The Clara Ford Affair: Race, Rumour, and the Shooting of Frank Westwood

Episode 400: In October 1894, 18-year-old Frank Westwood was shot on the doorstep of his Parkdale home. The killing shocked Toronto and sparked a frantic search for a suspect. Weeks later, a mixed-race tailor named Clara Ford walked into a Toronto police station and was quickly accused of the murder. With no weapon, no motive, and a disputed confession, her trial exposed deep racial bias and divided the city. This episode looks at Clara’s life, the investigation that targeted her, and the aftermath of the trial that captivated Canada’s largest city.

Episode Sources:
Clara at the Door with a Revolver — Carolyn Whitzman (UBC Press, 2023)
Toronto Public Library – Digitized Toronto newspapers
Newspapers.com – Historical Toronto press coverage
City of Toronto Archives
Archives of Ontario – Mercer Reformatory & judicial records
Race on Trial: Black Defendants in Ontario’s Criminal Courts, 1858–1958 — Barrington Walker
Afua Cooper – Black Canadian history resources
DEWART, HERBERT HARTLEY – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
JOHNSTON, EBENEZER FORSYTH BLACKIE – Dictionary of Canadian Biography
Death in the Queen City: Clara Ford on Trial, 1895 By Parick Brode
A blood-drinking monster? When this Toronto woman was accused of murder, the newspapers of 1894 went wild
A sensational Toronto murder from 1894 – Bill Gladstone Genealogy
Transcript: The Story of a Black Woman Accused of Murder in 1894 | Feb 15, 2023 | TVO Today
Interview: Carolyn Whitzman on the archival story behind novel Clara at the Door  – MOBA

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