For Annie Davis and Annie Forster
Help me search the meaning
Written in my life,
Help me stand again
Tall and mighty.
— Rita Joe, “Expect nothing else from me,” 1978
Contents
Foreword by Julie Payette
Introduction
A
Mary Electa Adams A New Wave in Education
Sally Ainse She Fought the Law and the Law Won
Maud Allan The Dancer
Elizabeth Arden Behind the Red Door
Helen Armstrong Wild Woman of the West
B
Elizabeth Bagshaw Should Parenthood Be Planned?
Mary “Bonnie” Baker Bonnie at the Bat
Catherine and Mary Barclay Adventures in Hostelling
Frances Barkley Bound for Uncharted Waters
Robertine Barry A Feminist Rebel
Abigail Becker The Heroine of Long Point
Margret Benedictsson The Power of Freyja
Myra Bennett Florence Nightingale of the North
Mary Bibb The Not-So-Promised Land
Georgina Binnie-Clark Homesteads for Women?
Lucie Blackburn Quest for Freedom
Fern Blodgett Sparks on the Lucky Mosdale
Esther Brandeau Secret Identities
Rosemary Brown Brown Is Beautiful
Jennie Butchart A Legacy of Blooms
C
Ethel Catherwood The Saskatoon Lily
Victoria Cheung Between Two Worlds
Helen Creighton The First Lady of Folklore
D
Charlotte and Cornelia De Grassi The Original De Grassi Kids
Demasduit A Beothuk Captive
Flora MacDonald Denison Born a Rebel
Viola Desmond On Trial for Being Black
Pauline Donalda The Prima Donna
Onésime Dorval The Lady in Black
Allie Vibert Douglas An Astronomical Success
E
Mary Two-Axe Early Set My Sisters Free
Sarah Emma Edmonds Just Call Me Franklin
F
Leone Norwood Farrell Fighting Polio
Faith Fenton The Secret Life of Alice Freeman
Joan Bamford Fletcher Heroine in Sumatra
Lillian Freiman Mother of the Jewish People in Canada
G
Alexandrine Gibb Getting Girls in the Game
H
Hilwie Hamdon Building Al Rashid
Hattie Rhue Hatchett The Soldiers’ Song
Satinder Hawkins Trailblazer
Prudence Heward The Maverick Painter
Esther Hill The Invasion of Architecture
Lotta Hitschmanova The Atomic Mosquito
Helen Hogg The Stars Belong to Everyone
Ann Hulan The Queen of St. George’s Bay
I
May Irwin The Queen of Comedy
J
Eliza M. Jones Making Bitter Butter Better
K
Frances Oldham Kelsey Thalidomide Heroine
Lady Sara Kirke The Newfoundland Planter
Muriel Kitagawa Betrayed
Elsie Knott The Chief
Molly Kool Captain Kool
L
Marguerite de la Rocque Castaway
Marguerite Vincent Lawinonkié “The Woman Skilled at Needlework”
Florence Lawrence The Girl of a Thousand Faces
Marie-Henriette LeJeune-Ross The Healer
Irma LeVasseur A Pioneering Pediatrician
Frances Loring The Grande Dame of Canadian Sculpture
Laura Muntz Lyall A New Woman
M
Anna Markova A Doukhobor Martyr
Clara Brett Martin A Toppled Legal Heroine
Frances Gertrude McGill The Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan
Dorothea Mitchell The Lumberjack Who Made Movies
Sophie Morigeau The Trader 250
Kirkina Mucko A Labrador Legend
O
Marion Orr Born to Fly
Yoko Oya A Fujin Pioneer
P
Madeleine Parent Walking the Picket Lines
Esther Pariseau The Designing Nun
Elizabeth Parker Mountain Pilgrim
Kathleen Parlow Lady of the Golden Bow
Marie Anne Payzant Prisoner of War
Lady Mary Pellatt Guiding Light
Q
Nellie Yip Quong Granny Yip
R
Ada Annie Rae-Arthur Cougar Annie
Hilda Ranscombe She Shoots, She Scores
Kathleen Rice The Prospector
Marie Marguerite Rose From Slavery to Freedom
Madeleine de Roybon d’Allonne The Lady of Cataraqui
Katherine Ryan The Other Klondike Kate
S
Catherine Schubert Lady Overlander
May Sexton A Foremother of Equality
Norma Shearer From Montreal to MGM
Nell Shipman The Girl from God’s Country
Angela Sidney Tagish and Tlingit Tales
Charlotte Small Woman of the Paddle Song
Elizabeth Smellie The Colonel
Lois Smith Bringing Ballet to Canada
Ethel Stark The Conductor Who Built a Great Symphony Orchestra
Anna Swan Walking Tall
T
Émilie Tremblay The Sourdough from Lac-St-Jean
W
Mary Schäffer Warren Mountain Woman
Maud Watt The Angel of Hudson Bay
Esther Wheelwright From Captive to Mother Superior
Charlotte Whitton The Unforgettable Madam Mayor
Mona Wilson A Great Human Dynamo
Florence Wyle The Sculpting Life on Glenrose
Y
Letitia Youmans Fighting the Gigantic Crime of Crimes
Notes
Selected Bibliography
Acknowledgements
Foreword
by Julie Payette
Can you imagine running a 100-metre dash, starting 20 metres behind the other competitors, and remaining convinced that you can win the gold medal? Picture yourself climbing Mount Everest in a skirt, petticoat, and bonnet. How do you stay confident in the fact that your chances of making it to the summit and back safely are as good as anybody else’s?
And how do you maintain the steadfast belief that you can finish at the top of your pilot-training class even though the standard issue flight gear does not fit and you need a telephone book behind your back just to reach the rudder pedals?
These are the kinds of images that come to mind reading the stories of the exceptional women Merna Forster introduces in 100 More Canadian Heroines, the sequel to 100 Canadian Heroines. Beating the odds while chasing a dream has been the lot of many women throughout history. Their stories are rarely told, let alone remembered. But not in this book! Defying probabilities and presumptions, the women featured here have managed to follow their passions and fulfill their ambitions, even if it meant shaking up the prevailing social order. They have marked — and made — Canadian history, and their stories are riveting.
In 100 More Canadian Heroines, Forster presents a collection of short and lively biographies that celebrate the talent and achievements of women from all walks of life. Their stories range from the time before
Julie Payette, prior to the launch of mission STS-127.
Canadian Space Agency
the European conquest to the present, touching the worlds of science, health, sports, politics, war and peace, exploration, business, social reform, arts, entertainment, and public service. Some of these women are well-known, but most are not. Some were affluent, born or married into privilege, but many were poor or faced other unfavourable odds. Some o
perated behind powerful and supportive male partners; many despite them. Some chose to remain single to circumvent society’s historical requirement that a woman give up her career upon marriage. All of these women rose above the preconceived notions associated with their condition.
This pool of trailblazers is impressive. Meet journalists, artists, entrepreneurs, settlers, civil rights advocates, war veterans, scientists, Olympic athletes, and a Native chief. Despite their varied backgrounds, it is striking to see how much these women have in common in their determination and fortitude. Stubborn, resourceful, creative, and courageous, all are very inspiring. After reading their tales, it is humbling to realize how little we know about the women who have contributed to Canada’s development.
The road to gender equality in modern societies has been long and arduous, dotted with many setbacks. Numerous issues still exist and not all women have benefited from recent advances in employment equity, politics, and social relations. Women remain largely responsible for childcare, domestic chores, and unpaid work in the community, and women who are employed earn on average far less than men. Gender discrimination affects women at all stages of life, and women are more likely to suffer the most poverty.
Much progress is still required, particularly in developing countries, to ensure that women enjoy equal access to wealth, education, health services, employment, and political positions, but there is no doubt that we live in an era where opportunities for women are unsurpassed. A Canadian girl born today can be all she wants to be. With an unprecedented ability to direct, influence, and effect change, her possibilities are infinite. There is no position unattainable, no field out of reach, no task too difficult, and no goal too high for the ambitious, the bold, the tenacious, and the passionate. Indeed, with a bit of effort, even the Earth can be at her feet.
Dare to dream.
Julie Payette
Canadian Astronaut
Introduction
The first and only great Canadian woman I remember hearing about as a child was Nellie McClung. She knew my grandmother, Grace Latimer, a pioneer schoolteacher who died in her thirties in Calgary and left seven young children. But no stories of how she knew the famous Nellie. Many women left few records of their lives, and even those that did are often forgotten. This book is a tribute to great women in Canadian history as well as the persistent researchers, family members, filmmakers, and others who’ve worked to keep their memories alive.
When I began doing radio and television interviews after the release of volume one in the Canadian Heroines series, I was inundated with suggestions for the “next book” — before some readers had even had the chance to track down the first one. Both men and women sent congratulatory emails, lists of names of notable Canadian women, and packages with newpaper clippings, photographs, and a variety of other material. One reader wrote, “I am a man and I loved your book. As odd as this may seem I am inspired by the content and can’t help but wonder why as Canadians we know so little about these heroines that have altered our lives in so many ways?”
His point was reinforced by the contest launched by CBC Television to select the greatest Canadian in our history, the results of which were determined just as 100 Canadian Heroines hit bookstores. People across the country named ten men (including colourful sportscaster Don Cherry) as the final contenders for The Greatest Canadian and only six women made the top fifty. These included historical figures Laura Secord, Nellie McClung, and Mary Maxwell of the Baha’i faith, along with popular singers Shania Twain (the highest ranked female at number eighteen), Avril Lavigne, and Céline Dion. Presumably, many people who voted weren’t familiar with the countless other women in Canadian history they could have added.
As a result of the overwhelming response to the first volume, this book presents another 100 Canadian heroines who I believe should be recognized and celebrated for their impressive achievements.
Who qualifies as a heroine? I like the concept of heroines proposed by the acclaimed legal scholar Constance Backhouse, who suggested a definition that “captures the lives of women who represent resistance, strength, courage, persistence, and fortitude”[1] as they face oppression or other challenges — a definition that is inclusive of the experiences of a wide variety of women and does not require perfection.
The book features the stories of a selection of historical heroines from many periods of Canadian history. You’ll find notables from diverse ethnic backgrounds from coast to coast. I’ve included women who made significant achievements in different fields and demonstrated amazing courage and perseverance — from Beothuk captive Demasduit to the biochemist behind the polio vaccine, Canada’s first female chief, the only woman leader in the Winnipeg Strike, feminist activist Madeleine Parent, our first prima ballerina, and the best dairywoman in North America. The profile of the adventurous goldseeker Catherine Schubert was written by Emily Zheng, the winner of a heroines essay contest for students sponsored by Dundurn.
Many of the women profiled were born in Canada and lived here throughout their lives. But in this nation of immigrants, other notable women settled here, some passed through, and some moved to other countries to pursue their dreams. I’ve included Canadian heroines who made important contributions here in Canada, as well as those who made their mark on the international stage. Sadly, many of these inspiring women have been largely forgotten — even buried in unmarked graves.[2] I hope that this volume will help rescue them from obscurity.
Journalist Andrew Cohen once wrote, “In celebrating ourselves, modesty is no virtue and moxie is no vice.”[3] In a nation that is often reluctant to name heroes and heroines, I hope that the achievements of the remarkable women in this book will be more widely recognized. Some academic studies have shown that while people identify more male than female public heroes, just reading about the exploits of women increases the likelihood of recognizing female heroism.[4]
We can all play a role in celebrating notable women in Canadian history — from featuring them in educational programs in classrooms, libraries, museums, and historic sites to organizing special events during Women’s History Month each October. We can make movies about amazing women, suggest commemorative stamps, or encourage art galleries to collect — and display — artworks produced by talented female artists. Right now, less than 10 percent of the collection of the National Gallery of Canada is attributed to women.[5]
And wouldn’t you like to see some female worthies join the famous men immortalized in stone? The tenacious Frances Wright and the Famous 5 Foundation engineered a campaign that circumvented the rules for statuary on Parliament Hill. In October 2000, the figures of the Famous Five became the first females (aside from Queen Elizabeth II) to stand tall with male parliamentarians.
You can also nominate someone to be recognized by the Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada (responsible for commemoration of people, places, and events of national historic significance). Since the 1990s, the board has been trying to include more women in the system, which in the early years focused on commemorating white Anglo-Saxon men (often military and political leaders perceived as nation builders); but it currently recognizes just seventy-six women as national historic persons along with 567 men.[6] In Canada there is still a reluctance to give heroic status to individual women and a preference to recognize them collectively, as nurses or pioneers for example.[7]
This book tells the remarkable true stories of 100 inspiring trailblazers — great Canadians to be celebrated.
Mary E. Adams, graduation from the Wesleyan Ladies’ College.
Hamilton Public Library
A New Wave in Education
Mary Electa Adams
1823–1898
She revolutionized the education system for women, setting the stage for universities to open their doors to them for the first time.
Since the primary role of girls in the Victorian era was to become wives and mothers it was expected they should only be taught “ornamental” subjects like art, mu
sic, and needlework. Educator Mary Electa Adams dared to suggest otherwise, insisting that females learn strenuous subjects just like male students. She introduced a curriculum in the “female branch” of the Wesleyan Academy at Mount Allison in Sackville, New Brunswick, which included science, mathematics, moral philosophy, and Latin.
Women were barred from attending university when Mary was growing up, but she was raised in a Methodist family that believed in the value of higher education for both girls and boys. The daughter of Loyalist parents and a descendant of American president John Adams, Mary was born in Westbury, Lower Canada (now Quebec), in 1823. The family soon moved to Upper Canada (Ontario), where Rufus and Maria Adams initially taught their five children at home. Though they were a family of modest means, both parents had a classical education and Mrs. Adams received some higher education at an American college.
When she was seventeen, Mary began attending the same institution as her mother, the Montpelier Academy in Vermont. There she studied such subjects as mathematics and classics. Mary continued her education at the Cobourg Ladies’ Seminary, where she earned the diploma Mistress of Liberal Arts and then became an instructor. When the school moved to Toronto and became the Adelaide Academy, Mary continued to teach and study there.
Soon recognized as a skillful educator, Mary was invited to become the lady principal at Picton Academy in 1848. She subsequently became the chief preceptress at four notable ladies’ colleges: the Albion Seminary in Michigan, Mount Allison Academy (Sackville, New Brunswick), Wesleyan Ladies’ College (Hamilton), and the Ontario Ladies’ College (Whitby, Ontario). In 1872, feeling renewed after two years of travel in Italy, she established the Brookhurst Academy at a site near Victoria College in Ontario. Writing in her diary about her enthusiasm for opening her own school for girls, Mary also noted what she would need to succeed: “Courage! Patience! Hope! Perseverance!”[1]
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