Isaac Riley
Early Settler of Buxton

Isaac Riley was a slave in Perry County, Missouri. He escaped to Canada with his wife, Catherine, and their infant son, John.

Upon arriving in Canada the Riley’s lived in Windsor, soon Isaac accepted a job in Detroit to earn better wages. Isaac Riley then moved to St. Catherine’s, Canada West, where he earned 50 cents a day.

When Isaac and Catherine learned about the Elgin Settlement plans they moved their growing family (John, Jerome, James, and Addison) to Buxton. They camped in Reverend King’s barn waiting for his arrival to the settlement and greeted him on November 28, 1849.

The Riley’s settled on the Eleventh Concession, where they lived until 1876 when they left the settlement to homestead in Nebraska. (Pictured below is the Riley family in Nebraska.)