Nathaniel Pettes was a merchant and political figure in Quebec

Quebec

Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

. He represented Brome

Brome (electoral district)

Brome was a federal electoral district in the province of Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925....

 in the Canadian House of Commons

Canadian House of Commons

The House of Commons of Canada is a component of the Parliament of Canada, along with the Sovereign and the Senate. The House of Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 308 members known as Members of Parliament...

 from 1874 to 1878 as a Liberal

Liberal Party of Canada

The Liberal Party of Canada , colloquially known as the Grits, is the oldest federally registered party in Canada. In the conventional political spectrum, the party sits between the centre and the centre-left. Historically the Liberal Party has positioned itself to the left of the Conservative...

 member.

He was born in Brome Township, 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...

, the son of Charles Pettes and Desire West. In 1844, he married Narcissa Ferrand. Pettes was a general merchant in Brome. He was a school commissioner and secretary-treasurer for the municipal council. Pettes also served as warden for Brome County

Brome County, Quebec

Brome County, is a historical county of Quebec. It takes its name from the name of a manor in the parish of Barham in Kent, England that was named after the broom plant. It was named by English surveyors. The county was formed in 1855 from parts of Stanstead, Shefford and Missisquoi counties. ...

 and was a director of the South Eastern Railway and the Canada Central Railway. Pettes died in Knowlton, Quebec at the age of 73.

The Pettes Memorial Library, the first free rural public library in Quebec, was built in 1893 by Pettes' wife Narcissa in his memory.

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