Mary Ann Shadd Cary

Born free in 1823 in Wilmington, Delaware, a slave state, Mary Ann Shadd was the eldest of thirteen children raised by activist parents whose home served as an Underground Railroad station. Educated by Quakers, she taught in the northeastern United States before relocating to Canada West (Ontario) in 1851, where she opened a racially integrated school for Black refugees.

In 1853, she founded The Provincial Freeman, becoming the first Black female newspaper publisher in North America and co-founding Canada's first anti-slavery newspaper. She remained active in the Underground Railroad even after the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 made helping freedom seekers more dangerous. After the Civil War began, she returned to the U.S. to recruit Black men for the Union Army, later settling in Washington, D.C., where she taught and became involved in the woman suffrage movement. In 1871, she attempted to register to vote in D.C. and was denied despite presenting proof of citizenship and residency; in 1876 she petitioned the National Woman Suffrage Association to include the signatures of 94 African American women in the Declaration of the Rights of Women. In 1883, she became one of the first Black women to complete a law degree, studying at Howard University.

Key contributions

• First Black female newspaper publisher in North America, founding The Provincial Freeman in 1853.
• Opened an integrated school for Black refugees in Canada West.
• Attempted to register to vote in Washington, D.C. in 1871 and documented her wrongful denial before a notary.
• Petitioned the National Woman Suffrage Association in 1876 with 94 African American women's signatures added to the Declaration of the Rights of Women.
• One of the first Black women to earn a law degree, completing her studies at Howard University in 1883.

Context

Cary's move to Canada reflected a broader pattern among free and formerly enslaved Black Americans seeking refuge from the Fugitive Slave Act, while her later voting-rights activism in Washington, D.C. shows how the passage of the Fifteenth Amendment did not resolve — and for Black women, arguably sharpened — the fight for suffrage.

In their spirit: If the door won't open, build a new one and hand out the keys.

About this set

Cary's card is one of six in Set 1B — Freedom's First Draft, part of the Lineage: Origin Fire digital postcard collection. Freedom's First Draft gathers women who wrote, testified, and organized the first records of their own freedom.

Shop the Freedom's First Draft set or get the Complete Collection (all 12 cards).

Sources: National Park Service — The Places of Mary Ann Shadd Cary; Encyclopedia Britannica — Mary Ann Shadd.