Robert J. Patterson (1809–1884) was a former slave and a restaurateur in

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

. Patterson was born enslaved in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, in November 1809. He escaped slavery in 1842 and made his way north first to New York and then to Boston, where he lived for ten years. As the

Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 The Fugitive Slave Act or Fugitive Slave Law was passed by the United States Congress on September 18, 1850, as part of the Compromise of 1850 between Southern interests in slavery and Northern Free-Soilers. The Act was one of the most co ...

made life increasingly dangerous for African Americans living in northern states, in 1852 Patterson decided to leave the country, relocating to the British colony of

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

. Patterson was a member of the group that in 1856 organized the first "Emancipation Ceremonies", an annual commemoration of 1833's Slavery Abolition Act. He and other former slaves spoke and sang, and advocated for abolition in the United States. Around 1859 he opened an oyster bar which would become the Empire Dining Saloon, one of the most popular restaurants in Saint John. In 1860 he was granted the

Freedom of the City The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

, an honour which recognized his prominence in the community and, probably more importantly, granted him the right to operate a business. Upon his death in 1884, he was described as "one of the most popular caterers in the Dominion of Canada."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patterson, Robert J 1809 births 1884 deaths American former slaves Businesspeople from Richmond, Virginia Businesspeople from Saint John, New Brunswick Canadian restaurateurs Black Canadian businesspeople 19th-century African-American businesspeople 19th-century American businesspeople 19th-century American slaves