Sources: Heritage Toronto
The family of 7 children arrived from Mariland in 1859.
Jackson Family, 1897
Source: Archives of Ontario (I0052485)
Mrs. Pipkin, who was formerly enslaved, came to Toronto and became a servant at Spadina House, the home of financier James Austin, 1870s.
Source: Archives of Ontario
Source: Provincial Freeman and Weekly Advertiser, July 11, 1857
This plaque was installed in 2017. It recognizes the life of Albert Jackson, Toronto’s first Black postal carrier. Born into slavery in Maryland, his mother Ann Maria Jackson fled slavery with seven children, ages two to sixteen in 1858, with assistance from agents and conductors of the Underground Railroad. Albert was the youngest. The family eventually made it to Toronto where they settled. Ann Maria Jackson was one of many female freedom seekers who lived and worked in the city in the 1850s and 60s. Another was Mary Louisa Pipkin, who worked as a laundress for the Austin family at Spadina House. The Provincial Freeman published arrival notices of “passengers,” “cargo,” or “freight” of the UGRR. These coded words were in reference to freedom seekers.