|
Through the kindness of Mr. Stephen
Gibson, County Registrar for Lennox and Addington, we have seen a rare old
document, in regard to the existence of Negro slavery in this county, among
the first of the U. E. Loyalist pioneers.
It is the will of Casper Bower, of the Township of Camden, and bearing
date of June, 1804, and which was probated before Judge Alexander Fisher, at
Adolphustown, October 28th, 1804.
Mr. Fisher was the first Judge of the Surrogate court of the Midland
District and a man of much prominence among the early U. E. Loyalists. He lived, and died in Adolphustown, and his
remains lie buried in a field on the farm he owned in the third concession,
on the south shores of Hay Bay, now well known as “the Platt farm.”: Among the provisions of the will are the
following; “I give to my dear wife, Miriam bower that
part or parcel of land situate lying and being in the Township of Camden -
lot 5 in the 1st concession, 200 acres, dwelling house, barn,
outhouses, household stuff, kitchen furniture, 4 milch
cows, yoke of oxen, one horse. I also
give and bequeath to my wife, Miriam Bower, to hold during her natural life a
Negro wench named Charlotte, and from and after the decease of my said wife,
Miriam Bower, I give and bequeath the above named Negro wench, Charlotte, to
my grand-daughter, Elizabeth Bower, daughter of Adam Bower. Then the will
goes on to provide for the disposal of other property - lands, cattle and
chattels. Evidently that time a Negro
wench, held as a slave, was as much a piece of deedable
property as a farm, a cow, or a horse. GASPER BOWER was of Dutch origin and one of
the U.E. Loyalist pioneers of this county.
According to the early Crown Lands record he was a Corporal of the Kings
Royal Regiment of New York during the war of the American Revolution. His name appears with the other early
Loyalist settlers on the Government provision list in 1786. He owned the farm on which the village of Strathcona now stands, and built the first grist mill
there at a very early date. It was
probably the first mill of that kind on the Napanee river farther up stream than where the first mills at “Appanee Falls” were first built by Robert Clark, for the
Government in 1786. His name appears
on Robert Clark’s old account book in connection with the building of the
first mills at Napanee, as having furnished a team of horsed for work at that
time. It is quite probable, therefore,
that he was among the first owner of horses in this section of the
country. He was a Presbyterian and on
his farm was built a substantial stone Presbyterian church at a very early
time in the last century. It was
probably the first stone church of any kind built in this county Later on the early Lutherans also used the
church as a place of worship, and so did the Methodists. It was torn away, years ago, to make room
for the present substantial brick
Methodist church at Strathcona. Mr. Bowers died and was buried about 1806,
on his farm, at what was long known as “Bower’s Mills,” where his sons and
other descendants lived for years.
None of the name now reside in the county, we believe, but a number of
the descendants are well known citizens elsewhere. There was also a school there at an early
time - one of the few early schools in the county. Our venerable citizen, John Gibbard, J. P., now nearly ninety years of age, well
remembers, with his older brother William, going to that school in his early
years. They then lived beyond where
Newburgh now stands and had, therefore, some miles to trudge through the
woods every night and morning to reach that school. The late William Gibbard
once told the writer he well remembered, over eighty years ago, playing in an
old frame building, then abandoned, which was the first Bower grist mill at
that place. MORE EARLY SLAVES Gasper Bower was not alone among the early
settlers as a slave holder, nor was much thought of it at that time. His neighbor, John Carscallen, living then
east of Newburgh, was also a slave owner, and it is probable that several
others of the pioneers of Camden, as well as of the other adjoining
townships, were his associated in this respect. And there was nothing thought of it to be. Inconsistent with their positions as good
church members. The executors of Mr.
Bower’s will whose duty it was to see that the negro wench Charlotte, was
duly handed over with the land, cows and horse, as provided for in the will
were Rufus Shorey, Elisha Shorey
and James McKim, all quite nearby neighbors and
friends, and all quite prominent Methodists we believe. What may have eventually become of
Charlotte we have no record, or what may have become of the many other early
slaves, and their descendants, of the Midland District, of a hundred years
ago, seems now a real mystery. The
writer has been trying for years just to obtain more information about these
things, but it seems very difficult to obtain. One thing is now pretty evident, none of
the descendants, so far as he can learn , are now living in these counties. SLAVE CHILDREN BORN There is considerable evidence that
numbers of slave children were born in this district at one time. It is said that the large Negro family of
the Minks, that at one time lived a couple of miles up the river from here,
at what is yet well known as “Mink’s Bridge” were descendants of slaves,
owned by Capt. Herkimer, one of the first settlers in “First town”, at what
is yet well known as Herchimer’s Point, a few miles
west of Kingston. Some of the Minks
became well known and prominent me.
George was for a time a prominent livery man in Toronto and then
became the proprietor of the stage line and mail contractor between Toronto
and Kingston, and was reputed then to be a man of considerable wealth. James had a livery and tavern at Kingston
for years, where he was well known.
Poor Tobias, who was drowned in the river here, while intoxicated was
a well known character about Napanee for years. So far as we know, there is not one of the
name now living. In the Rev. John Langhorn’s early church
baptism register, at Bath, there is the record of the baptism of a number of
negro slave children, belonging to some of the well known and prominent of
the early families. It is not
probably, however, that one family in ten, even about that locality, took the
pains to have the negro children born in their households given a Christian
baptism. Here is a record of some that
occur in Langhorn’s register of the first baptisms in this county. They are recorded among the other regular
baptisms. 1. “November 13, 1791. Richard, son of
Pomp and Nelly, a Negro living with Timothy Thompson.” Mr. Thompson, it may be remembered, was a
retired U.E.L. officer, residing in Fredericksburgh, near where Sandhurst now
is. He was for many years a member of
the Upper Canada Legislature for Addington.
He died at his farm and was buried in the Sandhurst churchyard. He left no children. 2. October 6, 1793. Richard, surnamed Pruyn, a negro living
with Harmen Pruyn, Fredericksburgh.” It is said that the Pruyn family who
resided on the bay shore, front, of Fredericksburgh, owned a larger number of
slaves than almost any other family then resident in the county. There seems now,
no record of any of their descendants, if they left any. 3. March 2, 1976. “Belly, surnamed Levi, a negro girl living
with Johannes Walden Meyers, Thurlow.” Meyers were one of the old and wealthy
families residing at what is now the city of Belleville. The place was first known as “Meyers’
Creek.” in honor of that family, who were among its principal founders. 4. March 3, 1796. “Ashur, surnamed
Hampton, a negro boy living with Samuel Sherwood, Thurlow.” It is quite probable that Mr. Sherwood was a
near neighbor of the Meyers, as the baptism is recorded the next day after
the foregoing and its record occurs among quite a number of other baptisms
just then in that locality. 5. April 22, 1805. “Francis, son of Violet, a negro woman
living with Hazelton Spencer, Esq., by Francis Green.” Mr. Spencer was a resident of the front of
Fredericksburgh, near Conway, where he died and was buried on his own farm.
He was a member of the first Upper Canada Legislature, representing Addington
and Hastings. He was also, for years,
a church warden of St. Paul’s church, at Sandhurst, which according to
Langhorn’s record, was first used for divine service on Christmas day, 1791,
and was, he records, “the first church that ever was built, new from the
ground, in the Province of Quebec (before Upper Canada was set apart) solely
for a Church of England church;
excepting one of the Mohawk churches on Grand River lays claim to a
seniority.” There is a record in the
same church register, of the burial of Francis on 17th January,
1806. The anti-Slavery Act was passed by the
Upper Canada Legislature previous to the time of the record of these
baptisms, and , after that time the word “slave” seldom or never
appears. That Act did not actually
abolish slavery at that time, and free all the Negroes from bondage, as many
now suppose. It merely prohibited the
importation of any more, with certain other provisions as to the termination
of the bondage of those born later on.
Of this The Beaver will make further reference, probably next week. SOME OTHER SLAVE OWNERS Some facts about early slavery throughout
Upper Canada, Lower Canada and Nova Scotia will be given later on, probably
next week. In all, the early U.E.
Loyalists appear to have brought in several hundreds, if not thousands, from
the States, into what is now the Dominion of Canada. They, or their fathers, had been slave
owners in New York, New Jersey, the New England states and elsewhere, and
slaves were among the few articles of property they brought with them. Rev. John Stuart, of Kingston, the first
Church of England minister in Upper Canada, makes record in his written
memoirs, that he brought his slaves with him from the Mohawk Valley, where he
had resided previous to the revolution. He then wrote; “My negroes, being personal property, I
take with me, one of which being a young man, and capable of bearing arms I
have to give £100
security to send back a white prisoner in his stead.” Robert Perry, the head of a yet large and
well-known family in this county, had also one or more slaves who came and
remained with him here. In these
columns it has been mentioned before that among the well-known early slave
owners in this county were Maj. VanAlstine, Capt.
Joseph Allen, Capt. Thos. Dorland, Capt. J. Huyck, Capt. Trumpour, the Bogarts, Persons, Capt. Peter Ruttan, and others, all of
Adolphustown; the Fairfields
of Ernesttown; Col. Clark, of
Fredericksburgh after which the once thriving village of Clarkville
was named. Others residing elsewhere
and other facts will be given in the near future. Dr. W. Canniff, in his excellent history,
gives many interesting facts on these matters. Rev. T. W. Smith, D.D., of Halifax, N.S.,
has prepared a very elaborate volume of about 160 pages, in which more information
is given in regard to early Canadian slavery than we have met with anywhere
else. We purpose to quote pretty freely from It in the next reference to this
interesting subject.
The Beaver has already given some facts about
the possession of negro slaves by a number of the first U. E. Loyalist
pioneers of the Midland District. It
was also intimated that the possession of slaves amongst the Loyalist
pioneers was by no means peculiar to the residents of the Bay of Quinte
district; they were held, so far as we
can learn, all over this Province where settlements were made at that
time. In the other provinces -- Lower
Canada and Nova Scotia, -- they appear to have been quite as numerous as
about here. ABOLITION IN UPPER CANADA It has been a frequent boast that in Upper
Canada a slavery abolition law was enacted before any
where else in the British Empire.
Some facts in regard to the enacting of that law may be of information
to many readers. At the second session
of the First Upper Canada Legislature, held at Newark - now Niagara - in
1798. That act did not set free the
slaves that were then in bondage here.
It provided as follows: “From and after the passing of this act,
it shall not be lawful for the Governor to grant a license for the
importation of any negro or other person to be subjected to the condition of
a slave . . . nor shall any negro or other person who shall come or be
brought into the Province after the passing of this Act be subject to the
condition of a slave.” etc. Thus, in the second clause of the Act it was provided that the owners of
slaves at the time in the Province should be secured in their property and
contracts already made should not be affected. It will thus be seen that while the slave traffic
was abolished, slavery itself, as it then existed in the Province, continued
until the death of those then in bondage here. It was also provided that children of
slave mothers were virtually the property of their masters until they reached
the age of 25 years. The masters were
held legally responsible for the proper care, nourishment and clothing of
these children during their infancy, and were entitled to their service until
the age of 25, when they were entitled to their liberty. Credit for the passing of this Act was
given to Lieut. Governor Simcoe, the first Governor of Upper Canada; to Judge Osgoode,
the first Chief Justice - after whom Osgoode Hall,
in Toronto, gets its name - and Robert Fray, the first Solicitor-General of
the Province. They were all Englishmen
by birth, and it is said, were all bitterly opposed in principle to
slavery. It is said that the Act did
not pass without considerable opposition,.
That is not to be wondered at, for it is known that a number of
members of that first Parliament were themselves owners of slaves. Among them may be named Hazelton Spencer,
for Lennox and Hastings; Joshua Booth, for Addington and
Ontario; Thomas Dorland, for
Adolphustown and Prince Edward; and quite probably others. Hon. Richard Cartwright, of the Legislative
Council was also a slave owner, and it is quite probable that other members
of that body were also. UPPER CANADA’S LEAD Dr. William Canniff, in his admirable
U.E.L. history, remarks: “When Upper
Canada, in 1793, took the lead in the whole of Britain’s vast domain in
legislating against slavery, Lower Canada continued to regard it without
disfavor; and, even in Montreal, endeavoured to fix the chains of bondage
more firmly upon the negro. But what
the Provincial Legislature did not, although presented with the example set
by Upper Canada, was done in a different way by Chief Justice Osgoode, who in 1803, at Montreal, declared slavery
inconsistent with the laws of the
country, and gave freedom to persons in that condition. And when the British Act of Emancipation
was passed, in 1833, setting free the slaves in all parts of the empire,
there were no slaves in Canada, Upper or Lower. Thirty years previous had the evil been
crushed in Lower Canada, and forty years before Upper Canada had declared it
was highly expedient to abolish slavery, and had enacted laws to secure its
abolition. It may be now, too, that Canada will lead
the other parts of the British empire in the matter of the abolition of the
drink traffic. SLAVERY IN LOWER CANADA We have before referred to the excellent
little volume entitled, “The Slave in Canada,” by Rev. T. Watson Smith, D.D.,
of Halifax, N.S., a well known historian of that Province. For much of the facts that here follow the
writer is indebted to that work. Writing of slavery, in the Province of
Quebec, he gives numerous instances of its establishment and existence there
before the arrival of the U. E. Loyalists at all He writes:
“Slavery in Canada, as that
extensive province was formally defined, was of French Institution. The first
slave sale recorded in the colony was that at Quebec of a negro boy from
Madagascar, by David Kerik, in 1628, for fifty half
crowns. Kerik, the son of a Scotch father and
French mother was born at Dieppe, had gone to England; and with several ships
fitted out with the assistance of two brothers and other relatives, under
commission of the English king, had done serious damage to French interests
at Port Royal, Quebec, and other points at the Atlantic seaboard. In the
system of bandage instituted in Canada under French rule, no change took
place through the transfer of the colony to the English crown. It had been
provided by the 47th article of the capitulation of Canada in 1760
that all negroes and Parris (Indian slaves) should remain in their condition
as slaves; and no hesitation on the part of the English authorities could
have been feared, since, by an Act of the British Parliament in 1732, houses,
lands, negroes and real estate had been made liable for sale as assets to
satisfy the claims of their owner’ creditors.” In 1784, about the time of the arrival of
the U. E. Loyalists, there were known to be 304 slaves in the hands of
various owners in Quebec. General Haldimand
was the Governor of the Colony of Quebec, which then included Upper Canada
also, before and at the time of the arrival of the U. E. Loyalists. In his
early diary of these times are several references to slaves which indicates
of their official recognition then. In
1778, a business man at Montreal asked permission from the Governor to sell a
negro for a debt due him by the slave’s master. At Quebec, in the same year,
a Negro petitioned for his liberty in view of patriotic services rendered to
the government. Among the early Canadian archives there is
a “Return of Negroes brought in by Scouts and sold at Montreal. It signed by Sir John Johnson, whose name
is so prominent among the early Loyalists and of many of the pioneers along
the Bay of Quinte, and who also brought in himself a number of slaves in his
flight from Albany to Montreal.” Of
the fifty or more slaves named in this list, nearly half were sold in
Montreal, a few being carried by Indians and whites to Niagara; the others were handed over to their former
owners One, named Charles, was sold to
Rev. David C. DeLisle, the Episcopal rector at
Montreal, for twenty pounds. Tom, another negro, was sold by Captain
Thompson, of Butler’s Rangers (no doubt he who afterwards settled in
Fredericksburgh) to Sir John Johnson, who gave him to Mr. Langan,
and so there is a list of many others.
Sir John Johnson is said to have had fourteen slaves at the time of
his flight to Canada. In the Montreal Gazette in March 1784,
Madame Perrault offered a negress for sale; and the early papers of Montreal, of
Quebec, and of Niagara contained a number of advertisements of slaves for
sale or of runaway slaves for whose return rewards were offered. SLAVES IN NOVA SCOTIA Mr. Smith writes: “Slaves were brought into Nova Scotia at an
early period. The prevalent
impression that they were first
introduced into the province by the Loyalists has no foundation in fact. As to the prevalence of slaves at Halifax a
year or two after its settlement there can be no question. A letter written at Halifax in September,
1759, written at Halifax in September, 1759, contains an interesting
reference to their employment.” One instance, is given where a piously
inclined slave holder at Halifax willed a slave, at his death, “for the use
and benefit of the Wardens and Vestry of St. Paul’s”, one of the oldest
churches in the city. A very large
number of the first U.E. Loyalists, especially from the new England States,
first found refuge in Nova Scotia, about Shelbourne
and that portion of the province, and they are said to have taken with them a
large number of slaves. We believe
that more of the descendants of these Negroes are to be found in that
vicinity now than in almost any other one part of the Dominion. MORE OF UPPER CANADA Mr. Smith writes; “At the close of the Revolutionary war the
western part of Canada - now the Province of Ontario - then almost a
wilderness, became the home of some thousands of Loyalists, not a few of whom
were descendants of the old Dutch and Walloon settlers of the province of New
York. They entered Canada at different
points, some by crossing the St. Lawrence in the vicinity of Cornwall, and at
Montreal; while others landed at
Cataraqui - Kingston of to-day, and perhaps the largest number at points
along the Niagara frontier. Many of
them settled along the Upper St. Lawrence, around the beautiful Bay of
Quinte, and on the northern shore of Lake Ontario. During the depressing journey from the old
home to the new, in some cases occupying weeks spent in open boat or wagon,
some of the Loyalists and their families were accompanied by slaves, not a
few of whom had come of their own accord.
Slave property had in many cases been confiscated with the owner’s estates; in some instances a part of it remained, in
others, slaves had been purchased. On
the faithfulness of these attendant negroes, the voyagers were in a great
measure dependent for their progress and their comfort. The oar, plied by their strong arm,
sometimes aided the sail of their rude bateaux at other times replaced
it; the camp, where nightly rested the
women and children too weary to think of it as on the site of some former
deadly conflict, or in the neighborhood of the lynx, or bear, or wolf, often
owed both safety and comfort to the skill and deftness of their not unwilling
hands.” The writer also gives some interesting
facts of the slaves held by a number of the prominent Upper Canadian Loyalist
families, which we have not now the space to make mention of. The records in regard to early slavery in
this and the other provinces form a very interesting part of our Canadian
history. |
