Forbes George Vernon

FORBES GEORGE VERNON (1843-1911)

Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia 1875-82, and again 1886-94, representing the riding of Yale

The short biographical account which follows relies heavily upon the article published by Wikipedia: Forbes George Vernon

Forbes George Vernon, Lieutenant (ret.) British Army, was a Member of the Legislative Assembly of the Canadian province of British Columbia 1875-82, and 886-94, representing the riding of Yale. He ran for the constituency of Yale-East in 1894 following a redistribution, but was defeated by Donald Graham.

Forbes George Vernon was the third of five sons born to John Edward Venables Vernon of Clontarf Castle in the north of Dublin, by his first wife Louisa Catherine Bowles. On 4 March 1863 Vernon wrote to the Colonial Office enquiring about land regulations in British Columbia, where free grants of up to 1,440 acres (6 km2) were available to military settlers with at least the rank of captain. He arrived in British Columbia the following September, with his elder brother Charles Albert Vernon (1840–1906) and their friend Charles Frederick Houghton. Vernon's original homestead of 160 acres (0.6 km2), near the city which bears his name, grew to become the 13,000 acre (53 km²) Coldstream Ranch.

In 1876, he was named Chief Commissioner of Lands and Works in the provincial cabinet and served until 1878. He later served in the same cabinet post from 1887 to 1894. After retiring from politics, Vernon served as Agent General for the province of British Columbia in London from 1895 to 1899.

1881 Census

1881 Census of Canada

Death

Forbes George Vernon died in London in 1911.

Marriage

On 11 September 1877 he married Kate Alma Branks of California.They were married at Victoria in British Columbia British Columbia Marriages She died 31 March 1885 and was buried at Victoria. British Columbia Deaths

Children

Forbes George Vernon, and his wife, Kate Alma Branks, had four daughters:

(1) Kathleen Louise Vernon, who was born on 5 August 1878 [British Columbia Birth Registrations, 1854-1903, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JDZN-NFV

(2) Edith Emily Vernon

(3) Gladys Louise Vernon (1878–1892)

(4) Beatrice Alma Ashley Vernon (1881–1968), who went on to marry Captain Montague Furber [British Columbia Death Registrations, 1872-1986, index and images, FamilySearch] https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FLYQ-VML

Namesakes

The City of Vernon in the Okanagan Region was named after him Wikipedia: Vernon