Evelyn (Foster) McCurdy’s grandfather, Levi Foster, was born on March 29, 1811 in Stark County, Ohio, before moving to Perrysburg, Ohio, a known stop on the Underground Railroad located south of Toledo. In 1838, Levi moved his family to Amhertsburg, Ontario where he opened a livery stable. Active in the anti-slavery debates, Levi helped to organize the True Band Society of Amherstburg to assist freedom seekers who fled slavery in the United States to Canada. Upon Levi’s death, in April of 1875, Levi’s sons, including Evelyn’s father, George H. Foster, continued to run the horse stable.

Sources

Levi Foster Obiturary. (1875, April). Amherstburg Echo. Retrieved from http://tubman.info.yorku.ca/educational-resources/breaking-the-chains/the-detroit-river-essex-county-and-the-underground-railroad/levi-foster/levi-foster-primary-documents/

Colored Celebration in Sandwich. (1867, August 5). Chicago Tribune, p. 2

Evelyn (Foster) McCurdy standing to the left at the Foster farm in Amherstburg.

By 1921, the Foster homestead was in a state of disrepair due to death and, in turn, loss of income. Evelyn’s mother, Sarah (Smith) Foster died in 1899, leaving her husband to raise his young family on his own on the farm. Prior to Sarah’s death, George H. Foster, was working as a porter on the Great Lakes fleet. In 1902, George passed away, leaving Evelyn and her younger sisters to live with their Aunt Gertrude “Gertie” Bush. The McCurdy Family’s journey to the Foster Farm in Amherstburg, Ontario in the autumn 1921 was to aid in the home’s restoration.

For more information on the life of George H. Foster review page one of the December 19, 1902 issue of the Amherstburg Echo.

Source

Iron Steamship Onoko. (1882, May 1). Buffalo Morning Express, p. 2.

The Fosters (left to right): Evelyn (Mrs. Leroy McCurdy), Sarah (Mrs. James R. Lee), Philo Smith, Gertrude Bush (Mrs. William), George H. Jr, and Madeline (Mrs. John E. Murrell, DDS).

Following in their father’s footsteps, the male children of George H. and Sarah J. Foster worked as cooks in the shipping industry, one of the few jobs available to those of African descent within the Great Lakes Fleet. Eventually, members of the Foster Family would rise to the level of 1st Steward.

Sources

Miller, A. (1999). Tin stackers : the history of the Pittsburgh Steamship Company. Detroit, MI: Wayne State University Press.

Various articles found in the Amherstburg Echo and Echo Soundings.

Working for the Pittsburgh Steamship Co. and its major receiving port in Conneaut, Ohio, Roy’s work on the Great Lakes would keep him away from his family for lengthy periods of time. At the time when this class picture was taken of Merle (1926), the strain caused by his frequent absences was too much, and Evelyn filed for divorce.

Source

Ashtabula County Court of Common Pleas. (1926). Case No. 2231

Despite the divorce of his parents, and the impeding economic depression that would sweep the county, the McCurdy Family remained in Conneaut. The family survived on the child support awarded Evelyn by the Court in the divorce, Merle’s mother supplementing the family’s income worked as a seamstress.

Source

Bureau of the US Census. (1930). Fifteenth Census of the United States, Population Schedule-Ohio-Conneaut. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office.

A 1931 graduate of Conneaut High School, according to The Tattler yearbook, Merle was an active student and participated in a number of extracurricular activities including Glee Club, Football, Senior Boys Club and Track. The Senior Class predicted that Merle would fulfill his dream to become a police officer, “where the city’s Mayor would declare him a hero for his crime fighting skills” (p. 81).

Source

Conneaut High School. (1931). The Tattler. Conneaut, OH.