#1 BH in NOTL: Chloe Cooley... End...enslavement

by Bruce Trail Niagara Club
2 years ago
Near Niagara-on-the-Lake, CA

28 views

In 1791, Upper Canada (now Ontario) was newly formed and Newark (now NOTL) was its capital. Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe, an abolitionist, was newly appointed (1792). It was a time of great hope, especially for the 30 Black slaves living in Newark and the 500 - 700 slaves living in UC. This large number of slaves was mainly due to an Act that had passed two years prior, allowing Loyalists from the US to bring their slaves with them to UC without paying any duty.

Chloe Cooley was one of those Black slaves, living a mile below the village of Queenston. On 14 MAR 1793, her brave actions changed the course of history, and set in motion the beginning of the end of slavery in our nation. We'll now head to the Niagara River, closer to where her bravery took place.

1. NIAGARA RIVER: Chloe Cooley was a young enslaved Black woman working on Adam Vrooman's farm roughly 6 kms south of this spot. Vrooman, a former Butler's Ranger, knew that anti-slavery sentiments were growing and didn't want to loose his property, nor his investment. So he made arrangements to sell her in the US. When Vrooman tried to force Chloe into the boat, she strongly resisted, so he forcibly tied her up and dragged her into the boat, where she kicked and screamed as she was carried across the river. Witnesses were outraged when they saw and heard her screams and reported this at a meeting of the Executive Council. Initially the witnesses hoped that Vrooman would be arrested. Sadly, he was within his rights and was not charged. And Chloe Cooley? She was never to be seen or heard again.

Thankfully, this was not the end of Chloe Cooley's story. The Lt. Governor, John Graves Simcoe, was outraged and used Cooley's story to agitate and mobilize Upper Canada's growing abolitionist community. Let's carry on to Navy Hall, where parliament sometimes met to hear what happened next.

2. NAVY HALL/STATUE OF SIMCOE: This is one location where early parliament met. Other locations include the Freeman Lodge (at the corner of Prideaux and King) and under the shade of an oak tree, at the site of the former Parliament Oak School.

In 1793, 6 of the 16 members of the House of Assembly owned slaves and opposed Simcoe's views. So instead of putting an out right end to slavery, a compromise was reached and the Act to Limit Slavery was passed, 9 JUL 1793. While slaves could no longer be imported, any slaves in the colony at that time remained slaves. Children of slaves born after that date would be freed on their 25th birthday. Children of these children would be free. Their former owners had to look after them, and the indentured service was limited to 9 years. While this seems very harsh, it was heralded as the first piece of legislation in the entire British Empire. Before Simcoe, slavery had defined the lives of most people of African ancestry living in Canada since the early 17th Century. Carry on to Simcoe St.

3. SIMCOE ST: John Graves Simcoe served as Lt.-Gov. for 4 years and the Act to Limit Slavery is seen as one of his greatest accomplishments. His legacy is ever-present in modern day Ontario. The town of Simcoe bears his name as does Simcoe County. The August civic holiday is known in Toronto as Simcoe Day. As well, many schools and streets throughout Ontario are named after him, including the one we are now on. Lake Simcoe, on the other hand, is not named as the Lt Gov. He named it after his father, Captain John Simcoe.

4. VOICES OF FREEDOM PARK (Regent and Johnson); In 2018, the VOF Park opened. It tells the stories of people of African decent enslaved, freed and free, whose sacrifices, labour, skills and talents contributed to the development of NOTL and Canada. More information can be found on the park's website.

Chloe Cooley's brave act of resistance paved the way to freedom for so many others like her, and set the stage for the great freedom movement of enslaved African Americans known as the Underground Railway. A commemorative plaque in her honour can be found just south of Line 6, on the Niagara Parkway.