For years, as James Russell drove through Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont., He noticed a courtyard with two tombstones next to a small square on Mississauga Street.
He knew it was more than just grass in a quiet city.
“Every time I pass, I say that someone really has to deal with this problem, and finally, last November, that someone had to be me,” Russell said.
“I think I was a little angry га as long as it was enough.”
The courtyard he has passed for years is known as the Negro Cemetery, also the site of the Niagara Baptist Church.
The church council was established in 1829 and two years later a meeting house was built, according to Ontario Heritage Trust.
The congregation was mostly full of colonists, but became almost black as the enslaved fled the United States and the former enslaved came from Britain.
28 potential burial sites, 19 potential tombstones
The church was closed in 1878, but the Ontario Heritage Trust said there were at least 15 burials in the churchyard.
But Russell said he had potentially discovered 13 more – 28 in all – using ground penetration radar. He added that he also believes there are 19 tombstones.
He said the search for unmarked graves in former residential schools inspired him to try using radar technology.
Howard Bogusat shows the map with the results of the penetrating radar. The radar reportedly showed the location of unmarked graves and tombstones. (Bobby Hristova / CBC)
The land is owned by the city, but Russell, a Toronto resident and longtime visitor to the city, is leading the search effort and has spent about $ 3,000 of his own money on the project.
“People who are buried here have children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, who I’m sure would like to know where their ancestors are buried,” he said.
“I should have done that a long time ago,” he said.
The discovery of tombstones is the first step
Russell was at the cemetery on Tuesday. He created a grid using small orange flags.
Following a map of the ground penetration radar, Russell sprayed grass on the ground and pasted a Canadian flag at every potential burial site.
The blue dots will represent where the reported tombstones are.
Russell was also with Howard Bogusat, who was wandering the courtyard looking for dowsing to try to find more potential unmarked graves.
A blue outline and a Canadian flag mark potential graves in a Negro cemetery. (Bobby Hristova / CBC) Howard Bogusat works dowsing at the funeral home in Niagara-on-the-Lake. He assisted in the search for the reported unmarked graves. (Bobby Hristova / CBC)
Betty Disero, Lord Mayor of Niagara-on-the-Lake, was also there. She told CBC Hamilton that the municipality supports Russell’s efforts and is grateful that he took the initiative.
“They were almost waiting to be found because the tombstone has unmarked graves,” she said.
“We will be able to give these people the recognition and dignity they deserve.
Russell is giving city council members an update next week and may also ask if the municipality can help cover search costs.
“I am just happy to be here. The rest will be a long year or two – it has to be done, “he said.
“These people must be given names and faces”
Although the human remains found will not be disturbed, Russell said he has contacted archeological departments at McMaster University and the University of Toronto to do more research on all the tombstones that have been excavated.
None of the tombstones are more than a foot and a half deep, according to a radar scan, Russell said.
His vision is to raise and clean the tombstones, as well as to find out as much as possible about the nine potential tombs without tombstones and give them new tombstones.
Sarah Kaufman is the managing director of the Niagara Museum on the lake. She says the documents point to 15 people potentially buried in a Negro cemetery. (Michael Charles Cole / CBC)
Sarah Kaufman, managing director of the Niagara Museum on the lake, told CBC News that it may be difficult to trace some of the information, as the history of blacks has not always been well documented, but digging tombstones will make a big difference.
She said the identities of the 15 people buried there had almost certainly been confirmed.
Two of them – Herbert Holmes and Jacob Green – died fighting to stop Solomon Mossby’s return to slavery in the United States, according to Kaufman and the Ontario Heritage Trust.
“Holmes was holding the reins and stopped the horses from moving,” and Jacob Green put something on the wheels to stop him from moving, Kaufman said.
Kaufman said that while many people believe that Niagara on the Lake is a colonial community, it is rich in black history and Russell’s search will add to that.
Kaufman cites some of the artifacts and documents that show who can be buried in a Negro cemetery (Michael Charles Cole / CBC)
“I think it will help turn the story of our community upside down to give a healthier story about who the people who lived here are,” she said.
She hopes the museum can help people learn more about the people buried at the site.
Russell hopes that his efforts will help people passing by to understand that the earth is a sacred cemetery, not a speck of almost empty space.
“Respect for the living has a lot to do with respect for the dead,” he said.
“These people must be given names and faces.
For more stories about the experiences of black Canadians – from anti-black racism to success stories in the black community – see Being Black in Canada, a CBC project that black Canadians can be proud of. You can read more stories here.
(CBC)
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