Wilson Ruffin Abbott
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Wilson Ruffin Abbott (c. 1801 – 1876) was an American-born Black Canadian and successful businessman and landowner in Toronto, Ontario. He was the father of Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Canada's first Black physician.
Biography
Born to a Scotch-Irish father and a free West African mother in Richmond, Virginia, Wilson Ruffin Abbott left home when he was aged 15 to work as a steward on a Mississippi River steamer.[1]
He married Ellen Toyer, and moved to Akron, Ohio, where he opened a general grocery store, but left in 1834 after receiving a warning that his store was to be pillaged.[1] In late 1835 or early 1836, he moved to Toronto, Upper Canada, where he prospered as a businessman.[1] He served in the militia that protected Toronto from the rebels in the 1837 Upper Canada Rebellion and was elected to Toronto city council in 1840.[2]
His son Anderson Ruffin Abbott in 1861 became the first African Canadian to practise medicine.[3]
Death
Wilson Ruffin Abbott died in Toronto, aged 74 or 75.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
References
Sources
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- 1801 births
- 1876 deaths
- American emigrants to pre-Confederation Ontario
- American people of Scotch-Irish descent
- Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia
- Politicians from Richmond, Virginia
- Canadian people of African-American descent
- Canadian people of Ulster-Scottish descent
- People from Old Toronto
- 19th-century Canadian businesspeople
- Toronto city councillors
- Immigrants to Upper Canada
- Black Canadian businesspeople
- Black Canadian politicians
- Upper Canada Rebellion people
- 19th-century American businesspeople
- 19th-century African-American businesspeople
- 19th-century American landowners
- Burials at Toronto Necropolis
- 19th-century Canadian municipal councillors