Wilson Ruffin Abbott

Wilson Ruffin Abbott (1801–1876) was an American-born African Canadian and successful businessman and landowner in Toronto, Ontario. He was the father of Anderson Ruffin Abbott, Canada's first African physician.
Born to a Scotch-Irish father and a free West African mother in Richmond, Virginia, Abbott left home when he was aged 15 to work as a steward on a Mississippi River steamer.
He married Ellen Toyer, and moved to Mobile, Alabama, where he opened a general grocery store, but left in 1834 after receiving a warning that his store was to be pillaged. In late 1835 or early 1836, he moved to Toronto, Canada, where he prospered as a businessman.
His son Anderson Ruffin Abbott became the first African Canadian to practice medicine.