Other well-known African Americans from Oakville include John C. Holland, the son of slaves, who became a pastor in Hamilton. He established such a reputation for helping others in need that the “The John C. Holland Award” was established to honour outstanding members of Hamilton’s African American community. James Albert Johnson, also born and raised in Oakville, became the first and only Canadian Bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Consecrated in 1908, he served for 20 years. His success was due in part to his early education in Oakville, at a time when such an education would have been difficult for an African American to obtain in the United States.
Henry Thomas Shepherd, a resident of Georgetown, was very well known in Oakville due to his connection with the local military. He enlisted with the Halton Volunteer Rifles in 1911 and went into action with the 58th Battalion during World War I. He was twice wounded, but re-enlisted with the Halton Rifles upon his return. Henry held the rank of Regimental Sergeant Major and served with the Lorne Rifles, re-enlisting during World War II. He received an MBE Award (Medal of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire) and was a founding member of the Georgetown Legion. His father John Henry Shepherd (1859-1948) and Henry’s grandmother had settled in Georgetown after making their way to Canada on the Underground Railroad.
© Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate, The Corporation of the Town of Oakville, 2000
The following information is reproduced from the display panels in the exhibit “Oakville’s Black History”, as written and designed by Deborah Hudson, Curator of Collections, Oakville Museum at Erchless Estate.
