Canfield Roots: Hamilton-Niagara

A native of Canfield in Southern Ontario for most of his life, Bill Douglas is surprised when local historians reveal his family's role in Canfield's history of Black ancestry.

Bill Douglas visits the BME Church Salem Chapel in St. Catharines to learn more about freedom seekers in Ontario; an abandoned family cemetery containing the grave site of Harriet Tubman's niece attracts the attention of local historians.

In February 1953, former Canfield resident Harry Lee was hung for murder in Hamilton; seventy years later, former residents of Canfield reflect on the impact of Lee's hanging on the village community.

An estate sale in Houston, Texas leads a collector to research an artist with a connection to an abandoned family cemetery in Canfield; an ancestor of Harriet Tubman's niece shares her family's remarkable story and link to this cemetery.

Frustrated over delays, a group of residents and descendants meet to discuss what to do about the abandoned family cemetery in Canfield, the final resting place of freedom seekers who settled in Canada in the mid-1800s.

As descendants of freedom seekers gather at an abandoned family cemetery to mark Emancipation Day, they reflect on the struggles and successes of their ancestors; Betty Ann Newman shares the stories and photos of her family in Canfield.