James Mink
Encyclopedia
James Mink was the son of a freed American slave who became a respected millionaire businessman in Toronto
, Canada
in the 1850s, working as a livery owner and budding politician.
Mink married a white Irish immigrant, Elizabeth, and had one daughter, Mary. Not wanting his daughter to marry a black man, and fearing no white man would wed her due to her mixed race, Mink offered an extensive dowry for his daughter's hand and found an interested white American businessman named William Johnson. However, after the wedding, Johnson revealed himself to be a slave trader and sold Mary into slavery on an American southern plantation. Mink, pretending to be his wife's slave, traveled to the American South and was successful in rescuing Mary and several other slaves.
Mink's story was told in the movie Captive Heart: the James Mink Story, starring Lou Gossett, Jr. as James Mink and Kate Nelligan
as his wife.
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in the 1850s, working as a livery owner and budding politician.
Mink married a white Irish immigrant, Elizabeth, and had one daughter, Mary. Not wanting his daughter to marry a black man, and fearing no white man would wed her due to her mixed race, Mink offered an extensive dowry for his daughter's hand and found an interested white American businessman named William Johnson. However, after the wedding, Johnson revealed himself to be a slave trader and sold Mary into slavery on an American southern plantation. Mink, pretending to be his wife's slave, traveled to the American South and was successful in rescuing Mary and several other slaves.
Mink's story was told in the movie Captive Heart: the James Mink Story, starring Lou Gossett, Jr. as James Mink and Kate Nelligan
Kate Nelligan
Patricia Colleen "Kate" Nelligan is a Canadian BAFTA award winning stage, film and television actress.-Early life:Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born in London, Ontario, the daughter of Josephine Alice , a schoolteacher, and Patrick Joseph Nelligan, a factory repairman and municipal...
as his wife.