Aurelia Jones was a prominent member of the Black community in mid-19th century London, Ontario, Canada, and the spouse of Abel Bedford Jones, a Black entrepreneur and religious and political leader.
After A.B.’s death, Aurelia moved to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The archival traces of her life tell the story of a migration from one Black community with British and American affiliations to another with strong Caribbean influences.
As research associates on the Black Londoners Project at Western University, we are finding historical clues about people like Aurelia Jones and exploring the Black history of London, Ont., by using a digital mapping approach. This methodology helps to understand the movements of individual people and how these movements, in turn, reveal connections within communities and to other places.
Black migration to and from Canada is an ongoing process dating back to the 17th century. The migrations of Black individuals often reflect the geographic and cultural connections of Black communities across borders and further into the African diaspora.
Abel Bedford Jones (also known as Aby B. or A.B. Jones) regularly advertised his grocery business on 31.5 Dundas Street in London, Ont., in the Black Canadian newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. This ad is from May 12, 1855. (‘Provincial Freeman’/INK – ODW Newspaper Collection). , Author provided (no reuse)
Black geographies, Canadian myths
Scholars such as Katherine McKittrick, professor and Canada research chair in Black Studies, have highlighted how understanding Black history means being attentive to how geography, culture and race intersect in the formation of Black communities.
Such considerations challenge persistent myths of Canada’s past. For example, Black Canadian historian Barrington Walker has argued there is a “deep psychic and emotional attachment to the idea of Canada as a refuge and a haven from U.S. slavery and racial injustice.”