Nova Scotia Archives
African Nova Scotians in the Age of Slavery and Abolition
"Return of black persons lately brought to the province from the United States..."
This return shows 684 black refugees living in the Halifax region, including the town of Halifax, Windsor Road, Dartmouth, Preston, and Porters Lake. The majority were in the town of Halifax, because the government had not yet decided where the refugees should be settled. The number of refugees increased significantly over the next several months, thus forcing the government to develop a land settlement program.
Date: 6 March 1815
Reference: Commissioner of Public Records Nova Scotia Archives RG 1 volume 411 number 78 (microfilm 15457)