Peggy Pompadour

Peggy Pompadour
Peggy Pompadour
Born	1866
Died	Upper Canada
Known for	Held as a slave by Peter Russell (politician), a senior official in Upper Canada

Peggy Pompadour was an Afro-Canadian woman, brought to Upper Canada, as a slave.^[1] According to the Dictionary of Canadian Biography she, and her children, were purchased by Peter Russell, a senior official in Upper Canada. After his death in 1808, she belonged to his sister, Elizabeth Russell. Her three children Jupiter, Amy, and Milly were also owned by Russell.

Lieutenant Governor John Graves Simcoe, passed a law outlawing enslaving individuals brought to Upper Canada, in 1793. However, individuals like Pompadour, living in Upper Canada prior to the passage of the law, remained slaves.

Russell found Pompadour, and her son, Jupiter, disobedient.^[2] He made attempts to sell them, but he found no buyers.^[1] On at least one of those occasions Russell published notes, in the local paper, warning people not to help her or shelter her.

A notice, published in the *Upper Canada Gazette*, on September 3, 1803.
`The Subscriber’s Black Servant PEGGY, not having his permission to absent herself from his service, the public is hereby cautioned from employing or harbouring her without the owner’s leave. Whoever does so after this notice, may expect to be treated as the Law directs.`^[1]

Legacy

Modern commentators celebrate Peggy's resistance, for being so intense it put resistance to slavery in the historical record.^[3]

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 "Peggy (fl. 1766–1827)". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 2025-03-08. Retrieved 2025-03-10.
↑ Don Rojas (2020-08-06). "'So much to learn': The untold stories of slavery in Canada". Caribbean Reparations Commission. Retrieved 2025-03-11. Court records show that both Peggy and her son Jupiter were held in jail as a form of discipline that was common in urban centres, said Henry. At the age of 13, Jupiter was tied up in a storehouse as punishment. On more than one occasion, Russell attempted to sell Peggy in efforts to separate her from her children.
↑ Nam Kiwanuka (2017-02-14). "How an Ontario couple is telling Black Canadians' stories — and setting Canadian history straight". TV Ontario. Retrieved 2025-12-10. ByBlacks tells the story of Peggy Pompadour, who fought against her captivity and that of her children. She was jailed and tortured in a prison on a site now occupied by the King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto.

[DictCdnBioPeggyPompadour-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 "Peggy (fl. 1766–1827)". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 2025-03-08. Retrieved 2025-03-10.

[caricomreparations2020-08-06-2] Don Rojas (2020-08-06). "'So much to learn': The untold stories of slavery in Canada". Caribbean Reparations Commission. Retrieved 2025-03-11. Court records show that both Peggy and her son Jupiter were held in jail as a form of discipline that was common in urban centres, said Henry. At the age of 13, Jupiter was tied up in a storehouse as punishment. On more than one occasion, Russell attempted to sell Peggy in efforts to separate her from her children.

[TvoBlacks2017-02-14-3] Nam Kiwanuka (2017-02-14). "How an Ontario couple is telling Black Canadians' stories — and setting Canadian history straight". TV Ontario. Retrieved 2025-12-10. ByBlacks tells the story of Peggy Pompadour, who fought against her captivity and that of her children. She was jailed and tortured in a prison on a site now occupied by the King Edward Hotel in downtown Toronto.

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