last updated on 31/01/2022.