Richard Preston (clergyman)

He is believed to have been born into slavery in Virginia but managed to gain an education and save enough to buy his freedom in 1816.

Discovering his mother, who he had not seen for many years, free and alive in Preston, Nova Scotia, he was so moved that he took the name of her community.

Preston was trained as a minister in England and met many of the leading voices in the abolitionist movement that helped to get the Slavery Abolition Act 1833 passed by the British Parliament.

When Preston returned to Nova Scotia, he became the president of the Abolitionist movement in Halifax.

He was designated a person of National Historic Significance by Parks Canada in 2005 for his religious leadership, community building and contributions to the struggle against slavery.