Malachy Salter (February 28, 1715 – January 13, 1781) was an American-born merchant and politician who sat in the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (; ), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia, and together with the lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia makes up the Nova Scotia Legislature. The assembly is ...

from 1759 to 1772.

Business career

He operated a successful

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

distillery, along with his Holmes uncles, and was the senior partner in a firm involved in the fisheries and the

West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...

trade. He relocated to

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

during

Father Le Loutre's War Father Le Loutre's War (1749–1755), also known as the Indian War, the Mi'kmaq War and the Anglo-Mi'kmaq War, took place between King George's War and the French and Indian War in Acadia and Nova Scotia. On one side of the conflict, the Kingdo ...

and engaged in shipping ventures which brought him both

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n and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

an goods, and extended credit, prosecuted debts, and settled estates. He purchased Halifax properties, which included the over-extended poor, likely the source of the comment that he was a ''"Litigious troublesome Man… who has treated us in a Barbarous cruel manner."'' In 1754 Salter expanded his operations into the field of government contracts. He was subsequently called upon to provide certain mercantile evaluations for the government. Salter was an early member of the grand jury in Halifax and served as a captain of militia (1761–1762) and an

Overseer of the Poor An overseer of the poor was an official who administered poor relief such as money, food, and clothing in England and various other countries which derived their law from England, such as the United States. England In England, overseers of the po ...

(1765–1766). In 1757, he became a leader in the committee of Halifax freeholders which used legal effort to force Governor Charles Lawrence to convene a representative assembly in October 1758, Salter was amongst its 20 members. For 15 years Salter sat in the

, starting with the 1st General Assembly in 1758, and representing Halifax Township from 1759 to 1765 and Yarmouth Township from 1766 to 1772. During the

Seven Years’ War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

Salter was owner, with other Halifax entrepreneurs, of the

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

ship ''Lawrence''. With his development of a sugar-house at Halifax in the mid-1760s. This and his

American trade The United States is among the top three global importers and exporters. The regulation of foreign trade is constitutionally vested in the United States Congress. After the Great Depression, the country emerged as among the most signific ...

connections enabled him to capitalize upon the

embargoes Economic sanctions or embargoes are Commerce, commercial and Finance, financial penalties applied by states or institutions against states, groups, or individuals. Economic sanctions are a form of Coercion (international relations), coercion tha ...

placed on

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

goods by the

Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...

in the late 1760s. Despite his various interests, and further government contracts during the administration of

Michael Francklin Michael Francklin or Franklin (6 December 1733 – 8 November 1782) served as Nova Scotia's Lieutenant Governor from 1766 to 1772. He is buried in the crypt of St. Paul's Church (Halifax). Early life and immigration Born in Poole, England, ...

his fortunes continued to follow the decline of the

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

economy. In 1768 shipping and other losses were too much and after two years settling his debts in

and

New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...

, he operated his sugar-house himself. In 1773 he built a vessel at

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 (Nova Scotia), South Shore. It is situated within the Region of Queens Municipality, which is the local governmen ...

to return to the sea, as a trader, where he had begun - as a youth.

American Revolution

Salter was tried and convicted for uttering seditions words in February 1777. In November 1777, he was also charged with the serious misdemeanour of treasonable correspondence. Because of poor health, his trial was postponed and hung over him for the last three years of his life. Barry Cahill, "The Treason of the Merchants: Dissent and Repression in Halifax in the Era of the American Revolution", Acadiensis, Vol. 26, 1 (Autumn 1996), p. 53
/ref> Later the same year his brig ''Rising Sun'' was captured by

Salem Salem may refer to: Places Canada * Salem, Ontario, various places Germany * Salem, Baden-Württemberg, a municipality in the Bodensee district ** Salem Abbey (Reichskloster Salem), a monastery * Salem, Schleswig-Holstein Israel * Salem (B ...

privateers A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

as prize. When prisoner in

, he obtained a pass from the

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

government to settle his family there. On his return to Halifax later that year, he saw continued court proceedings against him. Salter has been ranked by historians among the most important entrepreneurs of early Halifax, yet he failed to establish himself securely within its profitable network. The large house he constructed at the corner of Hollis and Salter streets, about 1760 was eventually purchased by William Lawson and, later demolished to become part of the site of Maritime Place, in

downtown Halifax Downtown Halifax is the primary central business district of the Municipality of Halifax. Located on the central-eastern portion of the Halifax Peninsula, on Halifax Harbour. Along with Downtown Dartmouth, and other de facto central business di ...

Family

He was born at Boston, second son of Malachy Salter and Sarah Holmes. He married Susanna Mulberry, on 26 July 1744 in Boston, and they had at least 11 children. He died at Halifax, Nova Scotia and is buried in the

Old Burying Ground (Halifax, Nova Scotia) The Old Burying Ground (also known as St. Paul's Church (Halifax), St. Paul's Church Cemetery) is a historic cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is located at the intersection of Barrington Street and Spring Garden Road in Downtown Halif ...

(His son Malachi Salter (d.1752) has the oldest grave marker in the burying ground).

Legacy

* namesake of Salter Street, Halifax *namesake

Salter Street Films Salter Street Films was a Canadian television and film production company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History Salter Street Films was founded by brothers Paul and Michael Donovan in 1983. Paul was trained as a director at the London Film S ...

, a media production house

References

External links