Benjamin Lester (13 July 1724 – 25 January 1802) was a

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politician and merchant involved in the

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fishery. He was born in

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

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, the son of Rachell Taverner and Francis Lester, who was a merchant and also served as mayor of Poole, and the nephew of William Taverner. His father was involved in the Newfoundland fish trade and Lester went to Newfoundland around 1737, working for another merchant from Poole involved in the fishery. He married his cousin Susannah Taverner around 1750. After the death of his employers, he entered the fish trade on his own, partnering with his brother Isaac. His operations were based in the area of

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. During the 1760s, he began building a large brick house there, now preserved as the Lester-Garland house. In 1762, he was forced to temporarily surrender Trinity to the

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. Lester continued to return to Newfoundland for the fishing season until 1776. After that, he continued to manage operations from England and his business continued to expand until he owned a fleet of almost 30 ships, making his the largest in the area. Lester was also involved in the trade in

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s. In England, he lobbied for the exclusion of the

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from the fish trade. He also opposed the concession of

Saint-Pierre and Miquelon Saint Pierre and Miquelon (), officially the Territorial Collectivity of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon (french: link=no, Collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre et Miquelon ), is a self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France in t ...

to France. Lester served as mayor of Poole in 1779 and from 1781 to 1783 and was Member of Parliament representing

from 1790 to 1796. He was uncle to

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Sir Frederick Parkinson Lester through his elder brother John Lester of Racquet Court. After his death in Poole in 1802, his son-in-law George Garland, who had married Lester's daughter Amy, took over the operation of the business which Lester had established.

References

External links

HansardBiography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''Benjamin Lester - Borough of Poole
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lester, Benjamin 1724 births 1802 deaths Mayors of Poole Newfoundland Colony people Members of the Parliament of Great Britain for English constituencies British MPs 1790–1796