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 is an island Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. While it is the smallest province by land area and population, it is the most densely populated. The island has several nicknames: "Garden of the Gulf", ...

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

Gulf of Saint Lawrence The Gulf of St. Lawrence is a gulf that fringes the shores of the provinces of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, in Canada, plus the islands Saint-Pierre and Miquelon, possessions of France, in ...

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 A legislative council is the legislature, or one of the legislative chambers, of a nation, colony, or subnational division such as a province or state. It was commonly used to label unicameral or upper house legislative bodies in the Brit ...

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 logging, 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 ...

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 grinding mechanism or the building that holds it. Grist is grain that h ...

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 () together with the Lieutenant Governor of Prince Edward Island, lieutenant governor of Prince Edward Island form the General Assembly of Prince Edward Island. The Legislative Assembly meets at ...

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 Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County, Prince Edward Island, Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, Charlott ...

in 1783.

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* 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 18th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island {{PrinceEdwardIsland-politician-stub