Elijah of Buxton
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Buxton continued to grow in size after the passage of the Fugitive Slave Law of 1850 in the U.S. That law allowed slave owners to capture escaped slaves who had made it to freedom in the northern U.S. The only truly safe place for former slaves to go was Canada, and many of them settled in Buxton. In its earliest years, Buxton relied mostly on agriculture to sustain itself, and crops included corn, wheat, potatoes, beans, and peas. The residents also raised livestock, such as cows, oxen, horses, sheep, and pigs. But with the arrival of new residents, Buxton quickly grew into a successful commercial center. A brickyard and grist mill were established, and a tramway was built to float logs down to Lake Erie where they could be shipped out. The ash from burnt timber was used to make fertilizer, and lumber was converted into barrel staves. Soon, Buxton’s many businesses included a general store, a blacksmith’s shop, a shoe factory, a hotel, and a bank. As Buxton continued to prosper and grow, many residents became active in local government. After living in the Settlement for three years, Buxton’s residents became naturalized citizens of Canada West, a British territory, and the men of Buxton became eligible to vote.
As the abolitionist movement continued to grow in the United States, the political turmoil eventually led to the American Civil War. The conflict slowed the rate of migration into Buxton, and Buxton’s residents anxiously awaited the outcome. While the men of Buxton were eager to help fight for the cause of abolishing slavery in the U.S., they were not allowed to serve in the all-white Union army at first. Eventually, the Union army created all-black regiments, and seventy or so men from Buxton enlisted. After the war ended and slavery was formally abolished, hundreds of Buxton’s residents returned to the United States to search for their families. Many of them returned to their former hometowns, using their education and the skills they learned in building Buxton to better the lives of the newly freed slaves in the American South.
Sources:
Civil War by John Stanchak, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc.
Something to Hope For by Joyce Shadd Middleton, Bryan Prince, and Karen Shadd Evelyn, Buxton National Historic Site and Museum
Buxton through the Years: A Timeline
1812 — Reverend William King, the founder of the Elgin Settlement at Buxton, is born in Ireland. His family later moves to the United States to escape the Irish potato famine, and he eventually marries the daughter of a Louisiana plantation owner. Although he is against slavery, King becomes a slave owner himself through his wife.
1843 — King decides he cannot continue living in the United States as a slave owner, and he moves to Scotland to study to be a Presbyterian minister. While there, he also becomes an active abolitionist.
1846 — After completing his studies, Reverend King is assigned to become a missionary in Chatham, a town near Lake Erie in Canada, a country where slavery is outlawed.
1848 — Reverend King and his fifteen slaves travel to the free state of Ohio. King grants them freedom and tells them they are welcome to join him in Canada, where he plans to create a settlement that will allow former slaves the opportunity to own land and support themselves.
1849 — The Elgin Settlement is founded on a property of 4,300 acres of land in Buxton, Ontario.
1850 — Buxton’s first school opens, with twelve children attending on the first day. The “coloured inhabitants of Pittsburgh” present the citizens of Buxton with the Liberty Bell. That same year, in the United States, the Fugitive Slave Law is passed, forcing officials in the free states of the North to capture and return runaway slaves to their owners in the South.
1851 — A brickyard is opened, and it produces 300,000 bricks in its first year of operation. Buxton Savings Bank is established, and the Settlement continues to grow and prosper.
1858 — Abolitionist John Brown visits Buxton, and in 1859 launches a raid on the town of Harpers Ferry, Virginia, helping incite tensions between abolitionists and slave owners.
1860 — Abraham Lincoln is elected president of the United States. In December, South Carolina becomes the first state to secede from the Union.
1861 — Other states secede and form the Confederate States of America. In April, the Confederate army attacks U.S. troops at Fort Sumter in South Carolina, starting the American Civil War. When the Union army creates all-black regiments a year later, approximately seventy men from Buxton enlist and join the war.
1865 — The Confederate general Robert E. Lee surrenders on April 9. On April 14, President Lincoln is assassinated in Washington, D.C. Later that year, the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is ratified, permanently abolishing slavery in the U.S.
1873 — The Elgin Association, which oversaw the Settlement, is officially dissolved as many Buxton families have returned to the U.S. since the end of the war.
1887 — Reverend King leaves the Settlement. He dies in Chatham in 1895.
1999 — The Buxton Settlement is designated one of Canada’s National Historic Sites.
Sources:
Civil War by John Stanchak, Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc.
Something to Hope For by Joyce Shadd Middleton, Bryan Prince, and Karen Shadd Evelyn, Buxton National Historic Site and Museum
This book was originally published in hardcover by Scholastic Press in 2007.
Copyright © 2007 by Christopher Paul Curtis. All rights reserved.
Published by Scholastic Inc. SCHOLASTIC, SCHOLASTIC PRESS, APPLE PAPERBACKS, AFTER WORDS, and associated logos are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Scholastic Inc.
This edition first printing, February 2009
COVER PHOTO BY ALBERT TROTMAN, ALLFORD
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e-ISBN 978-0-545-28119-5
The author has used certain Canadian spellings to establish the setting of this novel.
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