No one ever wonders what people have faced in the 1700s to the 1900s, well think about that, it is very important. Here is the story of a really brave woman, yes that's right a woman. Chloe Cooley was a young black woman held as a slave, in Fort Erie and Queenston, Upper Canada in the late 1700s as the area was being settled by Loyalists from the United States.
Her owner- Vrooman forced her into a boat to sell her in 1793 across the Niagara River to the United States. Chloe resisted her Vrooman enough that he required assistance from 2 other men. This incident was observed by several witnesses who petitioned the Executive Council of Upper Canada. Although charges were dropped against Chloe ‘s owner, the incident is believed to have led the passage to Act Against Slavery, 1793, in Upper Canada. I was shocked to hear that Chloe Cooley not only fought against her owner, but she waited until she reached New York City with all the pain that she carried with her.
Want to know someone's Personal life, then know this one-
Cooley was born in Africa during the year of 1759 on January fourth. Her parents were- James Cooley and Ruth Parsons. Before Chloe Cooley moved to Canada, she was living a very happy life until...
During the age of 15-20 years, she moved to Fort Erie, Upper Canada. Later on, she married a young man named Jeremiah Chapin and had 3 children. Their names were Cynthia Chapin, Sibble Chapin, and Chloe Chapin. A few years later (after the Act Against slavery and her journey of pain from Canada to the US.) Chloe Cooley passed away on 21 of January in, Connecticut, USA.
The story of buying and selling-
Speaking of buying and selling, sometime before the incident, Vrooman had purchased Cooley from Benjamin Hardison of Bertie Township (now Fort Erie, Ontario), a farmer, miller, and member of the Legislative Assembly. Vrooman took Cooley to his farm just north of Queenston. She likely worked as a domestic servant in both the Hardison and Vrooman households.
Vrooman enslaved at least one other person, a Black man named Tom, at the time he owned Cooley. Tom was in Vrooman's possession in 1783, and Vrooman sold Tom to Adam Krysler in 1792, seven months before the Cooley incident. Adam Vrooman did not know the feelings of Chloe could last forever...
Adam Vrooman theory-
If you are wondering why you should know about Adam Vrooman then ask yourself, isn't the cruel man important too? Adam Vrooman was a white loyalist who fled from the USA because of the American revolution. He came to Canada and was being immensely cruel to the black people living here in Canada. He is very selfish, isn't he? He deserves to know the feelings of all the people around him...
The The answers of "Why?
If you waited too long for the answers to "why", then here they are! Adam Vrooman sold Chloe across the Niagara river because he was fed up with having a black woman in his house doing all the household work. Even though having a person doing all the household work is very relaxing and easy, Adam Vrooman decided to sell Chloe just because she was black. He was the opposite of a normal person.
Abolishment?
Of course, there was an end to all of this mess. Chloe may have experienced a lot of pain, but she also helped a lot of people living in Upper Canada.
John Grave Simcoe used the Chloe Cooley incident as a means to introduce legislation to abolish slavery in Upper Canada. Simcoe gave the bill Royal Assent on 9th July 1793 and expressed his hope that those who are enslaved may henceforth look forward with certainty to the emancipation of their offspring.