On March 13, 1774, Rose Fortune was born. In Virginia, she was born into slavery. As part of the Black Loyalist exodus, her family fled slavery during the American Revolution and settled in Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia, Canada. Black Loyalists were free, but there weren’t many jobs available to them. Fortune didn’t take a break until she was earning her keep.
Fortune established her own company in 1825 to transport goods between the ferry ports and surrounding residences and hotels. Later, she set up a crude “wake-up call” system whereby she would warn guests at adjacent inns who would miss departing ships. As the town’s waterfront police officer, she was given the responsibility of protecting property and upholding law and order on the wharves and warehouses of Annapolis Royal.
In the early days of Annapolis Royal, she also implemented and kept curfews close to the wharves, upholding the law. She is well known for being the first Black police officer in Canada.
On February 20, 1864, Rose Fortune passed away. Albert Lewis took over the company after Fortune passed away, and family members kept the service going until 1980. In her honor, the Association of Black Law Enforcers established a scholarship.
Her descendant Daurene Lewis was elected mayor of Annapolis Royal in 1984, making history as the first Black woman to hold the position in Canada.