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 the city catered to the affluent white men in the city.
Source: Might's Greater Toronto City Directory, 1856
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
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
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
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.