Piers, Temple Foster

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: H. Phyllis R. Blakeley, “PIERS, TEMPLE FOSTER,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 8, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/piers_temple_foster_8E.html
  • DCB profile:
    • Army officer and businessman; b. 9 Dec. 1783 in Halifax, second son of Temple Stanyan Piers and Mercy Foster; m. 15 Feb. 1807, in St John’s, Elizabeth Thomas, daughter of prominent merchant William Bevil Thomas; d. 19 April 1860 in Halifax.
    • They established themselves as general merchants and importers of British goods in premises between Bedford Row and Water Street, aiming mainly at the market provided by the fisheries. In May 1810, for example, they advertised for sale cordage, sailcloth, nails, and spikes, all imported from England. Although continuing as merchants, some time in 1826 the Pierses decided to take advantage of the opportunities offered by the expansion of shipping and the fisheries and established a rope factory on the Stanyan property, six five-acre lots in the north suburbs of Halifax left to Temple Foster by his father.
    • When the Pierses began operations, there was minimal local competition, but the success of the Stanyan Rope Works, as the enterprise became known, depended on factors beyond the brothers’ control. The hemp used for making rope was initially admitted duty-free but in 1829, under new imperial laws, a duty of seven and one-half per cent was imposed. The commercial difficulties of the early 1840s and the firm’s continued inability to compete with foreign imports (caused in part by the brothers’ refusal to lower prices) placed the Pierses in dire financial straits.
    • Despite the failure of the rope manufactory, the brothers remained in business, operating a grist-mill at Mill Cove on Bedford Basin. Although he was neither successful nor prosperous, Temple Foster Piers is representative of the new class of manufacturers which appeared on the provincial scene early in the 19th century.
  • Grandson of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=2887
  • Find a Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/210308851/temple-foster-piers