CA-K220History

Rose Fortune of Annapolis Royal

The grave marker for Rose Fortune in the garrison cemetery at Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, photographed in 2017. Rosegrave · Dan Conlin · Photo source · Photo licence: CC BY 4.0. Resized for display; item previews may be cropped. The image remains under the licence shown.

Factual accuracy review: No recorded challenge

No recorded challenge is not proof of accuracy. A challenge under review is not a finding that the item is false.

Rose Fortune (c. 1774–1864) and her parents, formerly enslaved in Virginia, were among more than 3,000 Black Loyalists resettled in Nova Scotia in 1783–1784. In Annapolis Royal she later ran a successful baggage-carting business and earned respect by informally policing the waterfront, and her story is a long-standing source of pride for African Nova Scotians.

Scope & context

Her life as recognized in her designation, not the full history of Black Loyalists.

Sources behind this record

Rose Fortune (circa 1774-1864) National Historic Person ↗

Parks Canada

Historical importance; plaque text