Joseph Salter

Joseph Salter (June 7, 1816 – January 1, 1901) was a Canadian businessman and politician, becoming Moncton’s first mayor and one of the leading shipbuilders in the Maritime Provinces. As a young man employed by John Leander Starr of Halifax, Salter crossed the Atlantic 36 times. He later built some of the finest and largest ships in Westmorland County. He kept a diary which was published in 1996.

Joseph Salter was born in Kennetcook, Hants County, Nova Scotia on June 7th, 1816, the tenth, and last, child of Robert Salter and Elizabeth Smith. The Salter family initially lived in Falmouth, Nova Scotia, but later moved to Kennetcook, where Joseph was born.

At the age of twelve, Salter left home and took a schooner across the Bay of Fundy to attend the National School (based on the English National schools) in Saint John, New Brunswick. Not long after leaving the school, Salter clerked for a firm in Saint John until he was 18.

After his schooling, he departed for Halifax, Nova Scotia where he entered the office of Leander Starr, where he was soon promoted to head clerk. While in Starr’s occupation, Salter made many trading voyages to the West Indies and Africa, earning the nickname “Africana".

After giving up seafaring, Salter went into business with his brother George in Saint John. The firm of G. & J. Salter, with their knowledge of foreign business contacts, operated as ship brokers for local shipbuilders. On October 24, 1846, George purchased the former Stephen Binney shipyard on the banks of the Petitcodiac River at “The Bend”, now known as Moncton. At the age of 31, Salter moved to The Bend in 1847 to operate the shipyard while his brother George remained in Saint John to run the ship brokerage and chandlery business.

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