Deblois, Sarah nee Deblois

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Julie Morris and Wendy L. Thorpe, “DEBLOIS, SARAH (Deblois),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 6, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=2131
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Merchant; b. 29 Dec. 1753 in Boston, daughter of Lewis Deblois and Elizabeth Jenkins; m. 25 Dec. 1771 George Deblois, and they had nine children; d. 25 Dec. 1827 in Halifax.
    • Sarah, Lewis’s daughter, had in 1771 married George Deblois, her father’s first cousin and an English immigrant who had established himself in Boston as a merchant. In 1774 the couple moved to Salem, but their stay there was short. Like Lewis and Gilbert Deblois, George was known for his loyalist principles, and in April 1775, having become “obnoxious” to local patriots, he fled with Sarah to Halifax. Two years later they took up residence in New York City, where George became involved in a copartnership with Sarah’s family, importing and selling foreign goods. Along with his family, he returned to Halifax in 1781 to engage in a commission trade. During the next two decades he built up a prosperous business in general merchandise ranging from Irish linens and hats to locks, kettles, and soap.
    •  Sarah apparently assumed supervision of her husband’s firm upon his death on 18 June 1799. The business continued under the name of George Deblois until 1801, when, for the first time, it was referred to as the store of “S. Deblois,” selling imported dry goods and hardware. According to one source, Sarah, with her sons Stephen Wastie and William Minet and her daughters Lydia and Ann Maria, sailed from Halifax on 8 May 1802 on the schooner Mary to make her home once again in Massachusetts.
    • The extent to which Sarah controlled her late husband’s business is uncertain, but her short term as merchant was significant. Until the mid 19th century a woman merchant in Halifax was something of a novelty: the only other besides Sarah was Phebe Moody, who, like Sarah, assumed control of her deceased husband’s affairs. Sarah of course came from a strongly mercantile background in an age when merchants formed an élite, serving as the leading laity of the more prestigious churches and monopolizing executive positions in various fraternal organizations.
  • Wife and daughter of Proven United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=1562
  • Find a GRAVE: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/162269109/sarah-deblois