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

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politician and merchant involved in the

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

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 Council ...

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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

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God the ...

. 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

seal Seal may refer to any of the following: Common uses * Pinniped, a diverse group of semi-aquatic marine mammals, many of which are commonly called seals, particularly: ** Earless seal, or "true seal" ** Fur seal * Seal (emblem), a device to impr ...

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 ...

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

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

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 George Garland (1753 – 28 December 1825) of Purbeck, Dorset was an English politician and merchant involved in the Newfoundland fishery. Life and work He was born in East Lulworth, Dorset, the son of a yeoman farmer. In 1779, Garland marri ...

, 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