John Leander Starr (October 25, 1802 – August 16, 1885) was a merchant and political figure in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. He was born in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

, the son of John Starr and Desiah Gore. In 1823, he entered the family business of importing and exporting goods. Also in that year, Starr married Maria Sophia Ratchford. After the death of his father in 1827, he took over the operation of the business. He became magistrate for Halifax and lieutenant-colonel in the local militia. Starr was also involved in the

temperance movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

. In 1830, he married Frances Throckmorton after the death of his first wife. In 1831, the family business was dissolved to pay for his father's debts. Starr then entered business as an insurance broker. He was also a director of the

Bank of British North America The Bank of British North America was founded by Royal Charter issued in 1836 in London, England with offices in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Saint John, New Brunswick, Halifax and St. John's, Newfoundland. It was the first bank operating in B ...

, president of the Halifax Gas Light and Water Company and a director of the Bay of Fundy Steam Navigation Company. He employed as a clerk the young Joseph Salter. Starr served as aide-de-camp for two Nova Scotia lieutenant governors and was a master in the Masonic order. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in 1826 and 1836. In 1840, he was named to the province's Legislative Council. He was elected to Halifax city council in 1841. Following a downturn in the economy, Starr was forced into bankruptcy. In 1844, he moved to New York City, where he continued as an insurance broker. He died there in 1885.

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
1802 births 1885 deaths Members of the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia {{NovaScotia-politician-stub