At the start of 1858 Tubman was living in the boarding house she rented in St. Catharines, Canada West (now Ontario) with her elderly parents; Benjamin Ross Sr. and Ritta ‘Rit’ Green Ross. The town of St. Catharines was a hub for abolitionist activity. With a population of about 6,500 in 1857, around 600 were people of African descent, and the majority of them were self-liberated African Americans.
Museum Classroom: Who is Harriet Tubman?
Lesson: Who is Harriet Tubman?Topic: Exploring the life of Harriet TubmanGrade 3-6 Activity: Minibiography of Harriet Tubman Objectives/Learning Outcomes: Curriculum […]
Museum Classroom: Mapping the Promised Land
Using an 1850 map of the Niagara Peninsula, follow the instructions below to colour in the areas in Niagara connected to the Underground Railroad. As you colour, consider the routes of the Underground Railroad into Canada and how the Black community built new lives in Niagara.
Museum Classroom: Follow the North Star Activity Pages
Living in Canada today, we are all free. What does freedom mean to you? Why does freedom matter? What is the opposite of being free? Print out the colour page below and write down your thoughts.
Museum Classroom: Freedom Bag Activity
Lesson: Freedom Bag ActivityTopic: Black HistorySub-Topic: Freedom Seekers on the Underground RailroadGrades: 4-8 Instruction for Educators Note: This activity assumes […]
BHM: The Howe Report Part 4
The picture of Canada and of St. Catharines I had in my head was one that was a ‘safe haven’ for Freedom Seekers. Technically true: legal freedom was available to Freedom Seekers. But St. Catharines wasn’t much of a ‘promised land’ afterall. Understandably, it is difficult to reconcile this information found in the testimonies of the Howe Commission, into the established picture we have of St. Catharines.
BHM: The Howe Report Part 3
St. Catharines in this period was truly the industrial hub of Niagara. Agriculture and shipbuilding – the largest employers – dominated the landscape. The Welland Canal brought innovation, wealth, technology, and tourists to St. Catharines. It was dirty – animals had the run of downtown, but it was also clean – Victorian tourists swept into the city at this time to take advantage of all the recreational opportunities available.
BMH: The Howe Report Part 2
I have seen hundreds of cases where families were separated. I have seen them in droves 150-200 together – men, women, and children – linked side by side. There used to be two drivers to a drove, one driver in front and one behind. I have seen them from eight or nine years old up to 45 and 50; and when the mothers were sold, I have seen young babes, torn from the cradle in these gangs. I have seen this, many and many a time, and heard them cry fit to break their hearts.
BHM: The Howe Report Part 1
Black history is a part of Canadian history and that history includes racism. It’s difficult to come to terms with, I know. I love sharing the exciting story of Harriet Tubman and others who found freedom and refuge in St. Catharines. I have difficulty coming to terms with the idea that even though Freedom Seekers were welcome and supported in the community, they (and other minority or immigrant groups) were treated poorly, were openly disrespected, and experienced racism.
Museum Chat Live! E401 – The B.M.E. Church
On this episode of Museum Chat Live!, we dig into the history of the B.M.E. Church in St. Catharines and […]
Objects Legacies: Leg Shackles
Museum Collections vaults are naturally very curious and intriguing places. You could spend hours wandering through our vaults, examining the […]
Object Legacies: Slave Memoir
arefully wrapped in acid-free paper and stored inconspicuously among other artifacts of its kind, is an 1856 edition copy of Solomon Northup’s memoir, 12 Years A Slave. It is part of the Museum’s Rare Book Collection. Materially, this artifact is catalogued with the following description…
BHM Part 4: How to Reconcile the Good and Bad Parts of Our History
Stories like the establishment of the Refugee Slaves Friends Society here in St. Catharines, or the popular Emancipation Day Picnic, held at Lakeside Park from the 1920s to the 1950s to celebrate the 1833 Act for the Abolition of Slavery, are enjoyable to share and to consume because they can help us to feel better about ourselves and our past while living in troubling times. Unfortunately, history is messy. We love organization and labels as much as you do, but history is complex and accurately telling stories includes acknowledging the bad parts too. Recognizing messy histories can actually help to clean up and heal the impacts that history has on our community today. Reconciling the good with the bad parts of our history can help us to move forward.
BHM Part 3: What Can We Learn From a Toy Doll?
The St. Catharines Museum recently catalogued an artifact that offers a unique perspective to Black History and the legacy of […]
BMH Part 2: Family Legacies – The Nicholson-Smith Family
With Family Day around the corner, we chose to use the second installment of our Black History Month blog series […]
BHM Part 1: Using Our Past to Inspire Us to Compassion and Action
Black History Month is an incredibly important time to recognize, reflect, and commemorate the history of the Black community in St. Catharines, and indeed, throughout Canada. It does not start on February 1, nor stop on February 29.
More over, Black History should never be recognized, reflected, or commemorated as a silo of history. Black History is as important and vital a part of the Canadian story as any other.
I’ve found myself searching for ways to make our history relevant to our current human experience. To be honest, it can be difficult to connect to the past with the news the way it is these days. Things move so fast that it’s hard to figure it all out.
Yet parallels exist. Our community has a strong history of responding to injustice with compassion and action. And so my goal, with this first post in our series of four is to reveal how our history can inspire compassion and action in our daily lives and in our community.
Narratives of Fugitive Slaves – Part 4
“I think slavery is the worst and meanest thing to be thought of. It appears to me that God cannot receive into the kingdom of heaven, those who deal in slaves. God made all men – He is no respecter of persons – and it is impossible that he should, on account of my colour, intend that I should be the slave of a man because he is of brighter skin than I am.” – Henry Atkinson, (pp 94).
Narratives of Fugitive Slaves – Part 3
“Rents and provisions are dear here, and it takes all I can earn to support myself and my children. I could have one of my children well brought up and taken care of, by some friends in Massachusetts, which would much relieve me, but I cannot have my child go there on account of the laws, which would not protect her. This is a hardship: but had I to struggle much harder than at present, I would prefer it to being a slave. Now I can lie down at night in peace – there I had no peace even at night, on account of my master’s conduct.” – Mrs. Ellis (pp 63-64).
Narratives of Fugitive Slaves – Part 1
St. Catharines played an important part in the success of the Underground Railroad. In railroad speak, the city was a destination, or terminal for refugee slaves. Many who made it to Canada settled in the city, which for reasons associated with the success of the Welland Canal, was, by mid-19th century standards, a thriving and bustling city rivaling Hamilton and London in population and industrial activity.
Know Your Neighbours – Solomon Northup
Solomon Northup was born on July 10th, 1808 to a manumitted black slave named Mintus who took on his former […]
Books and Brews: Chapter Two
Having rid myself of first-timer nerves at our first book club meeting in July (you can read about that experience […]
Know Your Neigbours – Anthony Burns
Anthony Burns was born into slavery in Virginia in 1834. He ran away from his owner and went to Boston. […]
The St. Catharines Orioles
An article on Sportsnet.ca examines the often overlooked history of the St. Catharines Orioles, one of the first hockey teams made […]
Know Your Neighbours – Reverend Richard Amos Ball
On November 30th, 1845, Richard Amos Ball was born in St. Catharines, Ontario, the son of Henry Ball and […]
Black Soldiers in the Great War
So our people, gratefully remembering their obligations in this respect, are most anxious to serve their King and Country in […]
Post Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad is an important part of St. Catharines’ history – but the journey of freedom seekers out of […]
Salem Chapel, BME Church and Zion Baptist Church
Salem Chapel, BME Church During the mid-1800s, a vibrant Black community took root in and around Geneva and North Streets. Harriet […]
Richard Pierpoint
While St. Catharines is well known as a destination for freedom seekers, escaping slavery in the United States through the […]