George Clayes was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

-born farmer, 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 Missisquoi

Missisquoi (electoral district)

Missisquoi was a federal electoral district in Quebec, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1867 to 1925.-History:...

 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 1887 to 1888 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 New Hampshire

New Hampshire

New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...

, the son of the Reverend Dana Clayes, and came to Bedford

Bedford, Quebec

Bedford is a town located in the Montérégie region of southern Quebec, Canada. The population as of the Canada 2006 Census was 2,612. This small community is just a half hour's drive from larger cities such as Burlington and Montreal, and is the home to southern Quebec's largest boy scout troop.-...

, Canada East

Canada East

Canada East was the eastern portion of the United Province of Canada. It consisted of the southern portion of the modern-day Canadian Province of Quebec, and was primarily a French-speaking region....

 with his uncle in 1846. In 1850, he went to Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

, where he entered business as a merchant. He then went to Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha, Nebraska

Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...

, where he served as a member of the territorial legislature. In 1866, Clayes returned to Bedford. He married his cousin Sophia Clayes in 1855. Clayes was an unsuccessful candidate for a seat in the House of Commons in 1878 and 1882. He died in office at the age of 57.