Richard Preston

Richard Preston, ( – 16 July 1861), was a religious leader and abolitionist. He escaped slavery in Virginia to become an important leader for the African Nova Scotian community and in the international struggle against slavery. He established the Cornwallis Street Baptist Church, the African Abolition Society and the African Baptist Association. Personal life Little is known of Richard Preston's early life. He is believed to have been born into slavery in Virginia but managed to gain an education and save enough to buy his freedom in 1816. He went to Nova Scotia in search of his mother, who had escaped slavery in the War of 1812 as one of the 2000 African Americans who escaped to the British after the Cochrane Proclamation and settled in Nova Scotia where they became known as the War of 1812 Refugees. Discovering his mother, who he had not seen for many years, free and alive in Preston, Nova Scotia, he was so moved that he took the name of her community. Preston was described as being "light-skinned" and "6'1" in height. He never married. He was known as a gifted orator and for his sense of humour. Ministry