Joseph Willis Margeson was an educator, lawyer and political figure in Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the most populous province in Atlantic Canada. The name of the province is Latin for "New Scotland," but "Nova Scotia" is the recognized, English-language name of the province. The provincial capital is Halifax. Nova Scotia is the...

, Canada. He represented Lunenburg County in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly

Nova Scotia House of Assembly

The Nova Scotia Legislature, consisting of Her Majesty The Queen represented by the Lieutenant Governor and the House of Assembly, is the legislative branch of the provincial government of Nova Scotia, Canada...

 from 1911 to 1917.

He was born in Harborville, King's County

Kings County, Nova Scotia

Kings County is a county in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia.Kings County is located in central Nova Scotia on the shore of the Bay of Fundy with its northeastern part also forming the western shore of the Minas Basin....

, the son of Otis A. Margeson and Jennie Cahill. Margeson was educated at the provincial normal school

Normal school

A normal school is a school created to train high school graduates to be teachers. Its purpose is to establish teaching standards or norms, hence its name...

, Acadia University

Acadia University

Acadia University is a predominantly undergraduate university located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia, Canada with some graduate programs at the master's level and one at the doctoral level...

 and Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University

Dalhousie University is a public research university located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The university comprises eleven faculties including Schulich School of Law and Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. It also includes the faculties of architecture, planning and engineering located at...

. He taught school for several years and was also principal of Berwick High School. In 1908, he married Mary Gertrude McIntosh. He ran unsuccessfully for a seat in the provincial assembly in an 1909 by-election. Margeson resigned his seat in December 1917 to run unsuccessfully for a seat in the House of Commons. He was lieutenant in the militia and served as captain and then major overseas in France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 during World War I

World War I

World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...

. In 1917, Margeson was named president of the Pay and Allowance Board of the Militia Department in Ottawa

Ottawa

Ottawa is the capital of Canada, the second largest city in the Province of Ontario, and the fourth largest city in the country. The city is located on the south bank of the Ottawa River in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario...

 and he was promoted to lieutenant-colonel in 1918.

Margeson was a director of The News Company, which published the Daily News and Weekly News in Lunenburg

Lunenburg, Nova Scotia

Lunenburg , is a Canadian port town in Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia.Situated on the province's South Shore, Lunenburg is located on a peninsula at the western side of Mahone Bay. The town is approximately 90 kilometres southwest of the county boundary with the Halifax Regional Municipality.The...

. He was a member of the Freemasons and of the Independent Order of Foresters

Fraternal Forestry

The Independent Order of Foresters is a fraternal organization, now based in Toronto, Canada, and operating under the brand Foresters.-History:Foresters traces its origin to a British Friendly Society, a mutual organization caring for the sick...

. He died in Halifax

City of Halifax

Halifax is a city in Canada, which was the capital of the province of Nova Scotia and shire town of Halifax County. It was the largest city in Atlantic Canada until it was amalgamated into Halifax Regional Municipality in 1996...

.