Thomas William Lemuel Prowse

PROWSE, HONOURABLE THOMAS WILLIAM LEMUEL businessperson; b. 31 August 1888, son of Lemuel E. Prowse* and Frances J. Stanley; m. 4 February 1913 Annie Martyn, and they had four children, Lemuel E.. Doris H., Margaret F., and Fairlie C.; Presbyterian; d. 2 November 1973 in Charlottetown. Prowse, a Liberal, was first elected to the Legislative Assembly in the general election of 1935 for 5th Queens. He was re-elected in the general election of 1943. He was defeated in the general elections of 1939 and 1947. He served as a Minister without Portfolio from 1935 to 1939 in the Walter Lea* and Thane Campbell* governments, and again from 1943 to 1947 in the J. Walter Jones* Administration. Before entering provincial politics, from 1922 to 1930 Prowse served on Charlottetown City Council as the representative for Ward 5, then served as Mayor from 1930 to 1932. He served as Lieutenant-Governor from 1950 to 1958. In his day, Prowse was one of the most popular Lieutenant- Governors the province had ever had. He was known simply as "Bill." Prowse's father, Lemuel Prowse*, served as both a Member of the Legislative Assembly and a Member of the House of Commons. T. W. L. "Bill" Prowse was educated at West Kent Elementary School, at Sydney Academy in Nova Scotia, and at Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown. He worked for the Royal Bank of Canada from 1907 to 1915. In 1915 Prowse joined the family business, Prowse Brothers Limited, as secretary-treasurer, and in 1930 he was made president and general manager. Prowse Brothers Limited was one of the best-known mercantile enterprises of the Atlantic Provinces. Outside his business and political life, Prowse was actively involved in his community. He was a member of the Rotary and Abegweit Clubs, as well as the Knights of Pythias and the Masonic Order. Prowse was a member of the Provincial Exhibition and Driving Park Association, the Charlottetown Exhibition Association, the Charlottetown Board of Trade, and the Charlottetown Club. T. W. L. "Bill" Prowse died 2 November 1973. Annie Prowse was the daughter of John B. Martyn of Ripley, Ontario.