This is a study of the surname Pemberton which I began in late 2009, a few months before registration with the Guild of One-Name Studies. I propose to gather and publish all Pemberton data from the earliest available through 1850. I am organising the Pemberton Family World Wide association which will add much to this study. They have a web site here: http://pembertonfamily.com.

My motivation is two-fold: first, I enjoy this sort of work, and extracting data in bulk somehow makes more sense to me than looking for one at a time (maybe a symptom of a vocational disease I contracted years ago), and second, and more important; I have been deeply impressed as I have researched the name and particularly as I have met distant cousins in England, with the kind of people they always seem to be: down to earth, honest, independent, driven by principle more than convenience, and religious. I think it can be a wonderful blessing to thousands of Pemberton, many yet unborn, to know what kind of people they come from and to understand the feelings that course through their hearts as they deal with the vicissitudes of life.

My sincere desire is that from an understanding of the ancient and worthy Pemberton line, the present Pemberton's may gain an increased appreciation and even a reverence for those who have given us this noble heritage, and that there may come a determination to live up to and exceed their ability to be noble, worthy, independent, sober, honest, principled, industrious, loving and believing citizens of our world. I also hope that Pemberton's everywhere will be drawn back to their roots in England and want to carry on the heritage of the cradle of the family.