- William Schurman
William Schurman (ca 1743 –
September 15 1819 ) was a businessman and politician inPrince Edward Island . He was a member of theLegislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island from 1785 to 1787.He was born in
New Rochelle, New York , the son of Jacob Schureman, of Dutch descent, and Jane Parcot, ofHuguenot descent. In 1768, he married Jane Bonnet. Shurman married Elizabeth Hyatt in 1778.Schurman remained loyal to Britain during the American revolution and, in 1783, immigrated to Tryon on St. John's Island (later Prince Edward Island). He settled at Bedeque the following year, setting up a store in his house and engaging in trade with a ship that he owned.
Besides serving in the colony's assembly, he was also a
justice of the peace and overseer for roads. After losing his ship in 1799, Schurman became involved in ship-building. In 1808, he bought a wooded area along theWilmot River , constructed a sawmill and entered into the trade in lumber. He died at his home in the Wilmot Valley in 1819.His great-grandson
Jacob Gould Schurman later became president of Cornell University and an American ambassador.External links
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=2650 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]
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