With the role that Newark, the original name for Niagara-on-the-Lake, played as the first capital of Upper Canada, it is a given that much of the country’s early Black history revolved around this town.
The Local paid a visit last week to museum managing director and curator Sarah Kaufman, who pointed out that significant events took place here as far back as the Capital years, many of which had far-reaching impact across Canada and beyond.
“The story of Chloe Cooley had such an effect on enslaved people who were coming across the border to find freedom here in Niagara,” said Kaufman. “It was the first wave of that movement of people, and it all happened here in Niagara-on-the-Lake.”
The enslaved woman, taken by boat across the Niagara River to be sold to an American, inspired the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery, which eventually led to the barbaric practice being abolished across all British territories.
“Unfortunately, we have no stories about Chloe after she was removed from Canada,” Kaufman laments. Because of that, no museum has many artifacts that represent her life. But the fact that her name was written down in that legislation back then, we can treasure that.”
Kaufman also mentions the Solomon Moseby affair as a significant event that took place in NOTL in 1837.
“He was found here by his enslaver and was charged with the theft of a horse,” explained Kaufman. There was a huge riot here when he was captured and jailed. The whole experience led to some of the extradition and refugee laws that still exist today in Canada.”
Kaufman pulled out a number of items of note from the museum’s archives during the visit and explained their significance, including a sketch of the log home once owned by William Riley in what was known as Niagara’s ‘coloured village’, the area bounded by King, William, Ann and Butler streets. Riley built the house in 1819.
“He was an escaped slave who lived and worked here,” said Kaufman. “His granddaughter Fanny became quite a wealthy woman. She owned the beautiful home across from Simcoe Park that became known as the Trisha Romance Gallery. That really demonstrates the transition in a family that can happen when one breaks free from slavery.”
The museum also holds some artifacts that were part of the Riley’s family’s belongings. She shows off a stool that was made from the floorboards of the Riley home, a receipt that Riley signed with an ‘X’ upon receiving two shillings and sixpence for transporting someone to jail, and a candlestick. .
“We also have some items that were brought into Canada by escaped slaves,” added Kaufman, donning gloves to handle a sugar bowl and a teapot made of pewter. “They would bring them with them from the south, hoping that they would have been of value, something they could exchange to help them establish themselves here.”
The museum also has some archival pieces from the first Baptist Church that was in the area. Kaufman is working closely with the Friends of the Forgotten group that is raising funds to commemorate those interred in that long-gone church’s burial ground on Mississagua Street.
“We also have the polling record from one of the wards back then, from the election of John Waters, the first Black town councillor we had here in 1874,” she said. “That was quite a significant feat for that time period. It shows that he was elected in an all-white ward. He was a really well-known person in the community.”
Kaufman adds that many museums across the country do not have much in the way of Black history artifacts.
“That’s probably due to people not thinking of collecting and keeping items to tell their stories,” she laments. “Fortunately this museum does have some excellent oral histories that were taken by earlier curators in the early 1900s.”
They are always on the lookout for more Black history items of significance to add to their collection. As well, the museum has made much progress in recent years in digitizing images of much of their collection. And panels throughout the museum shed light on topics such as The Loyalists, John Butler and African Canadian Defenders of Canada during the War of 1812.
“We continue to try to grow the collection,” says Kaufman. “It’s hard to find good pieces that represent Black history, though, And whatever you find, there has to be a story behind it.”
