Benjamin Davies

DAVIES, BENJAMIN. merchant, postmaster-general, chairman of the Railway Board, and paymaster of the railway; b. 1813, in Charlottetown, son of Nathan Davies, who emigrated from southern Wales in 1812, and Amelia MacNutt; m. first 2 January 1843 Kezia Attwood Watts, and they had four children, Robert Watts, Louis Henry", Benjamin, and Sarah Amelia; m. secondly 18 May 1854 Eliza Frances Townsend Cooke, previously married to Thomas Cooke, M.D., and they had two children, William Lord and Daniel; m, thirdly Mrs. Beal of Tenby, Wales, and there were no children; Anglican; d. September 1904, in Charlottetown. Davies, a Liberal, was first elected to the House of Assembly in 1850 for 4th Queens. He was re-elected in the general elections of 1867, 1870, 1872, and 1873. He was defeated in the general election of 1855. While in the House of Assembly, he served on Executive Council. During his time in the Assembly, Davies was particularly concerned with the Land Question, and was an advocate of enabling the tenantry to take ownership from the absentee proprietors. H is second son, Louis Henry, would later argue the tenants' case successfully before the Royal Land Commission in 1875 and 1876. Davies and his son Louis served in the House concurrently from 1872 to 1875. Davies lived in Charlottetown. He was a merchant and for many years owned B. Davies and Company. He operated shipbuilding yards in Orwell and Rollo Bay and was a ship owner and exporter. Davies had a number of public responsibilities, including serving as a Fire Commissioner in 1843 and councillor for Ward 1 following the incorporation of Charlottetown in 1855. In 1858 Davies was appointed Postmaster-General and served as a justice of the Peace ca. 1864. In 1869 he became Colonial Secretary. From 1872 to 1873, Davies was chairman of the Railway Board, and later Paymaster of the Railway until 1889. Davies was a Lieutenant-Colonel in the 1st Queen's Calvary Troop and a Militia Officer of the Old Brigade of Charlottetown. His agricultural interests included membership in the Royal Agricultural Society. In the winter of 1904, Davies became ill. Later that year, he died in Charlottetown. Kezia Davies, daughter of Samuel Watts of St. Andrew's, New Brunswick, died in 1853 as a result of burns suffered in a kitchen accident. Eliza Davies was the daughter of Cecil Townsend and Eliza Lea of Charlottetown. Eliza Davies' died on 29 September 1889.