Mary Ann Shadd Cary

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Mary Ann Shadd Cary

Black and white portrait photograph of a woman in 19th-century dress — Portrait of Mary Ann Shadd Cary, date unknown. Courtesy of Library and Archives Canada.

An issue of The Provincial Freeman newspaper accompanied by an enlarged article. The article is titled, “ARREST AND RESCUE OF A FUGITIVE SLAVE IN MILWAUKEE” and discusses the details of Glover’s capture in Missouri. — The abolitionist newspaper “The Provincial Freeman” with an article detailing Joshua Glover’s capture and escape, Toronto, 1854. Image: Our Digital World.

An illustration of a man who stands in the centre wearing a bow tie and dark long coat. Behind him hang drapes. At the bottom of the illustration is the text "Henry Bibb" and a smaller illustration that depicts one man running away from another man. — Henry Bibb, circa 1847. Courtesy of the Harry T. Peters “America on Stone” Lithography Collection at the Smithsonian Institute.

Mary Ann Shadd

Near this site on King Street East during the 1850s, Mary Ann Shadd Cary published The Provincial Freeman, an anti-slavery newspaper.

Mary Ann Shadd was born into a free and prominent abolitionist family in Delaware on October 9, 1823. Her father, Abraham, was a shoemaker as well as a leader within Delaware’s free Black community. Her family was also involved in the Underground Railroad, using their house as a stop along the way in order to help freedom seekers reach safer destinations.

Due to the lack of educational opportunities for Black people in the early 1800s, Shadd’s parents moved to Pennsylvania, a noted abolitionist state, where their children would have a better chance at receiving an education. Inspired by her family’s own activism and community involvement, Shadd moved back to Delaware when she was only 16 years old and opened a school for Black children.

A Move to Canada

By 1850, Mary Ann Shadd had been teaching for over a decade in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. It was around this time that she was contacted by Henry and Mary Bibb, the founders of the newspaper Voice of the Fugitive, which advocated for the abolition of slavery. Living in what is now Windsor, Ontario, they wanted Shadd to use her teaching skills in Canada.

1850 was also the year that the second version of the Fugitive Slave Act was put into effect. This act made it possible for federal agents and deputized citizens to capture those who had escaped enslavement, often selling them back into slavery.

In 1851, Shadd and her father attended the North American Convention of Colored Freemen which was organized by Henry Bibb at St. Lawrence Hall. The convention discussed the conditions of the Fugitive Slave Act and encouraged emigration to Canada. Shadd was deeply inspired by the convention. It also gave her further incentive to agree to Bibb’s request and in 1851, she moved to Ontario where she opened a private school for the children of freedom seekers. Although she received a minimal salary, Mary Ann Shadd was dedicated to giving her students a thorough education focusing on subjects such as reading, geography, history, and botany.

Establishing the Provincial Freeman

After a dispute with the Bibbs, Shadd decided to establish her own newspaper. The first edition of The Provincial Freeman was published on March 24, 1853 and began publishing weekly in Toronto the following year. Through this achievement, Mary Ann Shadd became the first Black woman in North America to establish and edit a newspaper. Through her leadership The Provincial Freeman served as an anti-slavery newspaper that strongly advocated for Canada West (now Ontario) to be a place for Black people to settle. The newspaper also advocated for women’s rights and was an uplifting space for Black women to showcase their accomplishments.

From 1854 to 1855, Shadd published the newspaper from a building that used to be located at this site. Unfortunately, the newspaper faced many obstacles and struggled to stay afloat. After much effort to keep it going, The Provincial Freeman stopped publishing in 1860.

Later Life

In 1856, Mary Ann Shadd married Thomas F. Cary, a local Toronto barber. Only four years later, Cary passed away, around the same time that The Provincial Freeman went out of business. Shadd decided to return to the United States where she helped recruit Black soldiers into the Union army during the American Civil War. In Washington, D.C., she studied law and became one of the first Black women to earn a law degree.

Pushing back against the limits, expectations, and discrimination that she faced due to her race and gender, Mary Ann Shadd remains a key figure in Black history in Canada and the United States. With all of her accomplishments and hard work she made space not just for herself but for many other Black women who would follow in her footsteps.

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