McCurdy’s years of gleaning, sifting, sorting and filing provide an enduring legacy for all those interested in the black experience in Ontario. He worked to preserve the heritage of Ontario’s black community; and as he became well known for his efforts, people began to send him their family photos, so that their relatives would be included in McCurdy’s historical archives. Unfortunately, many of those individuals were unidentified; and they remain so, despite McCurdy’s best efforts. Their luminous images are silent and mysterious. Who were these ladies in the studio portraits, and who were these men going off to war in their uniforms? We may never know, but their expressions, their clothes, and their surroundings continue to record their role in our collective history.

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Unidentified woman, [ca. 1890]
Alvin D. McCurdy fonds
Reference Code: F 2076-16-4-7
Archives of Ontario, I0024787

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Unidentified woman, [ca. 1890]
Alvin D. McCurdy fonds
Reference Code: F 2076-16-4-7
Archives of Ontario, I0024789

The people in McCurdy’s collection represent the full spectrum of his world: teachers and students, ministers and congregations, doctors, nurses and lawyers, homemakers, shopkeepers, soldiers and farmers. McCurdy’s own father, George, worked on the lake ships, one of the most important industries of early 20th century Ontario.io.

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Theodore Simons, [ca. 1945]
Alvin D. McCurdy fonds
Reference Code: F 2076-16-1-15
Archives of Ontario, I0024862

There is enduring value in Alvin McCurdy’s assemblage of documents, newspaper clippings, ephemera and photographs, along with his own contribution of notes, index cards and commentary. While so much of history is based on conjecture, archival collections, such as Mr. McCurdy’s, provide undeniable and concrete evidence of the rich and varied heritage of the black people who settled in Ontario’s south-western tip. The collection also shows us, yet again, how important it is to keep and document one’s own precious family history, which ultimately adds to the collective memory of our Province. Alvin McCurdy’s tireless efforts will never cease to enrich us all.

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