David Higgins (before 1760 – April 1783) was a ship's captain, merchant, early settler and political figure on St John's Island (later

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

). Higgins was captain of a fishing boat operating in the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence , image = Baie de la Tour.jpg , alt = , caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec , image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg , alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...

during the 1760s. With two other merchants, he acquired Lot 59 on St John's Island in 1767. He formed a partnership with James William Montgomery, Scotland's lord advocate, to develop this property. Higgins was one of the first members of the Legislative Council but was dismissed in 1773 for lack of attendance. In 1773, he married Elizabeth, the daughter of Boston merchant Job Prince. Higgins operated a store at Georgetown, built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes (dimensi ...

and

gristmill A gristmill (also: grist mill, corn mill, flour mill, feed mill or feedmill) grinds cereal grain into flour and Wheat middlings, middlings. The term can refer to either the Mill (grinding), grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist i ...

and settled a number of tenants on his property. He was elected to the

Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island (french: Assemblée législative de l'Île-du-Prince-Édouard) is the sole chamber of the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at Province House, which is locate ...

and was chosen as speaker in 1779 but resigned in March of the following year. After experiencing financial losses and losing his property, his business and finally his wife, Higgins began drinking heavily and contracted a fever that led to his death in

Charlottetown Charlottetown is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlottetown was an unincorporated town until it was incorporated as a city in ...

in 1783.

External links

* 1783 deaths Speakers of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island Sea captains Year of birth uncertain Year of birth unknown Members of the Legislative Council of Prince Edward Island Colony of Prince Edward Island people {{PrinceEdwardIsland-politician-stub