Extracts from
"Negroes in Toronto, 1793-1865"
By Daniel G. Hill

     The origin of Negroes in Toronto, as in other parts of Ontario, can be directly traced to slavery that existed before the separation of the upper and lower provinces in 1791. In 1790, new settlers were allowed to bring slaves into what was to become Upper Canada at a value of "40 shillings for each one." There were, however, only a few hundred slaves in Canada during the eighteenth century, primarily Negroes and Pawnees, who were located for the most part around the Niagara district.

     In 1793, the first parliament of the province passed "An Act to Prevent the Further Introduction of Slaves and to Limit the Term of Forced Servitude within This Province." This statute confirmed the ownership of slaves then held, but provided that the children of slaves, upon reaching the age of twenty-five years, automatically would be set free. This legislation remained in force until 1834 when, by power of the Imperial Parliament's Emancipation Act, slavery was abolished in all parts of the British Empire.

     Some of the early Negro settlers in York were engaged as soldiers in the War of 1812 and, according to Crown Land Papers for the years 1826 to 1828, "Tickets of location to men of colour for lots on Wilberforce Street (Township of Medonte)" were given to fifteen Negroes, four of whom were residents of the town of York and one, Sam Edwards, described as being a "discharged private from the late coloured corps." Another York resident receiving land in Medonte, Solomon Albert, was mentioned in the records as a gardener by vocation and a former private in the Tenth Regiment. (Other coloured men who obtained crown lands at the same time were from Niagara, Markham, Vaughan and Oro townships.)

     Negro soldiers from Toronto and other parts of Ontario also served during the rebellion of 1837. The Provincial Freeman, a recently discovered anti-slavery Negro weekly published in Toronto during the 1850s, in discussing Negro soldiers, claimed that "there were volunteer companies of coloured soldiers in places west but no regulars" and that "during the rebellion colored soldiers served the country very acceptably; and now we frequently meet colored men who are pensioners."

     During the 1850s, the largest wave of refugees came into the city, swelling the coloured population to approximately 1000. For the most part they moved into the central section of Toronto, particularly St. John's Ward. This new development was undoubtedly related to the passage, on September 18, 1850, of the Fugitive Slave Act in the United States, which reversed previous judicial decisions granting freedom to escaped slaves reaching the Northern states, providing instead for the return to slavery of any Negroes who were detected and claimed by their masters or agents.

     These newly arrived Negroes settled primarily in the southernmost part of the province. Henry C. Bibb indicates that there were a minimum of 35000 Negroes in Upper Canada by the spring of 1851, while the Toronto Anti-Slavery Society placed the number at 30000 for that same year. According to Landon, this population expansion coincided with the peak years of exodus from the United States, which occurred between 1850 and 1852, when five to six thousand fugitive slaves entered Canada.

     Locally, The Toronto Colonist of June 17, 1852, noted that every boat arriving in the Harbor from the United States seemed to carry "several fugitive slaves, men, women and children as passengers," and later in 1854, W.P. Newman observed:

     The accession to our numbers have been great during the winter past, at this, and other points west of us. Nearly all who have joined us have been directly from the south, fugitive slave bill and bloodhounds to the contrary notwithstanding. Those who have reached this point have been mostly from the "Old Dominion" and I assure you that some of them are not only "the dare-devils of the South" but also the choice sons and daughters of Virginia's best blood.

     There are two anti-slavery societies here which are composed of some of the best and most influential ladies and gentlemen of the city, who are actively devoted to our cause and are accomplishing much for the elevation of the coloured population. We are happy to say that there are no coloured schools ... and where there are coloured churches there is no necessity for them, for the schools and churches alike are open to all without regard to colour. If we are asked how it affects them ... we answer that a more intelligent, enterprising and independent class of coloured people, we have yet to see.

     On September l0, 1851, an historic convention was held in the St. Lawrence Hall. The North American Convention of Colored Freemen, having debated the feasibility of meeting in a northern city or in the Windsor area, decided to gather in Toronto. This decision was known to have been made by H.C. Bibb, Josiah Henson, J.T. Fisher, and other convention leaders, who felt Toronto was the safest place for such a meeting. Hundreds of coloured freemen converged on the city from the northern states and England. The Convention resolved to encourage American slaves to enter Canada instead of going to Africa, since Canada was the best place to direct anti-slavery activity. After discussing the problems of resettlement in Ontario particularly, the Convention leaders stated "that the British government was the most favourable in the civilized world to the people of colour and was thereby entitled to the entire confidence of the Convention."

     Other Negro businessmen whose advertisements frequently appeared in the newspapers were T. Smallwood, who operated a hardware store at 35 Front Street, and A.T. Augusta, whose opening advertisement in 1855 appeared in the following manner:

Central Medical Hall
A.T. Augusta

Begs to announce to his friends and the public generally that he has opened the store on Yonge St. one door south of Elm Street, with a new and choice selection of

DRUGS, MEDICINES,
Patent Medicines, Perfumery
Dye Stuffs, etc.
and trusts, by strict attention to his business, to merit a share of their patronage.

Physicians' prescriptions accurately prepared
Leeches applied
Cupping, Bleeding, and Teeth Extracted
The proprietor or a competent assistant,
always in attendance.

     Mrs. M. O.Augusta, the only known business woman of the period, operated a "New Fancy Dry Goods and Dress Making Establishment" on York Street between Richmond and Adelaide, "where will at all times be found the latest Paris and London patterns."

     From all accounts, The Provincial Freeman, with its militant editorial policy and vivid descriptions of church activities, abolitionist groups and the small business class, recording a history that would otherwise have been unavailable, was undoubtedly the community's most outstanding achievement. Although plagued by subscription and management problems, frequently voiced by its editors, it nevertheless reflected the problems, aspirations and gratitude of a new people in a strange but friendly land. With S.R. Ward, its first editor, and a board of directors which seems to have been all Negro, it produced colourful editorial writers such as Miss M.A. Shadd and W.P. Newman. The newspaper was most explicit in its reasons for existence, claiming that it wanted to: represent the 40000 Negroes, freedmen, fugitives, wealthy and poor, recently arrived in Canada; encourage "the right class" to enter Canada by publishing an account of the country and its advantages; and develop in Canada a society to deny all assertions regarding the Negro's inability to live with others in civilized society.

     Yet the situation was certainly not so bad as the editor suggested, for Negroes were among the first enrolled in the University of Toronto, and others were known to have attended the local Normal School. In 1855, a Miss Emaline Shadd, "a colored lady," received top honours and the first prize of five pounds, ten shillings, along with her first class certificate at Toronto's Normal School.

     Nor were cultural activities totally lacking within the refugee community. Mention is made of an organization called the Young Men's Excelsior Literary Association, and Drew maintains that an active debating society existed among the city's coloured population. Although little is known regarding indigenous artistic and musical talent, Miss E. Greenfield, an American artist referred to as "The Black Swan," frequently sang in Toronto, receiving enthusiastic reviews in the local press. The Toronto Daily Patriot on May 11, 1854, referred to her as a "stout, good-looking coloured lady possessing a sureness of tone and a most marvellous compass of voice."

     Perhaps the most distinguished young man of the period was W.R. Abbott's son, Dr. Anderson Ruffin Abbott, who was a licentiate of the Medical Board of Upper Canada in 1861, Primary Bachelor of Medicine, 1867, acting resident physician of Toronto General Hospital, and later, coroner for Kent County.

     Another significant organizational effort, spurred by The Provincial Freeman, was the founding on August 9, 1854, of the Provincial Union Association. Setting out a broad program for Ontario's refugees which included direct support for the paper as one of its major aims, the founders agreed:

To promote harmony -- not based on complexional differences -- among Her Majesty's subjects.

To encourage and support a press -- The Provincial Freeman particularly.