Delos Davis Name: Delos Rogest Davis Occupation: Lawyer Nationality: African –Canadian Birth Date: August 4, 1846 Death Date: April 13, 1915 Synopsis Delos Davis was born on August 4, 1846 in Maryland. Davis was raised in Colchester Township near Windsor; Ontario. His father, James, was a former slave from Virginia. Although being a black person he still followed his passion knowing that the journey will be hard and thus he reached his goal. He became the first black Canadian lawyer.
Early life Davis was born in Maryland, USA. He was raised in Colchester Township, after his family used the Underground railway road to reach Canada to escape slavery. Moreover, Davis first worked as a teacher, but then decided to study law in Windsor. After he got married to Nancy Jane Mitchell in 1868, and moved to Amherst burg to practice as Notary Public. Racist attitudes towards Delos prevented him from finding a lawyer to work with to gain more experience. Determination
Delos was determined to become a lawyer. In addition, he convinced his legal government representative, William Balfour, that if he passed the test administered by the Law Society of Upper Canada, Balfour would introduce a special law that would allow him to act as a lawyer. Delos passed the test and Balfour introduced the law to let Delos be a lawyer. Delos was the first black Canadian lawyer that was allowed to practise as a solicitor by 1885 and a barrister by 1886. Accomplishment
The first most important accomplishment that Davis made was that he was appointed a notary public for the province of Ontario. Another important accomplishment that he made was he passed the test of the Law Society of Canada on 19 May; 1885. On November 10, 1910, the Ontario Government appointed him a King’s Counsel, “the black so appointed in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland British Dominions”. He is also an idol for many black persons. Final Years Delos Later on focused on criminal law .
In 1919 when Davis had a stroke at some point he lost his eye sight and died at home near Amherst burgh. He was buried at an African Methodist Espiscol Cemetery. Although he is not among us anymore he will always be in our hearts. Conclusion Delos Davis is not only Black history but also Canadian history. Delos Davis teaches us that we should follow our dreams and be determined even if the world is against us. Credits: www. christophermoore. ca/legalalphabet. htm# Davis | Ontario, en. wikipedia. com/delosdavis.
