Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 12-3-2010 12:00 AM This Tract of Land: North Buxton, Ontario, 1873-1914 Claudine Y. Bonner The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Dr. Rebecca Coulter The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Education A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Claudine Y. Bonner 2010 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Bonner, Claudine Y., "This Tract of Land: North Buxton, Ontario, 1873-1914" (2010). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 49. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/49 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THIS TRACT OF LAND: NORTH BUXTON, ONTARIO, 1873-1914 (Spine title: North Buxton, Ontario, 1873-1914) (Thesis format: Monograph) by Claudine Y. Bonner Graduate Program in Educational Studies A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies The University of Western Ontario London, Ontario, Canada © Claudine Y. Bonner, 2010 THE UNIVERSITY OF WESTERN ONTARIO School of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION Supervisor Examiners ______________________________ ______________________________ Dr. Rebecca Coulter Dr. Supervisory Committee ______________________________ Dr. ______________________________ Dr. Goli Rezai-Rashti ______________________________ Dr. ______________________________ Dr. Jack Blocker ______________________________ Dr. The thesis by Claudine Yvette Bonner entitled: This Tract of Land: North Buxton, Ontario, 1873-1914 is accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy ______________________ _______________________________ Date Chair of the Thesis Examination Board ii ABSTRACT Acknowledging the continued concerns and calls for the education system to improve how it addresses the changing face of Canada in terms of race, gender, class, language and culture, this thesis focuses on the history and narratives of a single African- Canadian community as a starting point for educators who wish to learn about and make use of marginalized histories in their classroom practice. The information would also prove helpful to those educators who often have difficulty in finding material relating to African-Canadian history and as a result fail to add the stories of black Canadians to the national narrative shared in their classrooms. There is a wealth of knowledge that can be drawn from the material in each section of the thesis, beginning with an exploration of the theoretical frame, which introduces readers to the concepts underlying African-Canadian studies, and provides them with a means of better comprehending the lived experiences of people of African descent in the New World Diaspora. The study also provides a concise history of the first and second generations of the Buxton community, providing access to the evolution of the community from that of a planned refugee settlement, to becoming an active Canadian community. Additionally, the study explores the American South that awaited those who chose to return “home” after the American Civil War. The narratives and the process of restorying provide teachers with concrete examples of how to access and work with historical documents, or take single lives and events and discover connections, as they make sense of the experiences. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to begin by thanking my supervisor, Dr. Rebecca Coulter for rescuing me from a project I hated, and allowing me to do something I really cared about. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, Drs. Jack Blocker and Goli Rezai-Rashti, both of whom always offered kind words of support. This dissertation could not have been completed without the people of Buxton. To my narrators past and present, I thank you for sharing your stories. Shannon and Bryan Prince unknowingly brought me to Buxton, and they and their family opened their home, their private collections, their memories, and made me always welcome. Thank you. As a struggling grad student without a car, I remain grateful to Spencer Alexander for the many rides to and from the Buxton Museum, as well as the many stories of Buxton and of the Alexander family he shared with me over the years. No daughter has felt more loved and supported than I have by my mother, Hilma Beecher, throughout this process. The sacrifices you have made to get me to this point and your unwavering optimism have always made me know no mountain is insurmountable. Thank you, and I love you. My brother Kareem has never stopped believing in me has supported me in every possible way on this journey. I am eternally grateful. Thank you Catherine, for providing a home and also a place to which I could escape. To my sistahs, Cam, Cristine, Hanna, Hedia, Julie, add another mountain climbed to our list. Colleen, Vanessa, Stephanie and Terry King, I am forever grateful that I came to know you, you opened your home to me and always made me welcome, thank you again. Thank you as well, Bob and Craig, for always being there; Fabiola and Karin for all the good times we shared together. For my fellow students with whom I shared this journey, it has been an honour and a pleasure. We have learned so much with and from each other, and each of you in your own way brought something to my experiences at Western, especially Tara Lynn and Alireza; my fellow narrative researchers Dorothy, Natasha (for being another family member and reader of my drafts as well!), Lisa, and Amani; Lucy; and finally Rose, my daily pillar of support as we both shared the analyses, writing and re-writing, much of it virtually. At my faculty I was always grateful for the kind words from Ruth Burger and Kathy Hibbert. I also especially want to thank the staff at the Althouse and Weldon Libraries, as I could not have made it through this journey without their help and support. Along the way I have had the help of complete strangers who entered my life just when I needed them. Karolyn Smartz-Frost is one such person, as is Nina Reid- Maroney, to both of whom I owe debts of gratitude. I thank them both for sharing their scholarship and ideas, as well as serving as sounding boards as I went through this process. Finally, I would like to thank Jason, since without his help I could not have completed this final year of writing. From giving up his computer when mine died, to making me coffee in the wee hours of the night and morning, to believing in me enough to move sight unseen to begin the next phase of our lives, I will be forever grateful. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF EXAMINATION ii Abstract iii Acknowledgements iv List of Tables viii List of Figures ix List of Appendices x Chapter One Introduction 1 Research Questions 6 Rationale for Study 7 Review of the Literature – Exploring Black History in North America 9 Methodology and Research Methods 20 Research Methods 25 Historical Document Analysis 26 Collection of Narratives 28 Participant Observation 39 Geographic Analysis and Definition of Community 40 Exploring Insider/Outsider Status 49 Outline of Dissertation 51 Chapter Two – Theoretical Underpinnings Critical Race Theory 54 Human Migration 57 Diaspora Theory 61 Understanding Diaspora 63 Studying the African Diaspora 67 Contemplating the African-American Diaspora in Canada 73 Wilberforce 80 Dawn 81 Buxton 83 Refugee Home Society 83 Chapter Three - King, Settlement and the First Generation 88 King’s Dream 89 Opposition 97 Settlement 99 Schools and Churches 103 Making a Living 110 v Astute Politicians 115 American Civil War 117 Buxton South? King Says “Go” 119 A Chapter is Closed 122 Chapter Four – A New Beginning for All? 124 Exploring the Nadir 125 The Canadian Experience 132 The Buxton Context 144 Canada Southern Railway Brings Jobs to the Region 147 Laying out the Village of North Buxton 150 1880s Buxton: The Baptists Unite 159 1890s Buxton: A Mighty Man Has Fallen 166 20th Century Buxton 173 1910s Buxton 178 Chapter Five – Buxton Tales 182 Preamble: The 1960s recovery project The Shadd Family of Buxton 185 Narrative 1: Marion Shadd Griffith – From Slow Child to Educator 187 Narrative 2: Garrison Shadd – Remembering the Socials 191 Narrative 3: Phillip Livingston Shadd – Early Morning Milking 193 Narrative 4: Dorothy Shadd Shreve Segee – Shadd Family Lineage 194 Narrative 5: Francis Henry Parker – Long-haired Boy 198 Narrative 6: Fred Robbins – Southern Discomfort 199 Narrative 7: Frank L. Morris – Buxton Poet 201 Narrative 8: Grace Shreve – “We Had to Work!” 204 Narrative 9: Cleata Morris – Family Working in Detroit 208 Narrative 10: Art Alexander & Ethel Shreve – Active Couple 210 Narrative 11: Young Men on the farm – William and Charles Shadd, 1881 to 1886 215 Vagaries of Weather 218 Work on the Family Farm 219 Family involvement in politics, education and entrepreneurship 221 Illness and Death 224 Transborder Movement 226 Nebraska 227 Chapter Six – Narrative Themes Theme 1: Community 231 Sub-theme – Kinship, fictive and otherwise 231 Sub-theme – Black Community Across the Border? 234 Sub-theme – Church 235 Sub-theme – Mutual Aid 238 vi Sub-theme – Entertainment/Social Life