Person: Rose Fortune

A watercolor painting of Rose Fortune working in Annapolis, Nova Scotia.

A portion of a muster roll including discharged officers, discharged and disbanded soldiers and loyalists that came to Annapolis between June 18th and 24th in 1784. Specifically, "Fortune - a free Negro" is thought to be Rose Fortune's father and she is the child over 10 included in the muster roll. 

A City Intelligence announcement about an incident of stolen baggage involving a "baggage smasher" and the owner of a boarding house. 

In 1783, about 3,000 black refugees sailed from New York to Nova Scotia to gain freedom. Although gaining one’s freedom was certainly preferred to remaining a slave, Nova Scotia was not a very welcoming place for this new black community: the cold and harsh weather conditions were almost unbearable for many black refugees who had only ever lived in warmer climates, not to mention white Nova Scotians were racist and believed that black refugees could get by on less food, land, and money because of their past experiences as slaves.[1] According to Alan Taylor black refugees did not have the right to vote and were not given enough land for farming, causing many to revert back to a form of slavery by working as “indentured servants to white masters for up to six years.”[2] A year after these 3,000 black refugees arrived in Nova Scotia, some individual free blacks arrived, including the Fortune family.[3]

            In 1784, Fortune – a free negro – came to Annapolis with his wife and child over ten, who was presumably Rose Fortune.[4] Very little is known about Fortune and his wife, but Rose became an iconic figure in Canadian history for her work as a baggage master at an inn. Rose and her family both complicate and reaffirm what we know about black Loyalist emigration. Since they were not a part of the initial 3,000 refugees, this demonstrates that not all black Loyalists came to Nova Scotia to secure their freedom or as refugees, but that some had already been freed in the United States and traveled to Nova Scotia by their own will. Rose’s life does affirm, however, the difficulty that black Loyalists faced in Nova Scotia and how most African-Americans found themselves in the low working class with little hope for upward mobility. Fortune’s life and legacy tell a different and more complex story of freedom and independence than is typically associated with the Revolution on the Loyalist side.

            The muster roll that identifies Fortune’s family is mostly comprised of discharged and disbanded officers and soldiers, some traveling with their families, and some alone.[5] There is only one woman who traveled without her husband. There are other children besides Rose, some older presumably and some younger. There are two other “Negroes” listed: Edward Jackson is listed as “a free Negro living on Mr. James’ farm” and was traveling with four family members, and William is listed as “a Free Negro” and was traveling alone.[6] On other muster rolls people are listed as “refugee negroes” or “black pioneers” meaning that those people were either enslaved or actively fighting on the Loyalist’s side. It is possible that Fortune was involved in the Loyalist cause in some other way which kept him in the United States past 1783 when the first large group of black Loyalists traveled to Nova Scotia. Because this muster roll was recorded in Annapolis upon arrival, it is difficult to say where the people on the list were coming from. Some of the men are listed as having been discharged from the 40^th regiment or the New Jersey Volunteers.[7] It is possible that the people on this list arrived on different boats or started their journeys in different places, but it is difficult to say for sure where they came from.

            Very little is known about the Fortune family once they arrived in Annapolis. This could be because life was very difficult for black Loyalists at this time and some were forced into similar conditions as slavery.[8] It is possible that, since the Fortunes arrived a year after the first large group of African-Americans arrived, black communities had begun to emerge creating a more welcoming environment. However, we do know that many African-Americans were deeply unhappy with their lives in Nova Scotia and created a campaign to migrate to Sierra Leone.[9] This demonstrated the discontent of the black community and also encouraged the government of Nova Scotia to give black families more land.[10]

Although little is known about Rose Fortune’s early life in Annapolis, the fact that someone painted her demonstrates that she had a lasting impact on the community. In his pamphlet, Lieutenant-Colonel Sleigh of the 77^th Regiment described an encounter he had with Rose in 1852, stating:

I was aided in my hasty efforts to quit the abominable inn, by a curious old Negro woman, rather stunted in growth, as black as the ace of spades, and dressed in a man’s coat and felt hat: she had a small stick in her hand which she applied lustily to the backs of all who did not instantly jump out of the way. Poor old dame! She was evidently a privileged character.[11]

Rose worked as what was called a “baggage master” or “baggage smasher,” which meant that she carried people’s bags to and from the Saint John-Digby-Annapolis Ferry.[12] Baggage masters were looked down on and often accused of stealing baggage, which is evident in the announcement in the Evening Post and several others posts similar to it.[13] Baggage master became a popular profession after the war was over. In fact, a quick search on Google Ngram tells us that the phrase was not used until the late 18^th century and became popular during the mid 19^th century.[14] This could be attributed to the fact that people traveled less during war time than after the war. Also, when officers and soldiers traveled during the war, it was the job of people in the army to care for their camp chests and other pieces of baggage rather than someone like Rose. Giving someone your baggage was an act of great trust, since so often it was stolen by an inn keeper or a baggage master. Therefore, the fact that Rose was able to gain a positive reputation with this as her profession demonstrates that she was a trusted member of the community. Her gender may have also contributed to this since many baggage masters were men. However, as Charmaine A. Nelson points out, the watercolor painting of Rose Fortune depicts Rose’s physical strength and masculinity.[15] The painting looks almost exactly like the description that Sleigh gave of a woman wearing a man’s coat and hat. Rose Fortune’s somewhat masculine dress in this painting can be seen as a depiction of the difficulties faced by free African-Americans in Nova Scotia after the war. Although she is not enslaved, her job requires hard labor and is constant. Whoever painted this painting of Rose saw her as a hard-working woman constantly in motion; she did not sit for a portrait, but is rather depicted in her everyday life, working.

Rose Fortune has become an iconic figure in Canadian history. It is difficult to say how much of the stories about her are actually true, since the only official records on her are from when she arrived in Annapolis and when she died in Annapolis, the rest of her life is up for interpretation. The facts that we do know about Fortune, however, illuminate the complex history of black Loyalists in Nova Scotia. Fortune demonstrates that not all black Loyalists were escaping enslavement or were enlisted soldiers and her life is also a testament to how difficult it was for African-Americans regardless of location or whether they were a Loyalist or a Patriot during and after the war.