William Rupert Davies (12 September 1879 – 11 March 1967) was a Welsh-

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

author, editor, newspaper publisher, and politician. Davies was born in

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

Montgomeryshire Montgomeryshire ( ) was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was named after its county town, Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery, which in turn was named after ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

and immigrated to Canada in the late 1800s after his family's tailor business failed. He later married Florence Sheppard McKay, of Loyalist stock. The Davies moved to Thamesville, then to Renfrew, Ontario and later to

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the northeastern end of Lake Ontario. It is at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River, the south end of the Rideau Canal. Kingston is near the Thousand Islands, ...

. Following a successful career as publisher of the ''

Kingston Whig-Standard ''The Kingston Whig-Standard'' is a newspaper in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. It is published four days a week, on Tuesday and Thursday to Saturday. It publishes a mix of community, national and international news and is currently owned by Postm ...

'', Davies was appointed to the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

on 19 November 1942 on the recommendation of

William Lyon Mackenzie King William Lyon Mackenzie King (December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950) was a Canadian statesman and politician who was the tenth prime minister of Canada for three non-consecutive terms from 1921 to 1926, 1926 to 1930, and 1935 to 1948. A Liberal ...

. Sitting as a Liberal, he represented the senatorial division of

, a position he held until his death. In 1932, Davies renewed his connection with

and purchased Fronfraith Hall, in

Llandyssil Llandyssil () is a village in the community of Abermule with Llandyssil, in Powys, Wales, in the traditional county of Montgomeryshire. It is about two miles from the town of Montgomery, Powys, Montgomery. In 2001 there were 420 inhabitants i ...

. He continued to own Fronfraith until 1948, when he moved to Brookland Hall. In 1950 he moved from Brooklands to Leighton Hall, to the east of

, which he continued to own until his death in 1967. In 1951 he was appointed Sheriff of Montgomeryshire. Davies was the father of author

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

, Arthur Davies and Fred Davies. He died in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

in 1967 while in office as senator.

References

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* 1879 births 1967 deaths Politicians from Kingston, Ontario Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian Presbyterians Canadian senators from Ontario Canadian people of Welsh descent High sheriffs of Montgomeryshire Liberal Party of Canada senators People from Welshpool British emigrants to Canada 20th-century members of the Senate of Canada {{Ontario-politician-stub