George Burchill (May 8, 1820 – June 18, 1907) was a
shipbuilder,
lumberman and
merchant
A merchant is a person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries. Historically, a merchant is anyone who is involved in business or trade. Merchants have operated for as long as indust ...
in
New Brunswick.
He was born in
Bandon, County Cork,
Ireland, the son of Thomas Burchill and Catherine Murphy, and came to New Brunswick with his parents in 1826. He found work as a clerk in a store in
Chatham. Burchill was hired as a clerk by
Joseph Russell and went on to become business manager for Russell's shipyard. In 1849, he married Bridget Percival. In 1850, with
John Harley and aided by financial assistance from
Rankin
Rankin may refer to:
Places Australia
*Division of Rankin, an electoral district in the Australian Federal House of Representatives, in Queensland Canada
*Rankin Inlet, Nunavut
*Rankin Inlet Airport, Nunavut
* Rankin River, Ontario
* Rankin Locat ...
,
Gilmour and Company, he purchased the shipyard from Russell. The partners also traded in lumber and owned a general store. In 1857, the partnership was dissolved and Burchill set up a lumber and retail business in
Nelson. His logs were processed at a sawmill owned by Charles Sargeant from 1868 to 1875, when Burchill purchased the operation. In 1881, he established the company George Burchill and Sons, with his sons
John Percival and George Jr. He retired in 1904, and died 3 years later.
References
Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burchill, George
1820 births
1907 deaths
Irish emigrants to pre-Confederation New Brunswick
Pre-Confederation Canadian businesspeople
Colony of New Brunswick people
Businesspeople from New Brunswick