Peter Evander McKerrow

Peter Evander McKerrow was the first Afro-Caribbean-Canadian author and the first Black historian in Nova Scotia.

Early history
Peter Evander McKerrow was born in Antigua, British West Indies, on February 23, 1841.

A young British West Indies sailor, he arrived in Nova Scotia. Subsequently, he turned into a merchant and businessman in Halifax, where he worked in partnership with Thomas Fur Co. until 1894.

On February 9, 1863, he married Mary Thomas in Halifax.

In 1874, he became an active member of the African Baptist Church, acting as secretary in 1875 for thirty consecutive years.

His book "A Brief History of the Coloured Baptists of Nova Scotia, and Their First Organization as Churches, A.D. 1832" was published in 1895, which gave him the distinction of being the first Black historian of the province.

Death
McKerrow died from tuberculosis in Halifax, Nova Scotia on December 22, 1906.