Historians are like detectives. They find and sort through clues or evidence to put together a story. These are not made up stories, but are events that have actually happened. Sometimes all the evidence cannot be found, and to fill in the gaps historians then have to guess what might have happened based on the clues they do have. Also, not everyone will agree on what the clues mean. That is why two different historians writing about the same event will usually have two different stories. Parts of their two stories will be the same, but other parts will be different, but each of the different stories could still be considered truthful.

You will have the chance to play the role of a detective or historian. Below, are some of the things I used to find out about the life story of Richard Pierpoint. These include official documents, such as a petition, a land ticket and a will. There are also recruiting posters which tell us how men like Richard Pierpoint might have joined the army. Pictures and artifacts in museums, such as muskets and uniforms, tell us what Richard Pierpoint might looked like, or at least the kinds of clothes he likely wore.

Read the story that follows, and then look over the documents. Use the clues you find to retrace the life story of Richard Pierpoint. Begin with the list of events and dates. Draw a line from the event to match up with the correct date. For example, from the 1821 Petition, we learn he was 16 years old in 1760. That means Richard was born in 1744. Draw a line between "Born in Bondu, Senegal" and the date 1744. When you have matched up all the events and dates, go to the map. In the space under the dates you will write in the proper event. In the example given, find 1744 on the map. In the space underneath write, "Born in Bondu, Senegal". When you are done, you will be able to see how Richard Pierpoint travelled from his home in Africa to the United States, and finally to his last home in Ontario.

Slave, Soldier, Settler

What were the thoughts of Richard Pierpoint when he first arrived on the banks of the Grand river in the early 1820s? That is one of many questions that cannot be answered about Pierpoint's life. He did not write anything about his own life, as far as we know. But from the evidence we can find, it shows the story of one pioneer's life in Ontario.

According to one of Pierpoint's own few memories that have been written down, from a petition in 1821, we learn he was about 16 years old when captured as a slave and shipped to North America around 1760. As a boy he grew up in a country called Bondu. Bondu is now part of the West African nation called Senegal.

He survived the brutal crossing over the Atlantic Ocean and was sold in one of the main slave markets, probably in New York or Boston. Pierpoint said he was bought by a British officer. What name he received from his parents is not recorded, but as slaves often were given the name of their owner, this officer may have been a member of the Pierpoint family of Connecticut.

In 1776, when Richard would have been about 30 years old, the American Revolution broke out, a war between the British government and the rebel colonists in North America. The British government in 1779 offered freedom to slaves who would enlist to fight in the army. One year later in 1780, a list of soldiers includes Richard Pierpoint's name. We do not know for certain, but it looks like Richard had runaway to join the British army to gain his freedom. But freedom was usually only given to slaves who had run away from masters who were fighting in the rebel American army. There were many African slaves who fought in the war, but because they were owned by loyal British soldiers, they were not freed.

The regiment Pierpoint fought with was called Butler's Rangers. This was a special unit of soldiers, expert at Indian-style fighting in the woods. Today we would call them commandos or guerrilla fighters. Butler's Rangers' home base was at Fort Niagara (what became the city of Niagara Falls). In 1783, the war ended. The British had lost the war, and gave up most of their colonies which became the new country called the United States of America. Canada remained British.

Many of the soldiers that had fought for the British lost their homes. If Richard Pierpoint had stayed in the United States, he would have been made into a slave again, so he moved to Canada along with other members of Butler's Rangers. They were given land to farm around their old fort at Niagara Falls, and were some of the first pioneers to settle in Ontario. Richard was not the only African in Butler's Rangers. There were about ten others. Butler's Rangers also included German and Dutch soldiers, as well as British. Many of these people still owned slaves (slavery in Ontario would not be completely abolished until 50 years later in 1834). All of the new settlers had some common problems. Trees had to be chopped down to clear farm fields. Many things had to be built: houses to live in , churches and schools, mills to grind the grain the farmers grew, roads to carry trade goods.

But the African settlers had some special problems of their own. In 1794, Pierpoint was among 19 African settlers who drew up a letter or petition asking the government to trade their land for other farms close beside each other so they could have an all-black community. Aside from farm worker, it was difficult for Africans to find jobs. Americans at times raided Ontario to kidnap Africans and put them back into slavery. Pierpoint and the other Africans wished to live closer together so it would be easier to help each other. But the government did not allow this. Not all of the Africans had fought as soldiers, and the government would only give land to former soldiers.

In 1812, another war broke out between the British and the Americans. American armies invaded Canada, and if they won, all the Africans wuld be danger of being turned into slaves again. Even though he was about 60 years now, Richard Pierpoint sent another letter to the government asking to form an all-African company of soldiers. This was done, but the company was put under the command of a white captain. Richard fought in many battles. Peace was made in 1815, and Canada remained free.

Soldiers who had fought in the war were given land as a form of payment. But it took a long time for some people to get their land. In 1821, Richard, now a very old man, sent in a third letter to the government asking for money instead of land so he could go back to his home in Senegal. But this was turned down. Instead, Pierpoint received a land ticket in 1822. A land ticket showed where his plot of land was and how big it was. Richard's plot was located in Garafraxa on the Grand River, near the town of Fergus (about 100km northwest of Toronto). Some old friends from Butler's Rangers also moved here, including a few other African families. Was this a last try by Pierpoint to form an African community? We do not know, but Pierpoint lived in Garafraxa until his death around 1838. By this time he was 94 years old.

Some of the African settlers had moved away by then, and a few years after his death the only thing left of the small settlement were abandoned cabins. Most of the African settlers moved farther north, first near the town of Priceville and eventually reaching Collingwood. Their descendents live there still.

Look over the clues below. These items are taken from actual historical documents.

We have no pictures of what Richard Pierpoint looked like. The picture shows an African in the typical uniform of Butler's Rangers, which Pierpoint joined in 1780. It borrowed heavily from Native American dress, and included a jacket and trousers made out of deer skin. The cap was made out of the standard military hat, but the wide brim had been cut off to make moving through dense forest easier.

Beside the picture is a recruiting poster. This was a typical method used to try and get people to join the army. The poster calls anyone who joined a "hero", and it also promised every soldier 50 acres of land at the end of the war.

This petition or letter was written in 1821. It appears likely that Richard Pierpoint never learned to write English, and had to have this letter written for him by his friends:

"The Petition of Richard Pierpoint, now of the Town of Niagara, a Man of Colour, a native of Africa, and an inhabitant of this Province since the year 1780.

Most humbly showeth,

That Your Excellency's Petitioner is a native of Bondu in Africa; that at the age of Sixteen Years he was made a Prisoner and sold as a Slave; that he was conveyed [transported] to America about the year 1760, and sold to a British officer; that he served his Majesty [George III, the king of England] during the American Revolutionary War in the Corps called Butler's Rangers; and again during the late American War in a Corps of Colour raised on the Niagara Frontier.

That Your Excellency's Petitioner is now old and without property; that he finds it difficult to obtain a livelihood by his labour; that he is above all things desirous to retun to his native Country; that His Majesty's Government be graciously pleased to grant him any relief, he wishes it may be by affording him the means to proceed to England and from thence to a Settlement near the Gambia or Senegal Rivers, from whence he could return to Bondu...

York Upper Canada

21st July 1821"

In reply to the petition, the government granted Pierpoint a 100-acre farm in the newly settled township of Garafraxa. A "land ticket" was issued to him on July 30, 1822. But Pierpoint would only get full ownership of the plot when he had cleared at least five acres of trees, cleared a road to the plot and built a house:

"Grant to Richard Pierpoint of the Township of Grantham in the County of Lincoln in the Niagara District, farmer -- as a private in the Coloured Corps under Captain Runchey and Lieutenant Robertson -- the easterly half of Lot No. 6 in the 1st Concession of the Township of Garafraxa -- containing one hundred acres."

Slave, Soldier, Settler - Teacher's Notes:

This lesson activity looks at the life of Richard Pierpoint, an African and one of the first non-Native settlers of Ontario. He is a reminder that Ontario from its earliest roots was a multi-ethnic society. The activity can be used during Black History Month as a special project, for multi-cultural studies or for a unit on pioneers. It is geared for a Formative Years level class, but could be modified for later or earlier grades.

Exercises