William Dodge Lovitt

William Dodge Lovitt

William Dodge Lovitt, vessel owner, entrepreneur (b 21 July 1834; d 1 Jan 1894). He purchased new sailing vessels at YARMOUTH, NS, Port of Registry during the 19th century. As an entrepreneur, he was at the centre of a family connection, including the Burrills and the Canns, that succeeded the KILLAMs as the dominant family group in Yarmouth.

Beginning as a vessel owner in the late 1850s, Lovitt was a director of the Exchange Bank 1874-86 and of insurance companies by the 1870s. As the Canadian sailing-ship industry settled into an irreversible decline, he invested in railway and textile companies during the 1880s. He was president of the Yarmouth Duck and Yarn Co, a local textile mill that was profitable into the 20th century.