PATTERSON, ROBERT J., former slave and restaurant owner; b. November 1809 in Richmond, Va; m. first Edith Bridges (d. 1881); m. secondly in 1882 Georgiana Whitehead, widow of Cornelius Sparrow; no children were born of either marriage; d. 2 Oct. 1884 in Saint John, N.B.

Robert J. Patterson, like his first wife, Edith, was born into enslavement. Escaping Virginia in 1842, he took a packet-boat to New York and made his way to Boston, where he lived for ten years. Hounded by fugitive slave hunters after the 1850 Fugitive Slave Act was passed, in 1852 Patterson left for Saint John, where others who escaped enslavement had gone during the previous decade. He remained in Saint John for the rest of his life.

In 1856 Patterson and other former slaves organized the “Emancipation Ceremonies” that were held annually in Saint John for several years to commemorate the abolition of slavery in the British empire in 1833 and to urge the emancipation of the enslaved in the United States. They gave speeches and sang anti-slavery songs at the celebrations, which were attended by prominent citizens of both races.

About 1859 he opened an “oyster saloon” which developed into the “Empire Dining Saloon,” the most popular establishment of its kind in Saint John. He soon had an extensive clientele and became a prosperous and respected member of the community. He was well known for his contributions to charity and his assistance to all those in need. In 1860 Patterson was made a free man of the city, which allowed him to operate a business, a privilege accorded to few Black residents in this period; he was thus a member of the small group of Black businessmen who achieved success in Saint John in the second half of the 19th century. Patterson was involved with other members of Saint John’s Black community in establishing St Philip’s Methodist Church, which opened in 1870, and he was one of the church’s first trustees.

His first wife, Edith, died in 1881, and he married Georgiana Whitehead the following year. She was the widow of Cornelius Sparrow, another Saint John saloon owner born into slavery in Virginia. A man whose friendship was esteemed by many prominent citizens, Patterson was described at his death as “one of the most popular caterers in the Dominion of Canada.”

William Arthur Spray