Benjamin Chappell
Encyclopedia
Benjamin Chappell was a machinist
Machinist
A machinist is a person who uses machine tools to make or modify parts, primarily metal parts, a process known as machining. This is accomplished by using machine tools to cut away excess material much as a woodcarver cuts away excess wood to produce his work. In addition to metal, the parts may...

 and political figure in Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island
Prince Edward Island is a Canadian province consisting of an island of the same name, as well as other islands. The maritime province is the smallest in the nation in both land area and population...

. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island
The Legislative Assembly of Prince Edward Island, along with the Lieutenant-Governor, forms the parliament of the province. The General Assembly meets at Province House, which is located at the intersection of Richmond and Great George Streets in Charlottetown....

 from 1774 to 1784.

He was born in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, the son of Richard Chappell, and trained as a wheelwright
Wheelwright
A wheelwright is a person who builds or repairs wheels. The word is the combination of "wheel" and the archaic word "wright", which comes from the Old English word "wryhta", meaning a worker or maker...

 and machinist. Raised as an Anglican, he was converted to Methodism
Methodism
Methodism is a movement of Protestant Christianity represented by a number of denominations and organizations, claiming a total of approximately seventy million adherents worldwide. The movement traces its roots to John Wesley's evangelistic revival movement within Anglicanism. His younger brother...

 by John Wesley
John Wesley
John Wesley was a Church of England cleric and Christian theologian. Wesley is largely credited, along with his brother Charles Wesley, as founding the Methodist movement which began when he took to open-air preaching in a similar manner to George Whitefield...

, becoming a lay preacher. In 1774, he married Elizabeth Patterson and, later that year, they left with a group of settlers for New London on St. John's Island (later Prince Edward Island). In 1778, he moved to Charlottetown
Charlottetown
Charlottetown is a Canadian city. It is both the largest city on and the provincial capital of Prince Edward Island, and the county seat of Queens County. Named after Queen Charlotte, the wife of George III, Charlottetown was first incorporated as a town in 1855 and designated as a city in 1885...

. Chappell was involved in various construction projects, also making spinning wheels, coaches and sleighs. In 1802, he was named deputy postmaster, serving until 1807 and again from 1812 until his death in Charlottetown in 1825.

His daybooks (or diaries) covering the period from 1775 to 1788 and from 1797 to 1818 are an important source of information about life on the island during this period.

External links

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