Joseph Despard Pemberton

Thus, with a bit of extrapolation from the above, and a little help from the Pemberton Homes page, and the City of Victoria web page, the 6 children of Joseph Despard and Theresa Jane Pemberton are:

Frederick Bernard Pemberton (birth & marriage info for Fred is from The City of Victoria - Fort Victoria Brick Project Name List)	b	26 April 1865
	m	1892 Mary Ann Dupont Bell
	d	7 Nov 1947, Oak Bay, BC
Ada Georgina Pemberton	b	23 May 1867, BC
	m	11 Sept 1902, Victoria Hugo Robert Beaven
	d	27 July 1958, Oak Bay, BC
Sophia Theresa Pemberton	b	13 Feb 1869, BC
	m	11 Sept 1905, Victoria, BC Arthur John Beaulands, rector of Christ Church
	d	after 1930
Harriet Susan Pemberton	b	13 May 1871, BC
	m	14 April 1909, Victoria William Curtis Sampson
	d	15 May 1949, Oak Bay, BC
Joseph Despard Pemberton Jr	b	11/12 Nov 1877, Victoria, BC
	m	1 Dec 1904, Victoria, BC Helen Mary Yoder Baiss
	d	30 Aug 1916, Jordan Meadows
William Parnell Despard Pemberton	b	11/12 Nov 1877, Victoria, BC
	m	14 Feb 1928, Victoria, BC Caro Eileen M. Rant
	d	27 Jan 1951, Victoria, BC

And finally, for those of you who like these things, the following is an excerpt from a book written by one of Pemberton's daughters, H. S. Sampson, entitled My Father, Joseph Despard Pemberton: 1821-93.

April 1844

Pemberton accepted these terms and signed his new agreement on October 8, 1855.¹³ He must have left for home immediately, as he was back at Fort Victoria by the middle of December.

On many occasions my father's occupation might better have been described as that of an explorer rather than, or in addition to, that of a surveyor. Thus in October, 1856, he was instructed by Governor Douglas to explore the country between Quallchum (Qualicum) and the Alberni Canal. Crossing the Island by way of Horne Lake (which had been discovered some months before by Adam Horne, storekeeper at Nanaimo for the Hudson's Bay Company), he explored both the Canal and Barkley Sound.¹⁴ The following September he crossed the Island a second time. Accompanied by Lieutenant T. S. Gooch, of H.M.S. Satellite, and a party of seven, he left Cowichan Harbour on September 4, and reached Nitinat, on the West Coast, on the 19th.¹⁵ Each man carried a 60-lb. pack, in addition to arms and ammunition, through the dense forest and undergrowth. Ammunition and food both gave out, and when they arrived at their destination, weak and exhausted, they were received by the Chief of the fierce Nitinat Indians, who had just gained a victory over his enemies. The bloody heads of the vanquished, mounted on poles, with long hair waving in the wind, was not an encouraging sight for exhausted men. Pemberton stepped boldly forward, and in the name of the Great white Queen demanded food and canoes to convey him and his party back t Victoria. Receipts were given in the form of leaves torn from his note-book, and these were later duly honoured by the Hudson's Bay Company.

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. The gold-rush to the Fraser River temporarily extended these activities and responsibilities to the Mainland, for when Douglas decided to build a town at Derby, on the site of Old Fort Langley, it was to Pemberton that he turned for the expert assistance needed in surveying the townsite. Pemberton himself summarized thus the extent of the work:--

Here 3000 building lots were laid out, of which 342 were sold in twp days, for £13,000., on which a deposit of ten per cent. was paid. A court-house, jail, parsonage, and church were built, and 400 or 500 people were about to commence operations, when another capital was announced.¹⁶

It was in 1858 that my father, like James Douglas, severed his connection with the Hudson's Bay Company. His contract expired on December 16, and as the Company was surrendering the Colony of Vancouver Island to the British Government within a few months, it had no further need for his services. Douglas, however, was happy to retain him on behalf of the Colony, and after serving for a time as Colonial Surveyor, he was appointed Surveyor-General of Vancouver Island in July, 1860, a post he held until October, 1864. His new duties were many and varied. He laid out the roads in Sooke and Saanich. In 1859 he was one of a committee of six (the other members being two officers of the Royal Navy and three ship-captains) who selected the sites for the lighthouses on Race Rocks and on Fisgard Island, Esquimalt harbour.¹⁷ Subsequently he supervised the construction of (though he did not actually design) both lighthouses, which were completed and n operation by December 1860. Later he was a member of a committee of seven appointed to consider the question of the improvement of Victoria Harbour. The other members including Captain G. H. Richards, R.N., and Captain W. A. Mouat, of the Hudson's Bay Company. The committee's report is dated February 28, 1862. Careful drawings were made to the harbour and suggested improvements. When the House of Assembly voted money for dredging the split, Pemberton went to England to purchase machinery for a dredge and tug. There he found that the diving suit had replaced the diving bell, and in order to be able to instruct the workers in the use of the former he took diving lessons in the Victoria Dock, London.

For a time my father served the old Crown Colony in a political as well as in a professional capacity. He was a Member of the original House of Assembly of Vancouver Island, elected in 1856 and dissolved in 1859. Looking over the minutes of the House, it is evident that there was frequently an element of comedy in its proceedings. Adjournments for lack of a quorum or for lack of business were not infrequent, yet the Assembly sat almost continuously. One motion passed provided that any Member being fifteen minutes late after the hour of meeting should be fined the sum of $20. Upon another occasion petition was brought forward written in French, but was rejected because the House declined to receive petitions written in a foreign language.

Pemberton, while serving as Surveyor-General, became a Member f the Executive Council of Vancouver Island in September, 18 63, and of the Legislative Council in April 1864. He resigned all his appointments in October, 1864, following his marriage, as his duties as Surveyor-General took him from home very frequently.

After the Union of the Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in 1866, he returned briefly to the political scene. ON January 14, 1867, he was appointed member of the Legislative Council, representing Victoria District, for the session 1867, and he served again, 1868.

In conclusion, a few more personal notes may be permitted.

It would be interesting to now just when my father decided to settle permanently in Vancouver Island. We do known that his first glimpse of the Gonzales estate--a gentle slope, with a glorious view of the Olympics; a lake-covered bottom, with an Indian stalking deer--decided him to make it his future home. The first portion of the property was purchased in 1855. The improvements then in existence were described some years later n a memorandum by Dr. W. F. Tolmie:--

These consisted of a log dwelling house 30X20 [feet], a barn, some small outhouses, a calf park, and a log park, wherein to lasso cattle, besides about five acres of enclosed tilled land.¹⁸

In 1856 Pemberton was joined by his sister, Susan Frances Pemberton, who came out in the same vessel as Miss Emmeline Todd (afterwards Mrs. Newton and later still Mrs. Mohun). Miss Pemberton lived in the fort for a time, and then moved to the Gonzales estate, where, with true Irish hospitality, she and her brother welcomed all and sundry. Dances were given in the old log-house, the rooms being lighted by candles with potatoes serving as sconces, and in every available corner would be a shake-down for those coming from a distance. At other times a picnic would be decided upon, the farm-horses commandeered, a hearty meal prepared, and a day of merriment spent in one of the beautiful glades or seaside spots surrounding Victoria, at which archery was the favourite pastime. Private theatricals and concerts made the winter evenings pass pleasantly. Good plays were produced, amongst them The Rivals, in which my father took the part of Sir Lucius O'Trigger.

After twelve years in Victoria, Miss Pemberton returned to Europe in 1868. She had been for some years Lady Principal of Angela College, and the following testimonial evidences the esteem in which she was held in the little city of those days:--

Dear Madam:

We cannot allow the occasion of our resigning the position of Lady Principal of Angela College to pass without expressing our very sincere regret that in consequence of failing health the most valuable and important of our local institutions is about to be deprived of a headship that has been so watchfully and efficiently exercised.

The present condition of the Ladies College in point of numbers is an evident and satisfactory proof, not only that the educational privileges of that establishment are of a character to evoke the grateful support of the parents in this Colony, but also, of the high esteem in which you have been deservedly held and the perfect confidence that has been felt with the healthy tone imparted by our superintendent.

Accept our grateful thanks for the able and conscientious manner in which you have fulfilled your many and serious responsibilities our repeated expressions of sincere regret for the cause which has led to your resignation and our earnest prayer that Almighty God who has hitherto strengthened you in the past may still have you in his holy keeping and bless you with what degree of health and spiritual blessing as many best enable you to fulfill. . . .

This is, unfortunately, where our photocopy of the original ends. Should you have the rest of this letter, or more info on Susan Pemberton, or both, please drop us a line.

Footnotes from H. S. Sampson's My Father, Joseph Despard Pemberton: 1821-93.

(13) An official copy of this agreement in the Provincial Archives.

(14) For a brief report on this expedition, dated December 15, 1856, see Pemberton, Vancouver Island and British Columbia, pp 147-8

(15) For a brief report on this expedition, dated November 12, 1857, see ibid., pp 148-50.

(16) Ibid., pp 51-2.

(17) See John T. Walbran, British Columbia Coast Names, Ottawa, 1909, pp. 179, 412.

(18) W. F> Tolmie to Thomas Fraser, Secretary of the Hudson's Bay Company, November 13, 1861. Transcript in the Provincial Archives.