Cumberland museum celebrates ancestor of Rocky Johnson
African Heritage Month recognizes the Life and Times of Maria Sickles
He’s best known for his success in Hollywood and a wrestling ring, but now Dwyane ‘The Rock’ Johnson’s family’s connection to the Maritimes, and their journey from slavery to celebrity, is on full display in Amherst.
The Rock’s father was the late Rocky Johnson, a former professional wrestler who passed away suddenly in Florida in January 2020.
While Rocky Johnson’s connection to Amherst is well documented, few know that his ancestors, and those of his son, The Rock, were born in West Africa in the 1760s and made their way to Prince Edward Island as slaves and eventually crossed the Northumberland Strait to northern Nova Scotia.
One of his ancestors, Maria Sickles, is featured in a new exhibit at the Cumberland County Museum as part of African Heritage Month.
Local artist Darlene Strong said the exhibition of panels is a unique, compelling historical account of significant African Canadian history accompanied by a 32-page colour catalogue featuring the Life and Times of Maria Sickles.
“The journey from slavery to celebrity is an intriguing story full of mystery, musings and memoirs,” Strong said, adding the exhibit was the co-operative effort of several people and supported by Communities, Culture and Heritage.
“It started as a question by a ninth-generation descendent, Jaxon Cooke, who wanted to better understand his connection to The Rock ...”
The Rock’s films have grossed more than $10.5 billion worldwide and he was a wrestling star and perennial champion with the WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment Inc).
Strong was first introduced to Sickles nearly 30 years ago when her late father, Donald Cooke, talked about a monument to Dembo Sickles on P.E.I.
“Just before he died in 1992, Donald, who was Jaxon’s grandfather, posed the question about our connection to Dembo Sickles and that’s what got us on the trail,” she said. “It’s very well documented and information for the exhibit came from several people working together.”
The journey commenced with Dembo Sickles, who was born in Benin, West Africa in 1762. Research has shown he was the son of an African chief.
“Dembo said he was dragged from a tree stump with a hook and taken into captivity by slave traders,” said Strong, who is also a descendant of Sickles. “Immigration papers from the United States confirm he was sold to Capt. William Creed of P.E.I. in 1785.”
Strong said Dembo served his master faithfully, bought his freedom and eventually successfully petitioned for a grant of land on Lot 59 in 1803. He married Polly, the governor’s housekeeper, and they had nine children. He died on Nov. 11, 1845.
His granddaughter, Maria, was born at Three Rivers, P.E.I in 1847. She eventually made her way to Nova Scotia in the mid-1800s and worked as a housekeeper for the Hickman family.
She and her husband bought a house and settled in presentday Brookdale in December 1875. Four generations later, the home remains in the same family and has been used as an informal meeting place through the years.
Maria Cooke (nee Sickles) died in 1930, but one of her direct descendants was James Henry Ashley Bowles, the father of Rocky Johnson.
“The exhibit is a tribute to Rocky Johnson,” Strong said. “Sheila Johnson sent greetings from the U.S. and said Rocky’s heart would be full of appreciation for this tribute.”
Rocky Johnson, born Wade Bowles, left Amherst at age 16 for Toronto, where he trained as a boxer. He switched the wrestling in 1964 and competed for nearly three decades with the National Wrestling Alliance and the former
World Wrestling Federation.
He retired in 1991 and continued to make periodic appearances at WWF and WWE events before being elected to the WWE Hall of Fame in 2008.
She said the exhibit also complements the provincial theme, Through Our Eyes, and offers a compelling dayto-day view of Maria’s life with photos, folklores, traditions, lifestyles and artifacts including industry, farm life, fashions, furnishings and information of the legacy “of an extraordinary woman with high ideals.”
John Wales, a curator of the Cumberland County Museum, said the exhibit helps make connections from the past.
“Most history museums for the longest time were about rich white man’s history. We all need to pivot and realize there was a lot more to society than wealthy white men.”
Wales said historic notes, such as the Four Fathers of Confederation, are still important but it’s also important to recognize diversity, including the Indigenous and African Nova Scotian communities.
“The African Nova Scotian presence in Cumberland County goes back more than 250 years,” Wales said. “When we think of Blacks in Nova Scotia we think of Shelburne, or Africville or Preston. There are many more than that and Cumberland County had a large population. Unfortunately, it’s all been forgotten.”