Susannah Maxwell
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Susannah_Maxwell_circa_1880s.jpg/220px-Susannah_Maxwell_circa_1880s.jpg)
Susannah Augusta Maxwell née Stokes (10 March 1805 – 11 February 1923) was a prominent Black citizen of Richmond Hill, Ontario, Canada, in the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Early life
Maxwell was born in Pennsylvania in 1805 to free Black parents, but orphaned at a young age.
Life in Pennsylvania, resistance against slave-catchers
At the age of eighteen, she gained her independence.[2] Sources mention that the family treated her fairly well and sent her to school.[1] Two years later, she married Henry Maxwell and the couple established a household in Lancaster County, possibly in Christiana.[1] The couple had five children together.[1][2]
In Pennsylvania, slavery almost died out and the state was becoming a haven for runaway enslaved people from the South. However, due to the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act in 1850, there were many slave-hunters who wanted the authority to recapture any runaway enslaved people. Some slave-catchers had also kidnapped free blacks and dark skinned whites. Around September, Susannah's village was invaded by slave-catchers. The Maxwells and others in the village resisted against them.[1] With this incident, Edward Gorsuch and his gang had attempted recapture his runaway slaves, Noah Baley, Nelson Ford, George Hammond, and Joshua Hammond.[3] This led to Gorsuch's death as others part of the Christina Resistance fought against him.[1] Ultimately, the family was forced to flee Pennsylvania after the Christiana Riot of September 11, 1851.[3][1] The influx of bounty hunters, encouraged by the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, made it unsafe for Black residents to remain.[3] Due to the aftermath, Black residents fled through the Underground Railroad and lived in New York.[4] It is important to note that Susannah's name was not mentioned in the documentation of this resistance. However, her presence in the village that was invaded, and resisted, and her flight from Pennsylvania corroborates the narrative of where many fled, due to fear of imprisonment.[1]
In Canada
In 1855 the Maxwell family was living in New York State (where her daughter Charlotte Matilda (Tillie) was born) and by 1858 they had arrived in Upper Canada via the Underground Railroad, spending some time in Toronto.[1][5] However, it became apparent that finding work was difficult after living in Toronto for a few years.[1]
In 1871 they moved to Richmond Hill, north of Toronto, and were one of very few, if not the only, Black families in the town.
Maxwell was active in the local Presbyterian Church.[1] According to a census from 1871, she was noted as a Wesleyan Methodist but later sources suggest her as a Presbyterian. The Presbyterian Church on Yonge Street was opposite her home and she was active in the church affairs.[1]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f9/Susan_Maxwell_-_Link_with_Days_of_Slavery.jpg/220px-Susan_Maxwell_-_Link_with_Days_of_Slavery.jpg)
Longevity and death
According to a Globe newspaper from February 12, 1923, she was stated as the oldest Canadian citizen to be dead by 117 years old.[1] Surviving her husband and all five of her children.[1] At the time of her death in 1923 she was reported to be Canada's oldest citizen.[1] Her funeral was conducted by Richard Amos Ball, a minister of the British Methodist Episcopal Church church and the son of fugitive slaves who had also used the Underground Railroad to reach Canada.[1][7]
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Cooper, Afua (2005). "Stokes, Susannah Augusta (Maxwell)". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XV (1921–1930) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.
- ^ a b "A Centenarian". The Globe (1844-1936). Toronto, Ontario. 14 September 1901. p. 4.
- ^ ISBN 9781317454168.
- OCLC 85830740.
- ^ Wilson, Peter (1 April 2019). "Susannah Maxwell: A Life Well Lived". Richmond Hill Historical Society. Retrieved 29 November 2021.
- ^ Wang, Sheila (20 February 2019). "Black History Month: The long life of Susannah Maxwell". Richmond Hill Liberal. Retrieved 29 November 2021 – via toronto.com.
- ^ Cooper, Afua (2005). "Ball, Richard Amos". In Cook, Ramsay; Bélanger, Réal (eds.). Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XV (1921–1930) (online ed.). University of Toronto Press.