Sebastian Zouberbuhler (c. 1710 – January 31, 1773) was a merchant and justice of the peace from Nova Scotia. Born in Switzerland, he emigrated to North America and worked as an agent and merchant who recruited German Protestants to immigrate to North America. During Britain's occupation of Louisbourg he traded goods and invested in the city. When the city was returned to France he moved to Halifax to continue his trading business.

In 1753 he was appointed a justice of the peace for Lunenburg; the appointment of a Halifax merchant was negatively received by the community, and his decision to licence taverns increased his unpopularity. Later that year the town suspected Zouberbuhler of possessing a letter that confirmed that the town did not receive their proper allottment of supples, and Zouberbuhler had to hide from a mob. In 1759 he was elected to represent the town in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly, and a few years later was appointed to the Nova Scotia Council. He died in 1773 in Lunenburg.

Born in Switzerland in 1709 or 1710,^[1] Zouberbuhler's father was Reverend Bartholomew Zouberbuhler. In November 1734 he went to Charles Town, South Carolina, to survey land for a new settlement. He promised to bring 100 families to Fort Moore, within eighteen months.^[2] Sebastian organised a group of one hundred people, most probably religious followers of his father, to emigrate from the Appenzell region in Switzerland to the United States.^[3] He returned to Switzerland to recruit more emigrants but was unsuccessful.^[4]

He worked as an agent for Samuel Waldo, who speculated in land, in South Carolina and Massachusetts. In 1743, Zouberbuhler and Waldo were found guilty by a committee of the Massachusetts General Court for neglecting German Protestants for whom they helped settle what is now considered Maine.^[1]

Zouberbuhler was a captain in the 2nd Massachusetts Regiment in the Siege of Louisbourg (1745). Zouberbuhler traded lumber, cattle and coal in Louisbourg during its British occupation, investing both his own and Waldo's money. He moved to Halifax in 1749 or 1750 after Louisbourg was returned to the French. He still traded in Lousibourg, representing Joshua Mauger, selling ships to French residents and importing coal into Halifax.^[1] He frequently collaborated with government officials, increasing his power and influence in the colony.^[5]

In 1752, a clerk for the Inferior Court and Quarter Sessions, complained to the court and the governor of Nova Scotia about the treatment he received from the justices of the court and not being paid enough by the court to cover the expenses he accrued from the role. Zouberbuhler and other merchants signed a memorial supporting Lloyd and questioning the conduct of the justices on the Inferior Court in numerous cases.^[6] During this time he also worked as a translator for new settlers.^[7]

In 1753, Zouberbuhler was appointed as a justice of the peace and judge of quorum for Lunenburg.^[1][8] The town was suspicious of a Halifax merchant in this role, and his popularity decreased further when he recommended licencing taverns to regulate the trade of rum into the town to stop smuggling.^[1]

In December 1953, a rumour spread in the town that Jean Pettrequin received a letter from the British government confirming that the town was not receiving all of the supplies that the local government allotted to them. Townsfolk seized Pettrequin to try to find the letter, but Zouberbuhler, along with Patrick Sutherland and others, freed him. A mob seized Pettrequin again, who then claimed that Zouberbuhler had the letter. Zouberbuhler hid from the mob in a blockhouse, protected by soldiers assigned by Sutherland. A subsequent investigation confirmed that Zouberbuhler never possessed the supposed letter.^[1]

Zouberbuhler was defeated in his first attempt to be elected to the Nova Scotia House of Assembly in 1758. The following year he ran again and was successful, representing Lunenburg Township.^[1] He was reelected in 1761. On October 19, 1763, he was named to the Nova Scotia Council.^[9] He attended meetings of the Council sporadically in the first two years of his appointment and attended even less frequently in the subsequent eight years. He was one of six appointments to the Council between 1760 and 1830 that did not reside in Halifax.^[10]

Zouberbuhler was involved in the Lunenburg timber trade and purchased land in Halifax and Lunenburg county. He purchased 125,000 acres with Alexander McNutt and four others between Annapolis Basin and St. Marys Bay, Nova Scotia. He tried using his position as a councillor to obtain 20,000 acres, but this was blocked by the Board of Trade and only obtained 5,000 acres.^[1]

He gave a large donation to build a school in Northwest, Nova Scotia. Shortly before his death, he transferred his two parcels of land to James Boutineau Francklin.^[1]

Zouberbuhler advocated for a German-speaking Church of England minister in Lunenburg and opposed Lutheran and Calvinist ministers coming to the town.^[1]

He died, probably of gout, in Lunenburg on January 31, 1773. His remaining property was given to his daughter, Catherine Silver. A statement in his will that he would repay a loan he made in South Carolina was set aside after it was declared that the statement was made when Zouberbuhler was unable to make legal decisions anymore.^[1]