Benjamin Charles Prowse (1862 - 1930)

Born 10 Dec 1862 in Charlottetown, Queens County, Prince Edward Island

Ancestors

Died 22 Feb 1930 at age 67 in Charlottetown, Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Canada

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Biography

Benjamin Prowse is Notable.

Benjamin Charles Prowse was born on December 10, 1862 in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island and was baptized on July 22, 1863 at the Cornwall United Church.^[1] He was the son of William Prowse and Eleanor Horne.

In 1883, Benjamin left PEI to settle in Oregon,^[2] but the emigration was short-lived, as he returned to Prince Edward Island by 1886, when he became a partner with his brother, Lemuel Ezra, in Prowse Bros. Ltd.^[3] On June 30, 1886, Benjamin married Amanda Maud Millner.^[4]They had 3 children.^[5]

In 1904, Benjamin was elected to the Charlottetown City Council. In 1908 he became Charlottetown's 15th Mayor.^[6] In 1911, he was appointed to the Canadian Senate by Wilfred Laurier.^[7] Following Lemuel's death in 1925,^[8] Benjamin became President of Prowse Bros.^[3]

On February 12, 1928, Benjamin's wife Maud died at her home in Charlottetown.^[9] A year later, on January 9, 1929, he married Dr. Clare E. MacMillan in Ottawa.^[10]

Benjamin Charles Prowse died on February 22, 1930 in Charlottetown.^[11] His obituary says that...

Senator Prowse was a man of genial characteristics and generous principles. He befriended the poor and needy on very many occasions, but he was never ostentatious in the performance of the charitable actions which he looked upon as a privilege as well as a duty. He was a man of warm and sincere friendships, loyal in his politics and frank and outspoken in his transactions with all men.

Sources

1. ↑ PEI, Public Archives and Records Office, Baptismal Record, United Church, Cornwall, Book 3, Pg 17 - Benjamin Charles Prowse
2. ↑ Daniel F Johnson, New Brunswick Newspaper Vital Statistics, Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, Vol 60, No. 3423, September 8, 1883; Moncton, Westmorland, The Times - Travel of Benjamin Prowse and Robert Prowse.
3. ↑ ^{3.0 3.1} The Charlottetown Guardian, Feb 10, 1926, Page 8 – Prowse Bros Limited
4. ↑ Protestant Union, July 8, 1886, transcribed in Century of Immigration, Marriage and Death Records from Prince Edward Island Newspapers, 1780-1900, by Leland Currie, Page 528
5. ↑ Some references say four, one of whom died in childhood. To be confirmed.
6. ↑ Wikipedia - Benjamin Charles Prowse
7. ↑ Parliament of Canada Database - Hon. Benjamin Charles Prowse
8. ↑ The Charlottetown Guardian, December 18, 1925, Page 1 – Death of Lemuel Ezra Prowse
9. ↑ The Charlottetown Guardian, February 14, 1928, Pg 3 – Death of Amanda Maud Millner
10. ↑ The Charlottetown Guardian, January 10, 1929, Pg 1 – Marriage of Hon. BC Prowse and Dr. Clare MacMillan
11. ↑ The Charlottetown Guardian, February 24, 1930, Page 1 (continued on Page 3) – Death of Hon. B.C. Prowse

See also:

• 1891 Canada Census, Library and Archives Canada, PEI, Queens (135), Subdistrict A, Charlottetown Division 2, Page 17-18 - Benjamin C & Maud Prowse and 2 children
• Dictionary of Canadian Biography (online ed.), University of Toronto Press, 1979-2005 – Benjamin Charles Prowse