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MARTIN, GEORGE, 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. (It is not clear whether Pat was George and Jane’s biological mother, but she likely played a mothering role in their lives.) Their conflicting statuses, enslaved and free, made life complex for the Martins. Many Black families across British North America faced similar circumstances [see Peggy*; Statia*; Isaac Willoughby*].

A childhood of enslavement

In all probability George Martin was born in the early 1780s and was one of 11 “children” enumerated with the Butlers in a 1784 return for Niagara. The colonel and his wife had only two white children with them, so the other “children” were most likely servants, including the Black people, both adults and children, whom the Butlers enslaved. In the 1787 census of Niagara, seven unnamed “Negro slaves” were recorded as part of the household. George was probably in this group. They were held on the colonel’s homestead of about 500 acres, where the Butlers initially occupied a log cabin and later erected a frame home with a stone foundation. Also on the property were a root cellar, barns, and stables.

Like other enslaved Black children, George was expected to work. Along with domestic chores, he would have fed the farm animals, gathered firewood, and assisted his father and his enslaver with clearing land, tending to crops, and building barns, cabins, and fences. His experiences of childhood were dictated by his race and social status. George had inherited his unfree condition from his enslaved Black mother in accordance with British law and custom. As slave-holders, the Butlers had the legal right to remove him from his parents at any time, and to reprimand and punish him as they saw fit.

Family separation and then freedom

Colonel Butler died in May 1796. In his will he did not free those he had enslaved, unlike some other slave-holders [see John Baker*]. Instead, he bequeathed Pat to his son Andrew, Jane to his granddaughter Catherine, and George to his grandson John. (Catherine and John were the children of Butler’s other son, Lieutenant Thomas Butler.) Colonel Butler’s action separated the Martin family, although they lived afterwards in fairly close proximity to one another.

Because he had been born into bondage before the passage of the 1793 Act to Limit Slavery in Upper Canada [see Chloe Cooley*], Martin was doomed to life-long enslavement unless he was manumitted. Lieutenant Butler became the custodian of his children’s inheritance, which included George, who would have been forced to perform the same kinds of labour for the lieutenant as he had for the colonel.

In 1797 Peter Martin arranged to purchase his son from Lieutenant Butler. He petitioned Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe* for the land grant that his deceased brother Richard, also a member of Butler’s Rangers, had been entitled to claim. In his petition of 20 August, Martin explained that he wanted to sell the land to raise £60 in New York currency to buy George’s freedom. He was awarded his brother’s 300 acres and seems to have been successful in selling his land holdings and using the money to free his son. Shortly afterwards Peter and George moved to York (Toronto). The senior Martin was enumerated in the city’s 1801 census with another male, likely George.

War of 1812 service in the Coloured Corps

Eleven years later Martin enlisted in the British army’s Coloured Corps [see Richard Pierpoint], which was active in the Niagara area during the War of 1812. He and the other men in the unit feared that an American victory might lead to the widespread revival of slavery in British North America and their possible re-enslavement. Martin is listed as a private on all four muster rolls of the Coloured Corps between 1812 and 1814. The unit was led by a white officer, Captain Robert Runchey, and about 55 Black men served in it over the course of the war. As a member of the corps, Martin participated in the battle of Queenston Heights [see Sir Isaac Brock*] in October 1812 and the campaigns at Fort George (Niagara-on-the-Lake) and Burlington Bay (Hamilton Harbour) in the spring of 1813. In December the unit was made a company under the Royal Engineers and assigned to help rebuild Fort George and begin constructing Fort Mississauga (Niagara-on-the-Lake). The Coloured Corps was disbanded on 24 March 1815.

After the war Martin remained in Niagara and worked as a general labourer. In 1816 he petitioned for land as the son of a Revolutionary War veteran and as a War of 1812 veteran himself. The petition states that he was then at least 21 years old and his father was deceased. He was ultimately successful: in 1825 Martin finally received his ticket of location for 100 acres in Mono Township, Simcoe County (Dufferin County). He did not relocate there; instead, he sold his land in 1831 for £20.

Legal, financial, and health problems

Martin faced severe challenges in his later years. He had several encounters with the court system between 1829 and 1838, including charges for assault and battery, breaching the peace, unpaid debt, theft, and vagrancy. In September 1832 the court banished him from Upper Canada for five years, likely as a result of a number of guilty charges. He did not leave and was jailed from October 1832 until July 1833, when he requested and was granted leniency. Martin was also a victim of assault in September 1832. These circumstances indicate that his life was characterized by insecurity and poverty.

In the winter of 1836–37 Martin lost one of his legs to frostbite; it was amputated below the knee. His other leg was in such poor condition that he was forced to walk on his knees. His situation was brought before a grand jury, which on 14 July 1837 filed a presentment with the Niagara District court seeking basic social services and financial support for him. Although Martin was described as a “helpless crippled coloured man,” the magistrates denied the request, arguing that they lacked the power to order such assistance.

Three months later another grand jury presentment was filed on Martin’s behalf, noting that he had been rendered “insane from the loss of his legs.” It was approved by the judges. A weekly payment was to be made to a woman named Sarah Pickard, who had been giving Martin room and board since July. At the end of 1838 she requested and received £5 for the support she had continued to provide him.

“Dependent on the cold hand of charity”

In September 1839 the court dealt with another petition in Martin’s interest. By this time he was apparently homeless, “incapable of contributing in the smallest degree towards his own support,” and “dependent on the cold hand of charity for the means of sustaining life.” Aid was requested so that Martin could secure shelter for the approaching winter and not succumb to the elements. Despite this strong, heartfelt plea, two days later the petition was rejected. Martin survived as a pauper for six more years, evidently relying on private charity, until his death in February 1845.

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.

Natasha Henry-Dixon