Rufus Seaman Carter (March 31, 1866 – August 29, 1932) was a farmer 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 represented Cumberland County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1911 to 1920 as a

Liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

member. He was born in

Cumberland County, Nova Scotia Cumberland County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. History The name Cumberland was applied by Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Monckton to the captured Fort Beauséjour on June 18, 1755 in honour of the third son of King George II ...

, the son of William Dobson Carter and Elizabeth Ann Reed. Carter attended the military college in

Fredericton, New Brunswick Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

. He went to sea for a time but returned to farming after his father's death. Carter was also involved in the lumber trade with the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

and

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. In 1894, he married Ella Mabel Morris. Carter served several years as a member of the municipal council. Rufus and Ella Carter had two children: Clara, Jean Carter, born December 27, 1898, and Irving Carter, born November 7, 1899. He was involved in lumbering and coal mining operations and was a Captain in the Nova Scotia Highlanders 93rd Regiment. He was a highly successful marksman and was a member of the

Canadian National Rifle Team A national rifle team is a traveling competitive marksmanship team from a country. Several countries field a national rifle team, such as Belgium, Canada, China, Denmark, Finland, France, Great Britain, Greece, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, S ...

when it visited England in 1897 to compete in the King's Prize. In that competition he came second and was only one point behind the overall winner. In that same year he attended the Diamond Jubilee of Queen Victoria. He entered politics in 1907 and was elected as Liberal Councillor for the No. 5 District, Cumberland County, Nova Scotia, a post he won again in 1910. In 1911 he entered and won the Nova Scotia provincial elections alongside his colleague J Layton Ralston. They repeated their win in 1916. In 1921 Rufus Carter was appointed to the Legislative Council of Nova Scotia and held that position until 1928. He was a popular platform speaker at political gatherings and often introduced Sir Wilfrid Laurier. He had a sonorous voice, was genial and popular and was a member of the Amherst (Maccan) Curling Club and the Order of Oddfellows. His obituaries describe him as being warm-hearted and generous. Large crowds attended his funeral on September 1, 1932. Amongst those attending his funeral were Senator H. J. Logan, R. K. Smith MP, and Angus L. MacDonald, then Leader of the Provincial Liberal Party. His funeral service was conducted by Rev Harris, Anglican Rector of Passboro and Rev. James Baxter of River Herbert. The United Choir sang two selections, and he was buried at the England Cemetery, Amherst. The pallbearers were all members of labour unions from the Maccan and Springhill areas.

References

* 1866 births 1932 deaths Nova Scotia Liberal Party MLAs People from Cumberland County, Nova Scotia {{Liberal-NovaScotia-MLA-stub