African Nova Scotians in the Age of Slavery and Abolition

William Deer and three other black refugee farmers at Preston petition to be allowed to establish a settlement in the "back woods of Musquodoboit." They received preliminary approval for 100 acres of land each but the grants were not issued.

William Deer later became the proprietor of the famed Stag Inn. Deer and John Collins were granted two lots each at Preston in 1842. Both Deer and Collins were founding members of the African United Baptist Association in 1854.

Date: 4 October 1824

Reference: Commissioner of Crown Lands  Nova Scotia Archives  RG 20 series A volume 90 (1824) (microfilm 15737)