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Owner kept certificate in pocket watch Continued from page 1 3 · Thursday, July 22, 2010 OAKVILLE BEAVER · www.oakvillebeaver.com age and listed any identifying physical characteristics, including height, complexion and descriptions of any scars or other marks. In Branson's certificate, it was noted that the 23year-old was five-feet sixinches tall, of brown complexion and had "a scar over the upper lip caused by the bite of a dog." As these certificates were essential to ensure a person's freedom, they were kept on hand at all times and it was quite understandable, as well, that at the time they were often forged, stolen or borrowed by runaway slaves to be used to pass as free. Branson had apparently made sure his was always with him by carrying it in his pocket watch. It seems that there it stayed for almost a hundred years. Through a little bit of archive work it was discovered that Branson Johnson, along with his older brother, Joshua, had registered their status as freeborn blacks. They both were issued Certificates of Freedom on Feb. 6, 1855 from the court in Howard County, Maryland where they were born. When Branson came to Oakville, therefore, he wasn't actually a slave on the run for his life and freedom, he was actually considered a "free man" in some northern states. Nevertheless he, his wife Amanda (Shipley) and three children, still followed the freedom trail north to Oakville in the 1860s, maybe even using the underground railroad and settled in Oakville in 1863 where a number of fleeing slaves did end up. At the time, there were about 58 African-Americans in the town, living among a population of 1,642 -- about 30 per cent of the population of Oakville. Branson had four more children here, was an active member of the American Methodist Episcopal (A.M.E.) Church and lived a block west of the church on what is now Lakeshore Road. The church now houses antiques, which is a testament to the changing PHOTOS COURTESY OF THE OAKVILLE MUSEUM FREEDOM PAPER: Branson Johnson's Certificate of Freedom before (above) and after (below) restoration. was a championship runner and came back to live in Oakville when backers coaxed him to play shortstop with the Oakville Oaks by buying him a dry cleaning business. But why give the document to Oakville? Joe felt that since his great grandfather had settled in Oakville, his father lived here and he had been born and he went to school here at times, he felt that it was only fitting that Oakville should have it. Preservation Process Even before the museum took possession of the 155-year-old document, it had to do the research necessary to authenticate it. Once this was done, museum staff had to do what they could, using the best conservation methods available, to preserve the document which could be further damaged in the wrong hands, and then create a secure space to hold and display it, boosting security in the museum to provide increased protection of what they had determined was a highly-prized item. The museum information points out that all documents are adversely affected by time and the See Freedom page 4 TO WIN AT REGISTERZDA.COM QEWMA demographics of the town. After working for a number of years on a train run between Toronto and Detroit, where he was a porter or cook, Branson died on Feb. 21, 1905 at age 79, and the watch ended up in his son Oliver (Ollie) Johnson's possession. Joe Johnson, Ollie's son and Branson's grandson, glued the document he found onto a cardboard backing and kept it in a photo album for a number of years until he decided to offer it to Oakville in the summer of 2008 and stirred up a tornado of interest. Museum Curator Carolyn Cross said they were quite surprised by the call. "It was an amazing thing to see the document and hear Joe's stories, and hear a little of the family history." Until the document had dropped into his life, Joe had not been aware such a certificate ever existed and he does not believe that his father Ollie knew about it either. Joe jokes that when he found it, he was sure he would have turned white, if it wasn't for the fact that he was white already, as white as his Oakville mother was. Ollie fathered Joe, another son -- a brother whom Joe first met at his father's funeral -- and an older brother, who died in the Korean war. There was no question that Ollie was a hero in Oakville. He was a prized athlete in the town. What Ollie excelled at was athletics, and if you are interested, you can read all about his feats on one of the pillars at the lower level of Oakville Place. An inauspicious site to honour one of Oakville's greatest athletes, but it is there that you can learn that he toured North America with the Buffalobased black pro-baseball club, the Cuban Giants, played baseball with Hamilton's City League International Harvesters OAKVILLE MAZDA HAS BECOME Great Deal s In For Trade! Need Them We GRAND OPENING PRICES ON ALL NEW & USED VEHICLES SAVE SAVE WAS NOW +PST & GST 14,000kms Auto / Leather / Moonroof Auto / Leather / Moonroof / Upgraded Audio 13,000kms Auto / AlloyRims / Moonroof OAC on selected vehicles View our entire inventory online at: 905-827-4242 . 1501 NORTH SERVICE ROAD WEST, OAKVILLE . MON.-THURS. 9AM - 9PM . FRI.-SAT. 9AM - 6PM W W W. Q E W M A Z D A . C O M Includes $500 Grad Rebate and $250 Mazda owner renewal discount for qualified buyer. 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