Page 3 Where is that? Origins - The Black Loyalists Reverend William Odber Raymond, wrote that the earliest evidence of a Black man's presence in New Brunswick appears in a letter of James Simonds, dated 1767 from Portland (now Saint John's «North End») to a partner regarding a shipment of lime to a customer. It reads "expect nothing but to disappoint him, as that rascal Negro West cannot be flatter or drove to do a fourth of a man's work....". Other than this brief quote there ar ...

The Black Loyalists The history of Birchtown is a short but important chapter in the history of Nova Scotia. It begins with the founding of the neighboring town of Shelburne in early May 1783. Among the founding group were 936 freed slaves. They were followed by a second larger emigration of Black Loyalists arriving on August 27, 1783. The Black Loyalists were runaway slaves who sought protection under the British and who served the Loyalist cause. With their ideals of dignity and independenc ...