Edward Hale

Who was Edward Hale?

Edward Hale was a Quebec businessman and political figure.

He was born in Quebec City in 1800, the son of John Hale; his mother was the sister of Lord William Pitt Amherst. Hale was educated in England and returned to Lower Canada in 1820, where he was named secretary to the auditor general for the province. From 1823 to 1828, he was secretary to his uncle, Lord Amherst, in India. After he returned to Lower Canada, he married Eliza Cecilia, the daughter of Edward Bowen, in 1831. Hale settled on a property on the Saint-François River in the Eastern Townships around 1834. He was a shareholder in the British American Land Company which was established to sell land in that part of the province. Hale served as secretary to the colonel of the local militia during the Lower Canada Rebellion. In September 1839, he was named to the Special Council that administered the province following the rebellion; he supported the resolutions passed in the council for the union of Upper and Lower Canada. In 1840, he was named warden for Sherbrooke district.

After the union, he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada for the town of Sherbrooke; he was reelected in 1841.