Canfield Roots

You'd never know it but the sleepy hamlet of Canfield in Southern Ontario has a fascinating history, one that's been hidden from view for years.

As Bill Douglas visits St. Catharines to learn more about freedom seekers in Ontario, his sister Betty Ann confronts her memories of Canfield. An abandoned family cemetery containing the gravesite of Harriet Tubman's niece attracts attention.

On February night in 1953, former Canfield resident Harry Lee was hung for murder in Hamilton. Seventy years later, former residents of Canfield reflect on the impact of Lee's hanging, and Betty Ann Newman grapples with her memories of Uncle Harry.

An estate sale in Houston, Texas, leads a collector to research an artist with a connection to an abandoned family cemetery in Canfield. An ancestor of Harriet Tubman's niece shares her family's remarkable story and link to this cemetery.

Frustrated over delays, a group of residents and descendants meet to discuss what to do over an abandoned family cemetery in Canfield, the final resting place of freedom seekers who settled in Canada in the mid-1800s.

As descendants of freedom seekers gather at an abandoned family cemetery to mark Emancipation Day, they reflect on the struggles and successes of their ancestors. Betty Ann Newman shares stories and photos of her family in Canfield with her grandchildren.