Portrait of a collector
Over the course of his lifetime, Alvin D. McCurdy created one of the most valuable collections of Black history material in the province.
Born in 1916 in Amherstburg, Ontario, McCurdy was a professional carpenter, historian and genealogist. He collected dozens of newspaper clippings and postcards relating to Southern Ontario and the northern US, many textual records (such as research files, scrapbooks and correspondence) and about 3000 photographs of church activities, social and cultural events, and friends and family members. McCurdy passed away in 1989 and his records were purchased by the Archives from his estate in 1990.
A man of many talents
McCurdy was a long-time member of the Carpenters and Joiners Union and a Freemason. He was also an active member of the Baptist church and supporter of anti-discrimination groups such as the Amherstburg Community Club and the Amherstburg Progressive Association of Coloured People.
Building a bridge of memory
“Friends [. . .] you or I cannot build a bridge back over the years to retrace certain instances of life, but a bridge of memory can be constructed within our minds and souls, to span the years and grasp, out of the past, certain accomplishments that may be utilized for the betterment of ourselves and for all mankind as a whole [. . .].” – Alvin D. McCurdy
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Black Histories in Ontario: The Alvin D. McCurdy Collection
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From slavery to settlement
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