David George was born a slave in Virginia. He grew up on a plantation
with his family, and a master of uncommon cruelty. Both of his parents
were brought over from Africa and were not Christian, according to George.
George said that his mother was often whipped until she bled and that
one of his brothers was nearly whipped to death for trying to run away.
The treatment of his mother is what prompted George to run away.
David George fled about 200 miles, and was befriended by a group of white travelers. He
worked with them for a while and then found out that there was a reward being offered
for him. He left from there and worked for another white man for a few years, but was
still pursued by his master. Again he ran and was captured by a native leader named Blue
Salt. David George was Blue Salt's prize and worked for him, but George noted that the
natives treated him kindly. George's master found him and came to pay Blue Salt with
rum, linen and a gun for the return of George. George ran away before he was captured
and became the slave of a man named Gaulfin.
George worked for Gaulfin for four years, was married and had his first child. It was after
the birth of his baby that he met another black man, Cyrus, who first talked about the
Lord with him. Cyrus told George that if he continued to live as he was that he would
never see the glory of the Lord. This disturbed George and he began to pray and think
about salvation constantly. He regularly attended services at George Liele's Baptist
church. He became interested in preaching and started having services with the people
while he was living in Silver Bluff.
At the beginning of the American war, preachers were stopped from coming
into black communities and the minister asked George if he would carry
on the preaching in his place. George then learned to read and write by
enlisting the help of the master's children, learning the alphabet and
other words while using the bible as a base. He began reading the bible
and conducting services regularly.
When his master abandoned his farm to flee British troops, George was
a free man again. He worked for the British and acted as a food broker
for their troops in Savannah, as well as conducting some services for
the Black people with George Liele, who was in a similar circumstance.
As the war drew to a close, some friendly British arranged for him to
get safe passage to Nova Scotia.
David George came to Halifax, Nova Scotia as a member of the Black Loyalists.
He went from Halifax to Shelburne to preach amongst the black settlers
in the community of Birchtown. He began preaching to and baptizing the
blacks within the community. George had opposition from the white population
as soon as he arrived, but it became much more severe when white people
joined his congregation. When he baptized a white member of his congregation,
the people became riotous, beat him with sticks and drove him away. Afterwards,
David George became involved in preparing for the voyage to Sierra Leone.
He and his family made the journey and George continued his preaching
there.
Upon arrival in Sierra Leone, David George and his Black Baptists had
similar problems to the ones they faced in Nova Scotia. The white people
of Sierra Leone were just as ignorant and racist as many of the people
in Nova Scotia. George played a big role in keeping his Black Baptists
calm during the troublesome times in Sierra Leone; some criticized George
for being so tolerant of the administration. George played a big part
in the settlement of the community and was voted to the position of tythingman,
an important political position in their society.
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