One Of Niagara, Ontario’s Most Historic Churches Will Honour One Of North America’s Greatest Slave Emancipators On The 100th Anniversary Of Her Death – And You Are Invited

By Gail Benjafield

This year marks the 100^th year since the death of Harriet Tubman, the celebrated ‘Moses’ of her people, as she led enslaved blacks across the United States, by stealth, to the ‘North Star’, Canada.

The great slave emancipator and leader of the underground railroad from the 1800s, Harriet Tubman

Much has been written about Harriet Tubman in journals, articles and books. She lived for less than five years in St. Catharines, Ontario with her father and her brother, at various times, and our City of St. Catharines has honoured her with three different heritage designations – an Ontario Heritage plaque, a Municipal plaque and most recently, a Federal plaque, all at the British Methodist Episcopal (B.M.E.) church located at 92 Geneva Street, St. Catharines, and the only site site in the city to receive three heritage designations.

Allow me to say that much that has been written about Harriet Tubman is not based in sound research. When I wrote about her on the 135th anniversary of the B. M. E. church in 1990, it was for the much lamented local newsmagazine, ‘The Downtowner’.

As a research librarian, I scoured every source I could for information on Tubman, and it was not easy-going. Partly this was because the need for secrecy in moving people north in the mid-nineteenth century led to little recorded documentation. Consequently I interviewed descendants still in the city or chapel historians, all of whom were very helpful.

 I was lucky, though, to stand in as speaker for the Chair of the Ontario Heritage Foundation (now Trust) when the O.H. F. presented the first plaque to Tubman for the city. That event was held at the City Museum at Lock Three, and other trustees from the O.H.F. and Tubman’s descendants as well as local B. M. E. church supporters were in full attendance.

This month we have much more to celebrate in that both the B.M.E. church in conjunction with the Historical Society of St. Catharines are welcoming people to attend at Salem Chapel [the other name for the B. M. E. church] for a talk given by noted Tubman researcher and author, Kate Clifford Larson.  Larson will speak about Tubman’s life in Niagara and elsewhere. This is on Thursday January 24^th, and all are welcome. A dinner beforehand is held at the church, but is sold out.

A word about Kate Larson. She is a respected academic who has written the authoritative book on Tubman. It is “Bound for The Promised Land” and despite Larson being an academic, it is a hugely readable and interesting book, sprinkled throughout with local colour. “Bound for Glory” will fill in all the gaps that mythology has left out of Tubman’s story in other books. St. Catharines Public Library has a borrowing copy which I hope will interest other readers.Gail Benjafield is a Niagara, Ontario librarian, a local history writer, and a member of the Historical Society of St. Catharines, St. Catharines Heritage Committee and many other local and provincial organizations. She is an occasional contributor to Niagara At Large.

An NAL Note – This coming February is Black History Month in Canada and the United States and please make an effort to do some Googling or whatever other online searches you can to find out about Black History Month events you might be interested in attending in your region – Niagara, Ontario, Erie and Niagara Counties, New York, and beyond. Join in celebrating people who have contributed so much to the rich tapestry of cultures we benefit from on this continent.

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