Joseph Despard Pemberton (1821 - 1893)

Born 23 Jul 1821 in Dublin, Ireland

Ancestors

Husband of Theresa Jane Despard (Grantoff) Pemberton — married 2 Jan 1864 in West Brompton, Middlesex, England, United Kingdom

Descendants

Died 11 Nov 1893 at age 72 in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada

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Biography

Joseph Pemberton is Notable.

Joseph Pemberton is/was a significant British Columbian.

Joseph Despard Pemberton was an Irish-born Canadian engineer, surveyor, and politician. He was the first child of Joseph Pemberton and Margaret Stephens. He was a surveyor for the Hudson's Bay Company, Surveyor General of Vancouver Island and member of its legislative assembly. The town of Pemberton, BC is named after him, although it is said he did not survey, or even visit, the town site. A booster of the development and settlement of British Columbia, he was even successful encouraging relatives to migrate or marry into the province.

Little is known of Joseph's early childhood, or what became of his parents. He did, however, in 1837 attend Trinity College, Dublin as had his uncles Reverend Arthur Gore and Augustus Frederick, both of whom would remain significant figures in his life.

Although not completing a degree, Joseph had sufficient talent and training to transition into practical work:

He was afterward a pupil to [G. W. Hemans], principal engineer of the Midland Railway of Ireland. Young Pemberton's ability was quickly recognized, and after being assistant engineer of the Great Southern & Western Railway for a time he served successively as chief engineer of the Dublin & Drogheda Railway, the Exeter & Crediton Railway, and part of the East Lancashire Railway. ^[1]

Those latter situations during the 1840s led Joseph, following the lead of his uncles, to England:

In 1850 he entered the competition for the design of the vast building to be erected in London to house the International Exhibition of 1851... Pemberton was awarded Prince Albert's bronze medal for his design. By this time he had turned from practical railroading to teaching, and been appointed Professor of Surveying, Civil Engineering, and Mathematics at the Royal Agricultural College... for the last two years he remained in England. ^[1]

In winter 1851 Joseph signed a contract with the Hudson's Bay Company as surveyor and engineer. Following the Isthmus of Panama route, he contracted malaria which slowed his progress, finally arriving at Fort Victoria in June. Following behind was young Benjamin Pearse, who Joseph had found through a London want-ad. Initially his assistant, Pearse would become a lifelong friend and marry Joseph's cousin Mary Letitia Pemberton. The pair initially surveyed through southern Vancouver Island. The HBC governors were so satisfied with his work, they paid him a bonus and offered a contract extension in 1855. The arrangement also provided Joseph with a trip to England, where he returned to Victoria with his uncle Augustus, who would go on to become Police Commissioner and Stipendiary Magistrate. The following year sister Susan came to Victoria, and stayed for twelve years, before illness saw her leave for France (where she died in 1870).

Pemberton had ample opportunity to apply his training and experience as a civil engineer. He not only surveyed roads, but supervised their construction. In addition he designed and built bridges and a considerable variety of public buildings, including the first schoolhouse in Victoria, and the original Victoria District Church.^[1]

1858 saw the advent of the Fraser Gold Rush and the formation of the mainland colony of British Columbia. At the same time, HBC's control of Vancouver Island was ending and so was Joseph's contract. He was consequently made Surveyor-General of Vancouver Island with the colonial transition, a position he kept until 1864. The winter of that year, at age 42, Joseph married 22-year-old Theresa Grantoff in London.^[2] After the mainland and island colonies merged in 1866, Joseph sat on the Legislative Council for the Victoria District. In 1871 another cousin, Charlotte Pemberton, married Clement Cornwall, then an Ashcroft gentleman who would go on to be the third Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.

Taking advantage of his position and knowledge of the colonial lands, Joseph was able to acquire significant tracts at modest price. The first buildings on the Gonzales Estate were primarily functional. Joseph and Theresa raised six children there: Fred, Ada, Sophie, Susan, Joey and Willie.^[3] During this period British Columbia joined confederation with Canada, and the Canadian Pacific Railway commenced construction. Although he was not engaged in that project, he had long envisioned the continental connections it provided.^[1] Joseph built a large and expensive mansion at Gonzales in 1885, which included a studio in the tower for daughter Sophie, who would go on to become a successful and well-known Canadian artist.

Son Fred had gone to England and studied following the same subjects as his father. In the months following Fred's return from his studies to Victoria, the pair formed Pemberton & Son in 1887. The venture was especailly useful given Joseph's land holdings, which were subdivided and sold over time. Within the city of Victoria alone, in 1891 Joseph's $136,333 in holdings had him number 11, only below such entities as the HBC, and the likes of coal baron Robert Dunsmuir.^[4]

Joseph Despard Pemberton died in Victoria in autumn 1893,^[5] and was buried in Ross Bay Cemetery.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Sampson, H. S., "My Father, Joseph Despard Pemberton: 1821-93", British Columbia Historical Association. (1944, April 30, pp. 111-125). British Columbia Historical Quarterly. British Columbia History. P, Victoria : British Columbia Historical Association. Retrieved September 27, 2021, from https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bch/items/1.0190723
2. ↑ Free UK Genealogy CIO, Marriages Q1 1864, Kensington, vol. 1a, page 21
3. ↑ Census of Canada, 1881, British Columbia, Victoria (City) (190), Victoria (D), page 24, dwelling 108, family 109, Joseph D Pemberton; RG31 - Statistics Canada, roll C-13285 (http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/census/1881/Pages/item.aspx?itemid=479494 : Accessed March 30, 2018).
4. ↑ "Victoria's Landowners", Daily Colonist, October 23, 1891, page 3, https://archive.org/details/dailycolonist18911023uvic/18911023
5. ↑ Record of Death for Joseph Despard Pemberton, Event Type: Death, Registration Number: 1893-09-008254, BC Archives Mfilm Number: B13078, GSU Mfilm Number: 1927288, Event Date: 1893-11-11, Event Place: VICTORIA, Age at Death: 72, Person: JOSEPH DESPARD PEMBERTON, BC Archives - Royal BC Museum.
6. ↑ Find A Grave: Memorial #10936

See also:

• Mackie, Richard, “PEMBERTON, JOSEPH DESPARD,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed March 30, 2018, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/pemberton_joseph_despard_12E.html.
• Wikipedia: Joseph Despard Pemberton
• Wikidata: Item Q6282614, en:Wikipedia