By Spessard Stone
A. B. Canter, a pioneer settler of Fort Meade, was a merchant and civic leader.
Arthur Benjamin Canter, commonly known by his initials A. B., was born May 18, 1860 in Fulton, Missouri. He was a son of Charles G. and Lavinia Josephine (Weems) Canter, the former being a native of England and the latter of Maryland. Prior to June 1885, Dr. William L. Weems, maternal uncle of A. B., had settled in Fort Meade, Polk County, Florida. Soon after June 1885, A. B. and his brother, Sterling L. Canter, also moved to Fort Meade.
In Polk County on January 21, 1888, A. B. Canter married Frances Margaret Roberts, born September 1, 1870, Fort Meade, Florida, daughter of Sherod E. Roberts and Keziah (Knight) Roberts. Rev. J. R. Taylor officiated.
On December 31, 1888, A. B. was appointed constable for district # 2. From 1889 to 1891 he was City Assessor for Fort Meade. In 1890 A. B. and John M. Stansfield opened a drugstore in a newly constructed two-story frame building, situated on the west side of the street from E. Evans & Co. packing house. On the night of December 6, 1890, a devastating fire, estimated to have caused a loss of $25,000 to the business district, began in the Reif Bros. store and spread to the surrounding buildings. The Canter & Stansfield store was lost.
The Courier-Informantof Bartow of Friday, December 12, 1890 reported:
"Fire! Fire!! Fire!!! were the heart-rendering tones that rent the air last Saturday night about 8 o'clock at Fort Meade. Quickly every citizen in town was running hither and thither to ascertain who was the unfortunate victim.
"Reif Bros. store was discovered to be in flames and had gained such headway it was impossible to save the building. In spite of the herculean and strenuous efforts of the citizens who fought the fiery monster manfully, the mad flames spread with such rapidity that the market house, town hall, mayor's office, Evans & Co.'s store, Canter & Stansfield drug store and A. B. Canter's house and lumber yard were soon a mass of ruins.
"Reif Bros.' loss, $10,000, insurance $3,000.
"Evans Co. loss, $4,000, insurance, $3,500.
"Canter & Stansfield's loss, $5,000, no insurance.
"A. B. Canter's house and lumber yard, loss $1,800, no insurance."
Mr. Canter, thereafter, engaged in numerous enterprises. For a time he was associated with D. E. Ashton and W. A. Evans, but their partnership dissolved in late June 1894. 1895 found him involved in cattle ranching. During the tobacco "boom," when at Fort Meade, tobacco was grown (Dec. 1895 to April 1899) under the Cuban settlers, A. B. in 1897 had a tobacco farm north of town and moved his family there in July 1897.
On May 31, 1903, he purchased the stock of general merchandise of Haye Bros. and entered the mercantile line. In February 1905, A. B. and Dr. S. H. Woods formed a partnership to open a drugstore at the old Hunter stand. A. B. was also a buyer and shipper of citrus fruit. The Bartow Courier-Informant of December 19, 1907 reported, "Honorable A. B. Canter of Fort Meade is running a large force at Auburndale, packing oranges. He ships a car a day from that point."
He was also able to travel for business and pleasure. In June 1891, A. B. journeyed to St. Louis on a business trip, and in September 1893, he and his wife went to Missouri where they stayed several months. In a combination of business and pleasure, he in August 1904 traveled to the St. Louis Expedition. In September of 1895, he and his brother, Deputy Sheriff S. L. Canter, visited their home folks at St. Louis, with a visit enroute to the Atlanta Exposition.
In 1904, A. B. Canter was elected as Polk County Representative for a two-year term. The Bartow Courier-Informant of April 15, 1905 reprinted a Jacksonville Times-Union article, which stated:
"A. B. Canter, the able representative from Polk, is going to make his presence felt in the Florida legislature before the end of the session. He comes from hardy northwestern stock, is a thoroughly trained businessman, a quick thinker, cautious, conservative and conscientious.
"He came to Florida back in the 'eighties,' settled at Fort Meade ahead of the railroad and began at once to hew out a home and fortune by hard licks. He stuck to it even when the outlook for Fort Meade was anything but bright, and he has been successful."
On February 1, 1909, W. H. Lewis, M. M. Loadholtes, A. B. Canter, M. L. Morrison, J. H. Minor, W. B. Swearingen, G. W. Hendry, J. G. Boyd, Kline O. Varn, and T. L. Wilson filed with a capital of $15,000 for incorporation of the Bank of Fort Meade, which was approved March 8, 1909.
In 1909 A. B. constructed a new home on the northwest corner of First Street, N. E. and Pine Avenues.
In 1912 he helped in the building of the new Methodist Church. He served on the Board of Trustees and as a steward and as superintendent of the Sunday School. After moving to Tampa in 1924, he was a member of the Trinity Methodist Church. He was a life member of the Elks lodge.
Frances Roberts Canter died May 12, 1931.
A. B. Canter later married Irma Riley of Danville, Illinois, who survived him.
Arthur Benjamin Canter died of bronchial pneumonia at Bartow General Hospital on January 11, 1945. Burial was in Evergreen Cemetery, Fort Meade.
Issue of A. B. and Frances (Roberts) Canter:
1. Irene Eva Canter, who died at age thirteen months.
2. Gwendolyn Canter, born February 15, 1894; died December 16, 1945; married on November 7, 1912 Edgar Eugene Brown.
3. Lavinia Weems Canter, born November 27, 1896; died December 20, 1981; married on February 6, 1917 Asa Lewis.
Acknowledgment: This profile was compiled from the family records of Canter Brown, Jr., a great-grandson.
This was published in The Herald-Advocate (Wauchula, Fla.) of January 4, 1990 and The Polk County Historical Quarterly of December 1991.
Arthur Benjamin Canter, from Canter Brown, Jr.'s Fort Meade, 1849-1900, 1995, p. 108
Obituary of A. B. Canter, Fort Meade Leader, January 18, 1945
Obituary of Gwendolyn Canter, Fort Meade Leader, Thursday, December 20, 1945
Obituary of Edgar E. Brown, Fort Meade Leader, January 22, 1954
Obituary of Winifred T. Brown, The Tampa Tribune, Thursday, February 26, 1987
February 7, 2001 & photo May 20, 2004, obituaries June 6, 2004