One of Toronto's wealthiest Blacks in the 1840s was James Mink, owner of the Mansion Inn and Livery on Adelaide Street. Mink was born in Upper Canada, the son of former Canadian slaves who came from New York with the Herkimers, a Loyalist family that settled near Kingston about 1800.

Mink's business grew, and he opened stables at 67 Terauley Street and on Queen Street. His stagecoaches carried passengers and mail from Toronto to Kingston, where his brother George kept a livery service. For many years Toronto's city council used Mink's livery stables, and minutes of council meetings record many payments to Mink.

The coming of the Grand Trunk Railway put an end to the expansion of Mink's business. He retired to a mansion in Richmond Hill where he lived quietly.

TITLE	AUTHOR	SOURCE	DATE
George Mink: A Black Businessman In Early Kingston	Rick Nelson	Historic Kingston Vol.46	1998
Early Mail System Owed A Great Debt To George Mink	Rick Nelson	Kingston Whig-Standard	25 Feb. 1997