Sylvia Estes Stark (1839 – 1944) is a noted African-American pioneer and

Salt Spring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled b ...

resident, who was among 600 African Americans who migrated to the newly formed

Colony of British Columbia The Colony of British Columbia refers to one of two colonies of British North America, located on the Pacific coast of modern-day Canada: *Colony of British Columbia (1858–1866) *Colony of British Columbia (1866–1871) See also *History of Br ...

Biography

Sylvia Estes was born into

slavery Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Fl ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, the youngest of three children of Hannah and Howard Estes. Her father, who had lived apart from their family for most of their lives, bought them out of slavery for $4,000 in 1852 - an enormous sum at the time. The family moved to California. Faced with educational and other social barriers, the family joined a group of people who sent a delegation to speak about resettling there – they had an audience with

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Governor James Douglas, who was of Creole descent. In 1855, Sylvia married Louis Stark, a farmer at age 16. Louis Stark was 10 years older than herself. They emigrated to Canada during the 1858 BC Gold Rush, taking a ship with 600 African Americans, under the threat of the

Fugitive Slave Act A fugitive (or runaway) is a person who is fleeing from custody, whether it be from jail, a government arrest, government or non-government questioning, vigilante violence, or outraged private individuals. A fugitive from justice, also kno ...

and the

Dred Scott v. Sandford ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'', 60 U.S. (19 How.) 393 (1857), was a landmark decision of the United States Supreme Court that held the U.S. Constitution did not extend American citizenship to people of black African descent, enslaved or free; t ...

decision. In 1860, Stark, her husband Louis and her two small children, Emma Arabella and Willis Otis traveled by boat and settled at Salt Spring Island, bringing along with them 50 head of cattle and horses. The family then cleared land and made a home and orchard. Over the next fifteen years, the Louis and Sylvia stark had four more children at Salt Spring, John Edmond, Abraham Lincoln, Hannah Serena and Marie Albertina. They survived the

1862 Pacific Northwest smallpox epidemic Year 186 ( CLXXXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Aurelius and Glabrio (or, less frequently, year 939 ''Ab urbe con ...

and then moved twice throughout the years, due to encounters with Aboriginal people and murders of their two friends. In 1875, the family moved to

Cedar, British Columbia Cedar is a small community in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of British Columbia. It is located near the east coast of Vancouver Island — about south-east of Nanaimo — along the banks of the Nanaimo River. Its geogra ...

, just outside

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

. However, Sylvia missing Salt Spring, returned to the farm in 1885 with her son Willis and her father, Howard, who was now a widower. Sylvia spent the rest of her life on Salt Spring Island and ran the farm in Fruitvale with her son Willis. She died on Salt Spring Island in 1944, aged 106, and was buried beside her father at Pioneer Cemetery, Ganges, Salt Spring Island.

References

*Crawford Kilian
"What BC Women Should Be on Canadian Bank Notes?"
The Tyee. *Estes/Stark Family

*Sylvia Stark
Black History Awareness Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stark, Sylvia 1839 births 1944 deaths People from Clay County, Missouri 19th-century American slaves American emigrants to pre-Confederation British Columbia Canadian people of African-American descent Black Canadian women History of Black people in British Columbia Canadian centenarians African-American centenarians American centenarians Women centenarians 19th-century African-American women