George Longley was an English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

-born businessman, farmer and political figure in Upper Canada

Upper Canada

The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...

. He represented Grenville in the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada

The Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada was created by the Constitutional Act of 1791. It was the elected legislature for the province of Upper Canada and functioned as the province's lower house in the Parliament of Upper Canada...

 from 1829 to 1830 as a Reformer. His surname also appears as Langley.

He was the son of William Langley and Sarah Scott and came to Lower Canada

Lower Canada

The Province of Lower Canada was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence...

 around 1812. On his arrival, Longley entered the timber trade. In 1815, he was appointed by the province a master culler and measurer of timber. Around 1823, he formed his own company in partnership with Joseph Dyke. The partners exported timber and were also shipbuilders. He purchased farm land in Augusta Township

Augusta, Ontario

Augusta is a township in eastern Ontario, Canada, on the Saint Lawrence River in the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville.-Communities:The township comprises the communities of Algonquin, Bisseltown, Blue Church, Charlieville, Domville, Garretton, Glenmore, Herrons Corners, Lords Mills, Maitland,...

 in 1822. In 1824, Longley married Ruth Wells. He settled in Maitland in 1826 and retired from his partnership with Dyke later that year. Longley also became the primary owner of a grist mill, producing flour for export. He opened a shop in Maitland and also served as postmaster. He raised livestock on his farm. He became the first president of the Grenville County Agricultural Society. Longley was unsuccessful when he ran for reelection in 1830. That same year, he was named a commissioner for the canals on the Saint Lawrence River

Saint Lawrence River

The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

. Longley also served as a justice of the peace

Justice of the Peace

A justice of the peace is a puisne judicial officer elected or appointed by means of a commission to keep the peace. Depending on the jurisdiction, they might dispense summary justice or merely deal with local administrative applications in common law jurisdictions...

. He died at sea while travelling from Quebec to London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

 and was buried in the parish of Milton-next-Gravesend

Milton-next-Gravesend

Milton-next-Gravesend was, and still is, one of the ancient ecclesiastical parishes in the NW of the county of Kent, England. When Gravesend became a town under Royal Charter in the 13th century, Milton was included within it. Much of the parish was, until c. 1840, rural...

in August 1842.