Historian's Craft

After leaving the Dawn Settlement Wilson and his family would move to St. Catherines to protect fugitive slaves as well as provide education both theologically and academically. Much of his work was with the American Missionary Association where he would act as both preacher and teacher. During this period he would help many fugitives on their passage of the Underground Railway network, and even house many in his own household.

One noteworthy slave which Wilson would aid was the famous Harriet Tubman who arrived to Canada in 1851. At this time she would meet the Rev. Hiram Wilson at “Bethel Chapel” an church which would eventually become Salem Chapel a British Methodist Episcopal Church in 1855. Both Wilson and Tubman were very influential in guiding the slave activity in the region. [2] 

Wilson would remain an influential preacher and teacher as well as abolitionist in St. Catherines. The activities of Wilson and Tubman at Bethel Chapel, later Salem Chapel would place it as St. Catherines first National Historical site.

For further reading: 

[1] HENSON, JOSIAH in Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online, http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?BioId=39700

[2] http://www.stcatharines.ca/en/experiencein/BritishMethodistEpiscopalChurchSalemChapel.asp

The Wilberforce settle is a free black community that is notable to the time period with our class is studying in regards to the letters of Hiram Wilson and his abolition work in Canada and the United States. Named after the famous British abolitionist, William Wilberforce,  the Wilberforce settlement was founded in 1829-1830 by free blacks from Cincinnati, but due to poor management the settlement disbanded in six years later. Today,north of London, in Lucan, Ontario all that marks where the former Wilberforce colony stood is a plaque (pictured below). 

Free black residents of Cincinnati were forced to leave the city when a $500 fee paid to the city was mandatory. The fee was part of the city’s 1807 Black Laws.Most free blacks could not afford this fee so they decided to seek refuge in Canada. The American Colonization Society played an active role in the formation of the Wilberforce settlement and helped fund the black settlers journey to freedom.  Israel Lewis and Thomas Crissup were elected by Cincinnati black to help find land in Canada that would be suitable for a colony. They decided on an area north of London, Ontario, Biddulph County, on the Ausable River. They struck an agreement to purchase the land from the Canada company, at the cost of $1.50 an acre. In 1831, the settlement was named Wilberforce in honour of the British abolitionist William Wilberforce.

In 1829, the Cincinnati Riots sparked a mass exodus of black citizens from Cinncinati. Many made there way to the Wilberforce colony. The deal that had been struck between the Thomas, Crissup and the Canada company required $6000 for the land, which the settlers could not afford. They received financial assistance from Quakers James Brown and Stephen Duncan purchased 600 acres for Wilberforce. Some of the first homes and structures were constructed by 1832. The first year of the colony, there were only a handful of families, but within a few years estimates put the number of families in the colony from anywhere between 150-200 families settled here. The colony began to flourish and one of the first institutions established was a school. The original contingent of free blacks to Wilberforce were of a wealthier, more educated class who valued education and therefore wanted to establish a school for their children. Around 20-30 children attended this school.

Eventually conflicts between the the original group of settlers from Cincinnati and other black settlers divided the colony and led to its diaspora. Irish settlers began moving into the area and it became the town of Lucan. By the 20th century the only family from the Wilberforce colony with descendants still living in the area was Peter Butler. Many gravestones of the Butler family remain in a small family cemetery plot today in Lucan. 

For further reading:

[1] Leverton, John, Wilberforce Colony , from Lucan 125 Souvenir Booklet 1871-1996.

[2] http://www.ontarioplaques.com/Plaques_MNO/Plaque_Middlesex27.html

[3] Black Codes. http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/67722/black-code

[5] Peter Butler. http://www.londonheritage.ca/Documents/PDFs/LMHS-subsite/Peter%20Butler.pdf

Image Source: http://collections.ic.gc.ca/freedom/page19.htm

It was during these years that Wilson would build a name for himself distinct from Finney, Oberlin, and the “Lane Rebels” as an abolitionist. Wilson would move to Upper Canada as a delegate of the American Anti-Slavery Society. [1]  The status of the “free” slaves in Canada was in a despondent condition. [2] Utilizing charity and different fundraising methods he would help establish several different schools and churches for the former slaves.

With the aid of the Canada Mission Board, Wilson would be able to help establish a community as well as schools. [3] The Dawn Settlement was chosen as the place where the community would prosper and was already the home of Josiah Henson a run-away slave. In 1841 Henson and Wilson would work together to form a group called British-American Institute near Dresdon, Ontario. Wilson would continue to work at the institute until 1849.

Currently at the site of the school is the famous Uncle Tom’s Cabin which was noted in a previous post in relation to Harriet Beecher Stowe’s book Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Information relating to this historic site can be found at their website here.

For further reading, the following works were referenced:

[1]  “Hiram Wilson”. accessed March 01, 2012.http://www.oberlin.edu/external/EOG/LaneDebates/RebelBios/HiramWilson.html.

[2] Allen P. Stouffer 1992. The light of nature and the law of god: Antislavery in ontario, 1833-1877. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 67.

[3] Jacqueline L. Tobin and Hettie Jones, From midnight to dawn: The last tracks of the underground railroad, 2007, 26.