Ephraim Dean was a merchant, ship owner and political figure in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

. He represented Liverpool township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1785 to 1787.

He was born in Chatham, Massachusetts

Chatham, Massachusetts

Chatham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 6,625 at the 2000 census...

, the son of Thomas Dean and Lydia Cole, and later settled in Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool, Nova Scotia

Liverpool is a Canadian community and former town located along the Atlantic Ocean of the Province of Nova Scotia's South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality which is the local governmental unit that comprises all of Queens County, Nova Scotia...

. In 1760, he married Martha Atwood Young. Dean was engaged in the trade with the West Indies and New England

New England

New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...

 and also owned sawmill

Sawmill

A sawmill is a facility where logs are cut into boards.-Sawmill process:A sawmill's basic operation is much like those of hundreds of years ago; a log enters on one end and dimensional lumber exits on the other end....

s in the region. He was first elected to the provincial assembly in a 1768 by-election held after Elisha Freeman

Elisha Freeman

Elisha Freeman was a merchant, judge and political figure in Nova Scotia. He represented Liverpool township in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1765 to 1767....

's resignation but apparently never took his seat. At first sympathetic to the American cause, Dean returned to the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 around 1777 but later returned to Nova Scotia and commanded the privateer

Privateer

A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...

 Dreadnought. Dean served as a road commissioner for a road between Liverpool and Lunenburg

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...

. He died in Liverpool at the age of 53.