Lloyd Graves
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Lloyd Graves and his wife Amanda in front of their home in Mount Salem.
One of the few stories of fugitive slaves arriving in Port Stanley is that of Lloyd Graves. He escaped his "master” in Kentucky around 1854 after hearing that he was to be "sold south” meaning to a cotton or sugar plantation in the deep south which promised a life of great hardship. He came north with another fugitive on horses stolen from the master. They were taken across the Ohio River to Cincinnati and hidden in the attic of a house. They continued north to Cleveland, travelling part of the way concealed in a wagon. Here they were put onto a steamer which crossed the lake to Port Stanley.
Graves soon found his way to St. Thomas where he worked for a merchant named Thomas Lindop as a teamster. He eventually earned enough to buy a small farm of several acres on the second concession of Malahide Township. In 1868, he married Amanda Irons, the daughter of a fugitive slave and his wife. At one time her parents had lived on River Road, just east of St. Thomas.
The Graves eventually moved into the village of Mount Salem bringing this small house with them, to which they later built an addition. They had a family of 12 children. Mr. Graves died in 1927 at the age of 105. Mrs. Graves was 99 when she passed away in 1939.
One of the few stories of fugitive slaves arriving in Port Stanley is that of Lloyd Graves. He escaped his "master” in Kentucky around 1854 after hearing that he was to be "sold south” meaning to a cotton or sugar plantation in the deep south which promised a life of great hardship. He came north with another fugitive on horses stolen from the master. They were taken across the Ohio River to Cincinnati and hidden in the attic of a house. They continued north to Cleveland, travelling part of the way concealed in a wagon. Here they were put onto a steamer which crossed the lake to Port Stanley.
Graves soon found his way to St. Thomas where he worked for a merchant named Thomas Lindop as a teamster. He eventually earned enough to buy a small farm of several acres on the second concession of Malahide Township. In 1868, he married Amanda Irons, the daughter of a fugitive slave and his wife. At one time her parents had lived on River Road, just east of St. Thomas.
The Graves eventually moved into the village of Mount Salem bringing this small house with them, to which they later built an addition. They had a family of 12 children. Mr. Graves died in 1927 at the age of 105. Mrs. Graves was 99 when she passed away in 1939.