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David George was born a slave in Virginia. He grew up on a plantation with his family,
with 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 whipped
until she bled often and that one of his brothers was whipped nearly 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 quite regularly.
When his farm was abandoned by his master as he fled 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 also I a similar circumstance. As the war drew to a close, some British who
were friendly with him 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. He baptized a white
member of his congregation, then the people became riotous and beat him with sticks and
drove him away. After this David George became involved in preparing for the voyage to
Sierre Leone, he and his family went and he continued his preaching there.
Upon arrival in Sierre Leone David George and his Black Baptists had similar problems
to the ones they faced in Nova Scotia. The white people of Sierre Leone were just as
ignorant and racist as many of the people in Nova Scotia. George David played a big role
in keeping his Black Baptists calm during the troublesome times in Sierre 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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