Martin, George

  • DICTIONARY OF CANADIAN BIOGRAPHY ARTICLE: Natasha Henry-Dixon, “MARTIN, GEORGE (d. 1845),” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–. https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/martin_george_7E.html
  • DCB profile notes:
    • Enslaved Black man, soldier, and labourer; b. probably in the early 1780s, son of Peter Martin and possibly a woman named Pat; d. 19 Feb. 1845.
    • George Martin’s father, Peter, was a formerly enslaved Black loyalist who fought with Colonel John Butler’s regiment during the American Revolutionary War. Although Peter obtained his freedom in exchange for his military service, his children, George and Jane, along with his companion, Pat, were held in bondage by Butler. 
    • George Martin’s life was shaped first by his enslavement as a child and then by the precarious position he occupied as a free Black man in a white-majority colonial society. He was born into hereditary bondage and then manumitted through the determination of his father. As a free person Martin enlisted in the British army, fought in the War of 1812, and worked afterwards as a general labourer. He fell on hard times, was incarcerated, became physically disabled and dependent upon charity, and died a pauper. He met a tragic end.
  • Son of United Empire Loyalist listed in Loyalist Directory: https://uelac.ca/loyalist-directory/detail/?wpda_search_column_id=5044
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