The Pasteurs in England

There are two known Pasteur branches in England. One is that of John Lewis Pasteur, whose origin is yet unknown and whose male line died in 1819 or 1822. The other one is that of Marc Henry Pasteur, who came from Geneva to England in 1846 and whose descendants are living today near Birmingham.

John Lewis Pasteur was a tutor and companion to George Lewis Coke of Melbourne Hall in Derbyshire. George Lewis Coke’s sister, Charlotte married Matthew Lamb the grandparents of William, Lord Melbourne, the Prime Minister of Great Britain in the 1830’s. By this time, the Pasteurs had disappeared from Melbourne. [Source: Colin Barber]

Marc Henri, or Henry, Pasteur was educated at the College of Geneva, and came to England in 1846 when he entered the office of his uncle Adolphe Pasteur, carrying on the business of an East India and Colonial Merchant, under the name of Patry and Pasteur in Mincing Lane. He was sworn a special constable at the lime of the Chartist riots in 1848 and was naturalised as an English citizen in 1851. He joined the 6th Surrey Rifle Volunteers in 1859 and there became acquainted with Sir Alfred Wills. He became a partner in the firm of Patry and Pasteur, but left it in 1887 to carry on various commercial enterprises, in connection with which he travelled to South Africa in 1889 visiting Kimberley, Johannesburg, Pretoria and the Zoutspansberg, and British Bechuanaland. In 1893 he again visited South Africa and also Portuguese East Africa, this time being accompanied by his youngest son, C. H. Pasteur. He was Chairman of Oceana Consolidated Co. Ltd., and of the Southern Land Company Ltd., and was a Director of Conrad Stannite Mines Ltd., South African Agency Ltd., New Egyptian Company Ltd., Van Rym Gold Mines Estate Ltd., and was on the London Board of the Mozambique Company.

Henry Pasteur was also a talented draughtsman and his black and white sketches of mountain scenery are very pleasant. A mountain lover, he was elected a member of the Alpine Club in 1873, was on the committee from 1882–5, and was Vice-President from 1893–5.

Source: J. Aldous, Family Notebook, Volume 2

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