Joseph Woodmass was a 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...

. He represented Annapolis 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 1761 to 1765. His surname also appears as Woodmas.

He came to Nova Scotia from England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 around or shortly before 1760 as Receiver-General for quit rents

Quit-rent

Quit rent , Quit-rent, or quitrent, in practically all cases, is now effectively but not formally a tax or land tax imposed on freehold or leased land by a higher landowning authority, usually a government or its assigns....

 for the province and served in that post until 1774. He was ordered to apologize to the House of Assembly for words that he had with the speaker William Nesbitt

William Nesbitt

William Nesbitt was a lawyer and political figure in Nova Scotia. He served as a member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1758 to 1783....

 outside the house. Woodmass was a magistrate 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...

until 1775. He returned to England in that year to settle his accounts and died there shortly afterwards.