Navy. In 1783 Davidson was elected a member of the 5th General Assembly of Nova Scotia for Sunbury County which, in 1784, became part of New Brunswick. He continued to serve for Northumberland County after the new province was established. The American Revolutionary War was now over and Davidson moved back to the Miramichi Valley to secure his land grants. He went by ship with his employees and stopped en route at Halifax, Nova Scotia for supplies. Back to the Miramichi Davidson lost no time on his return to the Miramichi. Most of his employees came with him. He spent 5,000 pounds sterling on a shipyard, a sawmill and stores and other buildings and was soon back in business. In the period 1783 to 1785 he lost several more vessels and their cargoes to the North Atlantic. But some got through and he signed a contract with Wm. Forsyth and Co. of Greenock, Scotland and Halifax, Nova Scotia to provide masts and yards. He also shipped fish to the West Indies and Europe. To provide another source of revenue, Davidson sent out employees to fish for cod in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. But United Empire Loyalists were pouring into the Maritime Provinces and in 1784 Loyalist settlers in the Saint John River Valley set up New Brunswick as a separate colony. They were land hungry and revoked Davidson's grant on the grounds that he had not brought out the settlers he promised. He was compensated with a grant of 14,500 acres (59 km2), including the sites of his enterprises. William Davidson was elected as representative from Northumberland County to the 1st New Brunswick Legislative Assembly and served from 1786 until his death. Davidson was out on snowshoes on business in the winter of 1790, when he was caught in a blizzard. He suffered severely and caught a cold from which he did not recover. He died in June, 1790. Family and legacy When he was living at Maugerville, Davidson married Sarah Nevers. They had five children. One of his brothers settled close to him. Many thousands of people in the Miramichi and across North America are descendants of the Davidson brothers. He died on 17 June 1790. Portrait A large portrait of William Davidson felling trees on the Miramichi hangs on an internal staircase of the Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta. This is very appropriate as Davidson was