Lucie and Thornton Blackburn
By Irene Moore Davis
While Canada was widely known as “the land of freedom” among the enslaved as well as Underground Railroad operatives, the security of freedom seekers was far from certain even once they reached Canada’s shores. With varying degrees of success, slavecatchers sometimes made incursions into Sandwich, other border communities, or even locations farther in the interior, in pursuit of their human “property,” and on multiple occasions, enslavers attempted to use the courts to arrange for the extradition of the self-emancipated. Generally, the colonial government of Upper Canada upheld the promise of granting legal freedom to Underground Railroad travelers. This policy became more widely understood after the famous Blackburn case of 1833.
Lucie (originally known as Ruthie) Blackburn was born enslaved in approximately 1803, reputedly somewhere in the Caribbean, and died in Toronto in 1895; Thornton Blackburn was born in approximately 1812 in Maysville, Kentucky, and died in Toronto in 1895. They met as enslaved people in Louisville, Kentucky and fled north together in 1831 to live in freedom. After they were discovered, living in Detroit in 1833, they were jailed with the expectation that they would be returned to slavery. However, anti-slavery activists and supporters rallied around the jail, leading to the so-called Blackburn Riots of 1833. In separate, dramatic incidents, both Blackburns were freed by supporters and assisted across the river to safety, but because a law enforcement official had been badly injured in the uprising, their enslavers collaborated with U.S. authorities, most notably the Mayor of Detroit, to have the Blackburns returned to the United States to stand trial: their premise was that the Blackburns had incited the riot.
While the extradition requests were being considered, the Blackburns were arrested and held in the Western District jail in Sandwich. Desperate to avoid re-enslavement and likely separation from his wife, Thornton, who was both illiterate and without legal representation, dictated a letter which was transcribed at the jail by the Reverend William Johnson of St. John’s Anglican Church. It was forwarded to Sir John Colborne. Seeing clearly that there was no truth to the claims that he and Lucie were to be returned to the United States to face charges related to the uprising, Thornton said, “Your Petitioner is convinced that the object of the Party is to have him and his wife carried back to Hopeless Slavery, where complaints can neither be heard, nor grievances redressed.”
John Colborne, who was the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada at the time, and Attorney General Robert Simpson Jameson determined that it was illegal to return the Blackburns to the United States where their punishment (re-enslavement) would be greater than any penalty they could face for an equivalent crime in Upper Canada. In so doing, they established a precedent that would protect future freedom seekers legally from extradition requests of that kind. Indeed, some legal scholars have argued that this marked the genesis of Canada’s refugee reception policy. The Blackburns, once freed, settled briefly in Amherstburg before relocating permanently to Toronto. There, they continued to live lives of dignity and meaning, including establishing Toronto’s first taxi service (horse-and-carriage-based, of course) in 1837, involvement in abolitionism, and in philanthropy aimed at helping freedom seekers resettle successfully. They hosted freedom seekers in their home. Thornton attended the North American Convention of Colored Freedmen held in Toronto in 1851 and served as vice president of the Canadian Mill and Mercantile Association which established job creation projects such as mills, industries, and a general store in the Elgin Settlement. Remarkably, Thornton discovered his brother Alfred living in Toronto, and he courageously returned to Kentucky to rescue their mother, Sibby.
Today, Thornton and Lucie Blackburn are recognized as Persons of National Historic Significance in Canada, with a federal heritage plaque located in Toronto. Other commemorations include but are not limited to the Thornton and Lucie Blackburn Conference Centre at George Brown College.