Moses Wilkinson

Circa 1746, Moses Wilkinson was born enslaved on a plantation in Nansemond County, Virginia. He was enslaved by Miles Wilkinson. Wilkinson was blind and unable to walk without assistance, possibly due to surviving smallpox. == Self-liberation ==

The 1775 Dunmore's Proclamation promised slaves of American rebels their freedom if they would join the British forces fighting in the American Revolutionary War. The following year, Wilkinson led a band of slaves to freedom, also freeing himself. He reached New York City, which the British forces occupied for years during the war. == Ministry ==

New York In New York, the self-appointed, illiterate Wesleyan Methodist preacher gathered together a congregation. Nova Scotia When the British were defeated in 1783, they fulfilled their promise of freedom to thousands of former slaves, evacuating them to other colonies and England. Wilkinson joined some 3,000 other Black Loyalists in on ''L'Abondance to Halifax in Nova Scotia; he is listed with them in the Book of Negroes''. The officers of the Sierra Leone Company clashed with members of the independent-minded Christian denominations, and matters came to a head with a failed rebellion led by Methodists in 1800. Two Methodists were executed; a number of others, mostly Methodist, were exiled elsewhere in West Africa. Wilkinson's brand of Methodism lost favour in the colony. == Legacy ==

His ministry inspired Gowan Pamphlet, minister and freedman who founded the Black Baptist Church in Williamsburg, Virginia. As detailed above, Wilkinson's preaching led to the creation of the Black Methodist community of Halifax. == See more ==

• List of Black Loyalists ==References==