Mifflin Wistar Gibbs |
"...Mr Gibbs, a most respectable merchant who is rising fast. His manner is exceedingly good, & his way of speaking quite refined. He is not quite black, but his hair is I believe short & crisp." Cracroft, Sophia. "Letters, Vancouver and British Columbia:1861". ADD.MSS.227, B.C. Archives. |
NotesMifflin Gibbs was born a free man in Philadelphia, and was part of the Gold Rush in California. He and other Black Americans arrived at Fort Victoria in 1858 hoping to be free from racism that they continued to experience in the States. Although it seems that many Victorians were welcoming, some were not. Most Black Victorians eventually either returned to the United States or moved elsewhere in British Columbia. Mifflin Gibbs began his political career in Victoria by serving on the City Council. He returned to the United States in 1870, and later became the first Black American municipal judge. |
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