It is Black History Month and Craig Baird from Canadian History Ehx will be profiling Black Canadians who have made an impact on Canada’s history, both pre-and-post Confederation. Today we look at the life of Chloe Cooley, a young black woman held as a slave in Upper Canada in the late 1700s.
Writer: Craig Baird:
Not much is known about Chloe’s early life. She was an enslaved woman who lived in the late 18th century. The man who enslaved her was Benjamin Hardison, of what is now Fort Erie, Ontario. He was a member of the Legislative Assembly and a prominent farmer in the area. In 1793, Hardison sold Chloe to Adam Vrooman. Vrooman believed that due to growing anti-slavery sentiment, he would be forced to free Chloe. Rather than do that, he chose to sell her to an American across the Niagara River. On March 14, 1793, he beat Chloe and tied her up. Then he threw her in a boat and rowed her across the river. She screamed for help as he took her to the United States. Peter Martin, a Black Loyalist who had served with Butler’s Rangers in the American Revolution with Vrooman saw the commotion. He ran and got William Grisley, who also witnessed the incident. Grisley made a report to the Executive Council of Upper Canada. Nothing is known about Chloe after she reached the United States. The Executive Council of Upper Canada brought charges against Vrooman for disturbing the peace, but these were later dropped. Lt. Governor John Simcoe was outraged over the incident. As an abolitionist, he wrote up the Act Against Slavery to outlaw slavery in Upper Canada. At the time, 12 members of the 25-person Legislative Assembly were slaveholders. Eventually, the Act was watered down so that it didn’t outlaw slavery but banned the importation of enslaved peoples. It also freed anyone born into slavery at the age of 25. It still allowed the sale of enslaved peoples across the border into the United States. The last known sale of enslaved peoples in Canada took place in 1824. In 1833, slavery was outlawed in the British Empire.
In 2022, a Heritage Minute was created to tell the story of Chloe Cooley. You can watch it here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=cLPMlNSQjOg…
Also in 2022, Chloe Cooley was named a National Historic Person. One year later, a stamp was issued to honor her.
Craig Baird’s work and celebration of Canadians is fantastic. Check out his website: https://canadaehx.com/ and follow him on X @CraigBaird.
If you enjoy his Canadian history content, you can support his work with a donation at https://buymeacoffee.com/craigU.
