Today, the Government of Canada commemorates the national historic significance of Chloe Cooley at a special plaque unveiling ceremony at Navy Hall in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. The commemoration was made by Chris Bittle, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Housing, Infrastructure and Communities
and Member of Parliament for St. Catharines, on behalf of the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change and Minister responsible for Parks Canada.
Chloe Cooley was an enslaved woman of African descent living in Queenston, Upper Canada. In March 1793, her enslaver Adam Vrooman arranged to sell Cooley to an American in upstate New York. Cooley resisted her forced transportation, and in response, she was bound with rope to prevent her escape and gagged to silence her protest. With the help of his brother Isaac Vrooman and a son of Loyalist McGregory Van Every, Adam Vrooman violently forced Cooley into a small boat and transported her across the Niagara River to the American shore. Cooley continued to resist but was ultimately unable to escape.
Though Cooley's resistance did not result in her freedom, it left a strong impression on Peter Martin, a free man of African descent and a veteran of the American Revolutionary War, and William Grisley (Crisley), a white employee of Vrooman's. The two men later testified to her capture before Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe and two members of the Executive Council of Upper Canada. Though Attorney General John White was instructed to prosecute Adam Vrooman, no charges were laid as he was acting within his legal rights in selling Cooley. This served as a catalyst for Simcoe to instruct the Attorney General to draft legislation imposing limits on enslavement in Upper Canada.
Cooley's resistance led to legislative changes resulting in the 1793 Act to prevent the further introduction of Slaves, and to limit the Term of Contracts for Servitude within this Province, which contributed to the extension of the Underground Railroad into Upper Canada and the gradual abolition of slavery. Her story became a well-known example of the everyday acts of resistance of enslaved women.
The Government of Canada, through Parks Canada and the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada, recognizes significant people, places, and events that shaped this country as one way of helping Canadians connect with their past. By sharing these stories with Canadians, we hope to foster understanding and reflection on the diverse histories, cultures, legacies, and realities of Canada's past and present.
