Thomas F. Cary, Barber and Husband

Among the First Free Black Barbers of Toronto

Sources: In the mid-19th century, the natural shore of Lake Ontario was at Front Street. Over the decades, almost one kilometre of landfill has been used to extend the shoreline. Picture from Toronto Public Library Digital Archive


Barbers in Toronto Directory, 1856

Barbers in the city catered to the affluent white men in the city.

Source: Might's Greater Toronto City Directory, 1856


Ad for Ice Delivery Offered by Cary and Richards, 1855

Ice was harvested from frozen bodies of water, transported, and sold for use in households and businesses to keep perishable foods cool. 

Source: The Globe May 3, 1855


Provincial Freeman March 22, 1856

Barbering, or hair dressing, was a respectable, middling class occupation for Black men in the mid-to-late 1800s. However, the job was viewed as a low-status position by whites, due to its history in slavery.  

Source: Provincial Freeman March 22, 1856


Thomas Cary Ad, 1856

Barbering, or hairdressing, was a respectable, middling class occupation for Black men in the mid-to-late 1800s. Barbers in the city catered to the affluent white men in the city. However, the job was viewed as a low-status position by whites, due to its history in slavery.  

Source: Provincial Freeman, 1856

Text version of the audio

Thomas F. Cary, Mary Ann Shadd Cary’s husband, whom she married in 1856, is listed in the 1857 directory as a barber and perfumer at this site. At the time in history, many barbers in many Canadian cities and towns, like Toronto, were predominately Black. They cut and shaved the hair primarily of white middle and upper-class men. Thomas Cary also operated an ice business with fellow Black resident Richard B. Richards.

Extract of
Tracing Mary Ann Shadd Cary's Footsteps in Mid-19th C. Black Toronto

Tracing Mary Ann Shadd Cary's Footsteps in Mid-19th C. Black Toronto image circuit

Presented by : Dr. Natasha Henry-Dixon, York University
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