Wilberforce Colony
Encyclopedia
Wilberforce Colony was a colony
established by free American Black
citizens, founded at the end of the second decade of the 19th century north of present day London, Ontario
, Canada
. This was one of several movements initially growing from or sympathetic to the American Colonization Society
, established in 1816 to settle free Blacks in an African colony. When American Black communities favored emigration, they preferred a country where free Blacks could hold full political control of their destiny. The establishment of Wilberforce Colony in Canada was one such movement, linked particularly to Cincinnati, Ohio
. .
were indeed constitutional. The Cincinnati City Council enforced this restrictive legislation.
Near the end of June, Cincinnati Blacks elected Israel Lewis and Thomas Crissup to survey a site in Canada to which the Cincinnati Blacks could emigrate. Lewis and Crissup met with John Colbourne, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
, to discuss prospects of settling in the area. They entered into a contract with the Canada Company
for the purchase of land in Biddulph in the Huron Tract
in Ontario
, lots 2, 3, and 5 north of the Proof Line Road and lot 11 south of the road, for the amount of $1.50 per acre. The land was on the Ausable River, some twenty miles (32 km) from Lake Huron
, and about thirty-five miles from the shore of Lake Erie
.
The Cincinnati Riots of 1829
continued from the start of July to the end of August. Those who left the city that summer comprised two groups: those who were primarily forced out of Cincinnati by violence, fear, and inability to work generally settled in nearby towns or villages. The second group was an organized exodus of blacks, with many emigrating to the Canadian site. Since movement to the still-unnamed Wilberforce Colony required purchase of land, those without financial resources simply stopped and settled in towns on the southern shore of Lake Erie where they could find work. They never made it to Canada.
Although exact figures are not known, evidence suggests that of the initial exodus, only five or six families made it to the Ontario colony in the first year. Eventually about 150-200 families settled there.
The initial group faced traveling some thirty-five miles northward through untracked forest, and then having to clear land for crops and build dwellings. Financial stability for the colony was precarious for that first year. Subsequent recruiting efforts drew Blacks from other northern cities, and by 1832 there were 32 families in the area. In 1831 the settlement was named Wilberforce in honor of William Wilberforce
, the prominent British abolitionist
who had led the fight for the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 that abolished slavery in most of the British Empire.
With the land secured, the colonists turned to clearing land and building structures. By 1832 the settlement had crops in the ground and log homes. Settlers built three sawmills, one powered by water; a gristmill, and several general stores. The proximity of the settlement to the river gave transportation access to goods and provided a way to export products, agricultural and forest-related.
The riot in Cincinnati, and the establishment of Wilberforce Colony, raised a national Black consciousness. Interest grew in emigration from other northern cities. The Mother Bethel Church
in Philadelphia assembled Black leaders from across the north to search for solutions to empower all African-Americans. In an 1830 convention, the Assembly organized itself as the American Society of Free Persons of Color, the beginning of the black convention movement.
Within the first 18 months, as Wilberforce grew from the initial few families, other black American emigrants joined them from Boston, Rochester
, Albany
, New York
, Baltimore, and other cities. By 1835 the community had 166 inhabitants.
With this infusion of African-Americans from several places, political growth began. A board of managers was created, primarily to oversee financial matters. Austin Seward was president. He and other newcomers replaced the old Cincinnati leaders, relegating Israel Lewis, colony organizer and land agent, to fund-raising agent.
The schism between old Cincinnati families and new settlers eventually led to the decline of the colony.
visited the colony in 1831, and noted that 20-30 children attended schools . By 1832 there had been three schools established, and the quality of these schools drew students from the surrounding white population.
Aspirations for education extended beyond elementary and secondary schools. The colony attempted to establish a manual labor college for boys. Impetus began at the first annual convention of the American Society of Free Persons of Color, with the proposal to establish such a college at New Haven, Connecticut
. When this seemed impossible, the convention turned to Wilberforce. A national subscription campaign in the United States and Great Britain, under the direction of Nathaniel Paul, was attempted. The subscription drive failed, but the importance of higher education to the Wilberforce colonists was clearly demonstrated.
Gradually most of the Cincinnati leaders abandoned the colony within that first decade, and many of the leaders of the emigration movement, who had located in Wilberforce, left. By the late 1840s the Irish began moving into the area, and the Black population declined greatly. Eventually the Irish community supplanted Wilberforce altogether, and the town of Lucan
was incorporated. Wilberforce as a free Black colony faded into history. By the end of the 20th century only a single family, that of Peter Butler, had descendants still in the area of the Wilberforce Colony village.
Colony
In politics and history, a colony is a territory under the immediate political control of a state. For colonies in antiquity, city-states would often found their own colonies. Some colonies were historically countries, while others were territories without definite statehood from their inception....
established by free American Black
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
citizens, founded at the end of the second decade of the 19th century north of present day London, Ontario
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. This was one of several movements initially growing from or sympathetic to the American Colonization Society
American Colonization Society
The American Colonization Society , founded in 1816, was the primary vehicle to support the "return" of free African Americans to what was considered greater freedom in Africa. It helped to found the colony of Liberia in 1821–22 as a place for freedmen...
, established in 1816 to settle free Blacks in an African colony. When American Black communities favored emigration, they preferred a country where free Blacks could hold full political control of their destiny. The establishment of Wilberforce Colony in Canada was one such movement, linked particularly to Cincinnati, Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. .
Founding
The increase in the Cincinnati Black population in the decade starting in 1820 was rapid and pronounced. In 1820, some 433 African-Americans comprised less than 4% of the city's population, but over the next decade the city's Black population swelled by more than 400% . This change alarmed some residents. In response to a citizens' petition in 1828, the Cincinnati City Council appointed a committee "to take measures to prevent the increase of negro population within the city" . In March of that year the Ohio Supreme Court decided that the 1807 Black LawsBlack Codes in the USA
The Black Codes were laws put in place in the United States after the Civil War with the effect of limiting the basic human rights and civil liberties of blacks. Even though the U.S...
were indeed constitutional. The Cincinnati City Council enforced this restrictive legislation.
Near the end of June, Cincinnati Blacks elected Israel Lewis and Thomas Crissup to survey a site in Canada to which the Cincinnati Blacks could emigrate. Lewis and Crissup met with John Colbourne, the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada was a political division in British Canada established in 1791 by the British Empire to govern the central third of the lands in British North America and to accommodate Loyalist refugees from the United States of America after the American Revolution...
, to discuss prospects of settling in the area. They entered into a contract with the Canada Company
Canada Company
The Canada Company was a large private chartered British land development company, incorporated by an act of British parliament on July 27, 1825, to aid the colonization of Upper Canada. Canada Company assisted emigrants by providing good ships, low fares, implements and tools,and inexpensive land....
for the purchase of land in Biddulph in the Huron Tract
Huron Tract
The Huron Tract Purchase also known as the Huron Block, registered as Crown Treaty Number 29, is a large area of land in southwestern Ontario bordering on Lake Huron to the west and Lake Erie to the east...
in Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, lots 2, 3, and 5 north of the Proof Line Road and lot 11 south of the road, for the amount of $1.50 per acre. The land was on the Ausable River, some twenty miles (32 km) from Lake Huron
Lake Huron
Lake Huron is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. Hydrologically, it comprises the larger portion of Lake Michigan-Huron. It is bounded on the east by the Canadian province of Ontario and on the west by the state of Michigan in the United States...
, and about thirty-five miles from the shore of Lake Erie
Lake Erie
Lake Erie is the fourth largest lake of the five Great Lakes in North America, and the tenth largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has the shortest average water residence time. It is bounded on the north by the...
.
The Cincinnati Riots of 1829
Cincinnati riots of 1829
The Cincinnati Riots of 1829 were triggered by competition between Irish immigrants and the African American community for employment opportunities in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA....
continued from the start of July to the end of August. Those who left the city that summer comprised two groups: those who were primarily forced out of Cincinnati by violence, fear, and inability to work generally settled in nearby towns or villages. The second group was an organized exodus of blacks, with many emigrating to the Canadian site. Since movement to the still-unnamed Wilberforce Colony required purchase of land, those without financial resources simply stopped and settled in towns on the southern shore of Lake Erie where they could find work. They never made it to Canada.
Although exact figures are not known, evidence suggests that of the initial exodus, only five or six families made it to the Ontario colony in the first year. Eventually about 150-200 families settled there.
The initial group faced traveling some thirty-five miles northward through untracked forest, and then having to clear land for crops and build dwellings. Financial stability for the colony was precarious for that first year. Subsequent recruiting efforts drew Blacks from other northern cities, and by 1832 there were 32 families in the area. In 1831 the settlement was named Wilberforce in honor of William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce
William Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
, the prominent British abolitionist
Abolitionism
Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
who had led the fight for the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 that abolished slavery in most of the British Empire.
Wilberforce colony
The initial arrangement between Israel Lewis and Thomas Crissup envisaged the purchase of 4000 acres (16 km²) for $6000, to be paid by November 1830. But the number of colonists expected to support that purchase could not be immediately achieved, and the financial resources of the initial colonists could not support that arrangement. Appeals were made for further support. Attempts in Cincinnati and pleas to the Ohio state legislature were in vain. But an appeal to the Quakers was successful, and on September 20, 1830, James Brown and Stephen Duncan purchased 400 acres (1.6 km²) for Wilberforce.With the land secured, the colonists turned to clearing land and building structures. By 1832 the settlement had crops in the ground and log homes. Settlers built three sawmills, one powered by water; a gristmill, and several general stores. The proximity of the settlement to the river gave transportation access to goods and provided a way to export products, agricultural and forest-related.
The riot in Cincinnati, and the establishment of Wilberforce Colony, raised a national Black consciousness. Interest grew in emigration from other northern cities. The Mother Bethel Church
Mother Bethel A.M.E. Church
The Mother Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church was founded in 1794 by Richard Allen, an African-American Methodist minister. The church has been located at the corner of Sixth and Lombard Streets in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, since that time, making it the oldest church property continuously...
in Philadelphia assembled Black leaders from across the north to search for solutions to empower all African-Americans. In an 1830 convention, the Assembly organized itself as the American Society of Free Persons of Color, the beginning of the black convention movement.
Within the first 18 months, as Wilberforce grew from the initial few families, other black American emigrants joined them from Boston, Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, Albany
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
, New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Baltimore, and other cities. By 1835 the community had 166 inhabitants.
With this infusion of African-Americans from several places, political growth began. A board of managers was created, primarily to oversee financial matters. Austin Seward was president. He and other newcomers replaced the old Cincinnati leaders, relegating Israel Lewis, colony organizer and land agent, to fund-raising agent.
The schism between old Cincinnati families and new settlers eventually led to the decline of the colony.
Education
The initial group of emigrants tended to be from the more educated class of Cincinnati Blacks, and education for their children was of great importance. This also built on an educational tradition formed in Cincinnati, where the community placed great importance on education of their children. The desire of the Wilberforce colonists was for more than mere literacy. The first institution established in Wilberforce was a school. William Lloyd GarrisonWilliam Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
visited the colony in 1831, and noted that 20-30 children attended schools . By 1832 there had been three schools established, and the quality of these schools drew students from the surrounding white population.
Aspirations for education extended beyond elementary and secondary schools. The colony attempted to establish a manual labor college for boys. Impetus began at the first annual convention of the American Society of Free Persons of Color, with the proposal to establish such a college at New Haven, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. When this seemed impossible, the convention turned to Wilberforce. A national subscription campaign in the United States and Great Britain, under the direction of Nathaniel Paul, was attempted. The subscription drive failed, but the importance of higher education to the Wilberforce colonists was clearly demonstrated.
Decline into obscurity
The schism between early and later colonists continued to grow, particularly in subscription campaigns. In 1831 two fund-raising agents were appointed, Israel Lewis in the United States and Nathaniel Paul in England. Both agents failed to live up to expectations, and suspicions of wrong-doing, particularly by Israel Lewis, exacerbated the problems of Wilberforce.Gradually most of the Cincinnati leaders abandoned the colony within that first decade, and many of the leaders of the emigration movement, who had located in Wilberforce, left. By the late 1840s the Irish began moving into the area, and the Black population declined greatly. Eventually the Irish community supplanted Wilberforce altogether, and the town of Lucan
Lucan Biddulph, Ontario
Lucan Biddulph is an incorporated township in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was formed on January 1, 1999 by amalgamating the Village of Lucan with Biddulph Township...
was incorporated. Wilberforce as a free Black colony faded into history. By the end of the 20th century only a single family, that of Peter Butler, had descendants still in the area of the Wilberforce Colony village.