Samuel Prat (ca. 1829-1892) came to Nova Scotia from England in 1846 and was a station master for the Dominion Atlantic Railway. In 1857 he married Elizabeth Duport Morse (1835-1913) and they had five children who survived to adulthood: Annie Louisa (1861-1960), Rupert (b. 1863), Charlotte Elizabeth (b. 1865), Minnie Sophia (1868-1901), and May Rosina (1872-1965). Annie was an artist, poet, and the first dean of women at Kings College from 1917 to 1920. Following her graduation from the Art Institute of Chicago, Annie moved to New York City to open a studio with her sisters Minnie and May, who had apprenticed there as bookbinders. From 1899 to ca. 1903 the sisters operated Primrose Bindery in New York. Minnie won international recognition for her binding and was awarded a silver medal at the Paris Exposition in 1900. She died of typhoid fever the following year at Wolfville, N.S. Annie and May subsequently returned to Nova Scotia. May married Richard Sydney Starr in 1904 and they operated the family farm and orchard, "Willow Bank", at Starrs Point. The couple had two children: Charles ("Harry") (1905-1990) and Charlotte ("Sally") (d. 1983).
Captain William Ross arrived at Sherbrooke (now New Ross), Nova Scotia, on 7 August 1816. He was appointed deputy surveyor of lands in 1817 and in 1819 was granted a section of the Sherbrooke grant, which became known as New Ross. He held various offices and acted as chief administrative officer of the New Ross settlement until his death in 1822. He married Mary Williams and they had five children: Mary (born 30 September 1806 in Cork, Ireland), William Henry (born 12 December 1810 at Fort Amsterdam, South Armenia), Edward Irlam (born 3 January 1813 in Sunderland, England), George Lockhart (born 9 September 1815 at Fort Coteau de Lock, Canada), and Charles Henry Lawson (born 2 February 1818 in Sherbrooke). The family home in New Ross was known as "Rosebank". Edward Ross assisted his brother George with the family farm and operated a small store. He was appointed justice of the peace in 1838. He died in New Ross in 1894.
The Nova Scotia Sport and Recreation Commission was created in 1987 following the disbanding of the Department of Culture, Recreation and Fitness. Its mandate and existence was formalized by amendments to the Public Service Act in 1988 which outlined its purpose as to "enhance the quality of life of Nova Scotians through the development, encouragement, establishment, co-ordinations, implementation and promotion of sport and recreation programs and services." Although nominally a commission the agency was headed by an Executive Director who reported to an assigned minister and the Commission's staff were public servants. The Commission also co-ordinated the activities of a number of sport and recreation sector organizations some of which were granted various forms of funding by the Commission. The Commission also funded facilities and activities through a variety of programs. The Commission’s activities were folded into the Office of Health Promotion and Protection when it was created in 2002.
Hugh Francis Pullen was born 9 July 1905 at Oakville, Ontario and entered the Royal Naval College at Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1920. He spent two years at sea with the Canadian Pacific Steamships and rejoined the Royal Canadian Navy in 1924. In 1944 he received the Order of the British Empire for his services while commanding a convoy escort group. He retired from the navy in 1960, his last appointment as flag officer Atlantic Coast, Maritime commander Atlantic, and commander Atlantic Sub-Area (NATO), 1957-1960. Rear Admiral Pullen held executive positions in several voluntary organizations such as the United Appeal, The Royal Commonwealth Society, The Royal Life-Saving Society of Canada, the Canadian Mental Health Society, and the Anglican Church of Canada. In 1960 he was chairman for the World Refugee Campaign in Nova Scotia, and also served as a member of the National Council of the Duke of Edinburgh's Awards, 1963-1969. He was also co-founder of the Maritime Museum of Canada (now Maritime Museum of the Atlantic) and the Halifax Grammar School, and first commodore of the Nova Scotia Schooner Association. He was the author of several books and articles on Maritime history. Among his best known works are Atlantic Schooners (1967), The Shannon and the Chesapeake (1970), and The Pullen Expedition (1979), for which he won the John Lyman Book Award in 1980 from the North American Society for Oceanic History. Hugh F. Pullen died 4 May 1983 in England. He was married to Helen (MacKean); they had seven children.
In 1758 Governor Charles Lawrence was ordered by London to organize the election for a House of Assembly. The first in Canada, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly convened on 2 October 1758 in the law courts at Halifax. From 1758 to 1928 the assembly was the lower house of a bicameral legislature, whose position was entrenched in the Constitution Act, 1867. Since the achievement of "responsible" (party) government in 1848, the party holding the largest number of seats in the assembly forms the government of the province. It is customary that members of the Executive Council (Cabinet) be drawn from the governing party in the House of Assembly. The work of the assembly is to enact the statute law of the province, both public and private.
The Nova Scotia Barristers' Society is the statutory body charged with the regulation of the legal profession in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.
Prior to 1879 local government in Nova Scotia was the responsibility of the appointed Court of General Sessions of the Peace, which was composed of all those who held commissions as justices of the peace within a particular county. The Annapolis County Court of General Sessions of the Peace began with the creation of the county in 1759. Meeting two or more times a year, the court had both administrative and judicial functions. It was empowered to appoint local officials, who had been nominated by the Grand Jury; levy county and poor rates; exercise control over roads, bridges, prisons, hospitals, and other public works; regulate animals, weeds, fires, taverns, and the inland fisheries and perform other duties assigned by statute. It could also sit as a court of justice, with limited criminal jurisdiction, using the Grand and Petit Jury system from England. The Grand Jury decided whether a charge should proceed to trial. The Petit Jury decided on an accused’s guilt or innocence. Jury members were selected by lot from a list of male residents who either owned land or held a minimum amount of personal wealth. In 1800 Annapolis County was divided into eastern and western districts and the Court of General Sessions was required to sit twice a year in each district. In 1837 the Western District became Digby County and was subsequently under the jurisdiction of its own court. The passage of the County Incorporation Act in 1879 replaced the administrative functions of the Court of General Sessions with an elected municipal council. Its judicial function was assumed by the Supreme Court on County Circuit.
Prior to 1879 local government in Nova Scotia was the responsibility of the appointed Court of General Sessions of the Peace, which was composed of all those who held commissions as justices of the peace within a particular county. The Halifax County Court of General Sessions of the Peace began with the creation of the county in 1759. Meeting two or more times a year, the court had both administrative and judicial functions. It was empowered to appoint local officials, who had been nominated by the Grand Jury; levy county, town, and poor rates; exercise control over roads, bridges, prisons, hospitals, and other public works; regulate animals, weeds, fires, taverns, and the inland fisheries and perform other duties assigned by statute. It could also sit as a court of justice, with limited criminal jurisdiction, using the Grand and Petit Jury system from England. The Grand Jury decided whether a charge should proceed to trial. The Petit Jury decided on an accused’s guilt or innocence. Jury members were selected by lot from a list of male residents who either owned land or held a minimum amount of personal wealth. As originally constituted the county was much larger and in 1783 increased population in the outlying areas and the difficulties of transportation led to the creation of separate sessions for what became Pictou and Colchester counties. In 1784 the newly constituted Sydney County was similarly removed from the court's jurisdiction. The passage of the County Incorporation Act in 1879 replaced the administrative functions of the Court of General Sessions with an elected municipal council. Its judicial function was assumed by the Supreme Court on County Circuit.