Mary Ann Shadd Cary (1823-1893) was an educator, abolitionist, author, publisher, and journalist.
Born free in Delaware, Mary Ann Shadd Cary continued the activism of her parents who lived in a safe house along the Underground Railroad. Mary Ann Shadd Cary was the first woman in Canada known to have published a newspaper, The Provincial Freeman. She also established a racially integrated school for Black refugees in Sandwich. During the Civil War, Mary Ann Shadd Cary was a recruitment agent for the union army. Mary Ann Shadd Cary was recognized as a Person of National Historic Significance by the Government of Canada in 1994.
It was at the North American Convention of Colored Freemen that Mary Ann Shadd Cary was convinced to move to Canada West.
