Assignment # 6 - Shadrach Minkins (slave) 1814 - 1875

There were many amazing African-Canadians but only one caught my eye...

Shadrach Minkins was born into slavery in 1814. The first 30 years of his life he lived in the port city of Norfolk,Virginia.
A few years before the Civil War, slaves fled Norfolk hoping to travel unseen across the Mason-Dixon line. Most were unsuccessful but Minkins was. In May 1850 he made his way to Boston. Minkins's master found out that he had escaped and had U.S officers arrest him. A crowd of African-Americans gathered at the courthouse where Minkins was being held, took hold of him and carried him off. Lewis Hayden was in the center of the scheme to rescue Minkins and spirit him away to freedom. He was taken to a hiding place on Beacon Hill. Minkins was handed over to Hayden who transported him to Concord where the fugitive was put on a path to Canada. That night he began his journey on the underground railroad. Six days later he safely arrived in Canada. Four days after he arrived he became a new resident of Montreal. A few months later he became the owner of a new Montreal restaurant. Minkins was the first escaped slave captured in New England under the 1850 Fugitive Slave Law.
I think that Shadrach Minkins had a pretty hard - but exciting - life.

These are the sites I got information from:



Mass Moments: Shadrach Minkins - Biographical Profiles

Assignment # 5: It's Really Cold

I can't believe the weather outside! It's freezing! Even though I read all of that information on what it was like for the pioneers in the winter, I still don't understand how they could possibly live through the cold without all of the equipment we have today. Why wouldn't they just leave Canada after the first winter they were there? Why would they stay in Canada if it was freezing...?

There were a lot of difficulties that the early settlers had to face. Scurvy was one of the hardest things to face in the winter of Canada. Scurvy was a disease that killed many early settlers of Canada. Scurvy is a lack of nutrition (not enough fruits and vegetables). Scurvy mainly occurred in winter when people couldn't grow any crops and were incapable of finding fresh fruits and vegetables.

The early settlers had to stay warm to survive. Keeping warm was hard for the early settlers. There would always be smoke coming out of their chimneys. The houses that the early settlers lived in were usually covered in dirt and grass. This worked as an insulator. The early settlers did all they could to stay warm. Their houses had very dim lighting -if any- this was from using just a few small candles.

Most immigrants left their homeland because they needed better jobs or better pay. All men were forced to serve in the army of the countries they left. Most of the early settlers barely had enough money and food to survive.

I asked my parents why their relatives decided to come to Canada. I'll tell you what my dad said...

" I really don't know Ry," says my dad after I asked him the questions Miss. Pollock posted, " My family moved to Canada more than 100 years ago. But I'll tell you what I'm pretty sure of...".

My dad says that his great grandma was from France and his great grandpa was from Ireland. They came to Canada because of famine, poverty and war. They decided to stay in Canada - even though it was cold - because they new that it was the best and safest place for them to live.

My mom's great grandpa was from Scotland and my mom doesn't know where her great grandma was from. "Your grandma had a very hard childhood because she went to live in an orphanage until she was five. Then when her father came back from sea he remarried and the family moved to Northern Alberta. Your great grandfather decided to leave Europe because of famine and persecution," my mom tells me. My grandma's family actually moved to California before they came to Canada. I asked my mom why they moved to Canada - in the cold - when they could have stayed in warm, hot California and she said " They came to Canada because of your great grandfather's job .".

There's still a lot for me to learn about immigrants coming to Canada, but I think I've learned a lot more after doing this project.

These are some of the sites I got information from, you should check them out!

Immigrating to Canada The Canada Page The Pioneer Years

Asignment #4

I read a lot of blogs for assignment #3, but only 3 caught my eye...

First was Chongo's Blog. Chongo wrote a lot of great thoughts about the future. I liked how she got all of her thoughts on paper-or blog, I should say-but anyway, I really enjoyed reading Chongo's blog.
Second, was Adria's Blog. I could tell Adria went deep into thought on this assignment. she really involved Christopher Moore in this blog.
Last was Allyson's Blog. Allyson talked about how she hoped that the future would be environmentally friendly. She also talked about how there might be different species roaming around on earth.
If these 3 people got marked on all of their hard work they would all probably get A's!!!

History of the Future

2109, no one knows what the future will be like (well not inless you have a time machine) but I'm going to make a guess...



In 2109 there might be time machines- that actually work- and maybe even different life forms living on Earth! 2109 will probably have a lot of new and unique technology, maybe there will be TV's that would never need to be plugged in! the thing I would really love for the future would be more energy afficiant products (e.g.hydro electricity vehicals) In the past, some things never changed in one century, but two. If I lived to see 2109 I would have learned a lot over the more-than-a-century that I was alive. I wish I could be a healthy old woman and live to be over 100, but I'm sure I won't be able to be alive that long.



Click here to see a cool blog that I got some info on! Christopher Moore's blog!

Hello! Welcome to the awesomest blog ever!!! By ry-ry

Hey there! Welcome to my awesome blog!
I know there's not much on here right now but that's because I'm an EXTREMELY slow typer! ha ha! sorry!

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