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Copyright © 1998-2023  Dawn E. Monroe. All rights reserved 

 ISBN: 0-9736246-0-4

Dentists                                   
Grace Elizabeth Armstrong Born 1867?, New Zealand. Died January 5, 1960, Regina, Saskatchewan. Grace graduated from Otage University, Dundin, New Zealand.  In 1908 she immigrated to Regina, Saskatchewan with her younger sister, Nora, a graduate nurse sho became one of the first public health nurses in the city. Dr. Grace Armstrong opened a private practice in the city. During the First World War she became a public School Dentist serving 1917 through 1935. She supported women's suffrage and was active in several woman's organizations including the University Women's Club and the Women's Canadian Club. She was also a member of the Natural Historical Society and the Society for prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Source; Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2022) 
Emma  Casgrain 3947 née Gaudreau. Born June 1861, Montmagny, Quebec. Died 1934. As a young woman she was educated by the Ursuline Sisters. In 1879 she married Dr. Henri-Edmond Casgrain (1846-1912) a dental surgeon, inventor, and alderman in Quebec City. Emma worked and trained with her husband in his dental practice. She graduated from the Dental College of the Province of Quebec (now part of McGill University of Dentistry) in 1898 and became the first woman in Quebec to be officially admitted to the profession of Dentistry. She continued her practice until 1920. Quebec City placed a  plaque on the house where she lived in recognition of her achievement. (2022)
Louise Olive Cole        0001

Born Cobourg, Ontario. Louise attended Winnipeg public schools and secondary schools and the before earning a degree in dentistry from the University of Manitoba. She went on to earn a dental degree from the Dental College at Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois, USA then did postgraduate work at the Dewey School of Orthodontia in New York City, USA. She returned to Winnipeg to work as a dental surgeon. She was a member of the Winnipeg Dental Society, Women’s Canadian Club, and the University Women’s Club where she served as President in 1934-1936. She was also a member of Omicron Kappa Epsilon of Northwestern University, Delta Sigma Phi Sorority, and American Orthodontia Society. (2021)

Annie Sadie MacKenzie 3948 Born in Nova Scotia. Died 1941, Toronto, Ontario. Annie earned her Bachelor of Arts degree at Dalhousie University, Halifax, where she earned an Avery Prize in 1911 for distinction in physics, political economy, history, and philosophy.  She continued her education with post-graduate studies at the University of Washington, U.S.A. Relocating to Vancouver, British Columbia she taught high school of several years. Relocating once again, she attended the Dental School of Ontario in Toronto graduating in 1922. Dr. MacKenzie then moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba to run her dental clinic until 1930.  Closing her clinic she spent two years in scientific research in biological chemistry at the University of Toronto. She is known to have practiced privately in Toronto for the five years leading up to her death. Source: A Real Girl and a Real Dentist: Ontario Women Dental Graduates of the 1920's by Tracey L. Adams online (accessed 2022)
Arrabelle MacKenzie-McCallum    3949 Born March 22, 1895, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Died March 28, 1984. When she was eleven she lost a leg after infection from stepping on a rusty nail. Not to be held back she used a wooden leg, Emelyn Laura Mackenzie (1891-1977) and after primary school attended Sydney Academy in Cape Breton. Arrabelle then taught school for a year on the Canadian prairies. Back in Nova Scotia in 1914 she attended Dalhousie University with her sister. In 1918 she was the student vice-president and switched her studies to dentistry. In 1918 her sister Emelyn became the first woman to graduate in law from Dalhousie.. In May 1919 Arrabelle became the first woman to graduated with a doctor of dental surgery degree from Dalhousie University. Traveling to Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. she studied at the Forsythe Dental Infirmary for children to learn about paediatric dentistry.  March 1, 1920 the Massachusetts-Halifax Health Commission opened to help those in north end ship yards of Halifax after the great Halifax Explosion. This was the first paediatric dental service organized in Canada. Arrabelle handled 8.000 appointments a year. In 1921 she met Dr. Archie McCallum (died 1964) a navel officer. October 3, 1922 the two were married. After Archie left the navy in 1924 the couple settled in Toronto, Ontario and opened a joint practice. The couple had one daughter. Archie was called to serve with the coming of World War ll and in 1944 the family moved to Ottawa. Arrabelle worked with the Ottawa Collegial Institute Board as a high school dentist for six low income schools. The couple retired from their profession in 1952. In 2019 the firs Arrabelle MacKenzie Bursary was presented at Dalhousie University. Source: 'Arrabelle MacKenzie Our First Female Dentistry Graduate' by Deanna Foster in Alumni Anchor 2019-2020 online (accessed 2022)
R. Hélène L. Shingles   0002

Born August 12,1917, Poland. March 2009, Sarnia, Ontario. During world war ll Hélène was working in a Warsaw, Poland hospital when she was arrested and taken to a concentration camp by the notorious German Nazi regime. She was eventually liberated from a forced labour camp by the Allied Forces. It took her two years to recover from the horrendous camp life. Once recovered she joined at United Nations team of doctors traveling across Europe helping displace war victims. In 1950 she emigrated to Canada settling in Sarnia, Ontario, where she worked at odd jobs putting herself through dental school. She retired from her dental practice after 20 years of service. After her career as a dentist, Hélène started to volunteer for Meals-on-Wheels to bring food to the homes of people who were ill or older and unable to cook for themselves. She noticed many meals went uneaten. She found out that this was because of dental problems. She founded a charitable Dental Health Centre and volunteered her services to help out. Her dedication and service of others has not gone unnoticed. Dental association, her home city, her home province all honoured her. In 1997 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. This polish immigrant has truly honoured her Canadian citizenship. (2021)

Caroline Louise Josephine Wells                          0003

née Irwin. Born August 1856, Aurora, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died March 17, 1939, Toronto, Ontario. Josephine married a farmer, a teacher, and eventually by 1882 a dentist, John Wells (died 1904) on March 9, 1877. The couple had five children, three of whom survived to become adults. She assisted her dentist husband in his office located in their home. After her husband became ill she decided to apply to formal study to become a dentist. Family helped Josephine in her studies by taking care of her children. By October 20, 1893 Josephine Wells was the 1st woman to graduate from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons of Ontario and the first woman licensed in dentistry in Ontario and possibly in Canada. The Ontario Dental Society elected her an Honorary Member with voting privileges. She went on to receive her doctorate degree from the Trinity College in 1899. Josephine practiced her profession for 36 years in Toronto. She provided dental services at provincial mental hospitals in Toronto, Mimico, Hamilton, Orillia, and at the infamous Ontario Mercer Reformatory for Females. Josephine retired in 1928. Source: D C B  (2021)

Educator in Medicine         Return to categories
Meridith Belle Marks    0004

Born March 24, 1962, Channel Post-au Basques, Newfoundland. Died April 22, 2012, Ottawa, Ontario. Meridith attended the University of Waterloo, Ontario and gained a keen interest in medicine. She returned to Newfoundland to attend Memorial University with a special interest in physical medicine and rehabilitation. She worked at the Rehabilitation centre in Ottawa after her June 1989 marriage Peter Bruneau. The couple had one child who died in infancy. She earned her Masters in Education and taught students to bring out the best in their profession. Her work was recognized by multiple care and teaching awards. She worked as Assistant Dean at the Academy of Innovation in Medical Education that she founded at the University of Ottawa in 2006.  Submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa Ontario. (2021)

Nurses                                  Return to categories
In the early 1900's one of the main professions that opened up to women was to become a trained nurse. At the beginning of World War l in 1914 there were not enough Nuns to do nursing of the wounded so in January 1915 the Canadian government put out the call for trained nurses to serve in the war. At first there were 70 positions and 2,000 trained certified nurses applied. During World War 1 (1914-1918)  3,141 trained nurses enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. 2,500 of these nurses served overseas. They were given the rank of lieutenant making them the first women in the Commonwealth to be officers in the military.  The Canadian Nursing Sisters were nicknamed 'bluebirds' since their uniforms were a light blue double-breasted blouse with and open collar and a long blue skirt. They wore a white veil  head covering and a white apron was worn over top of the uniform. They were paid $4,10 a day with room and board included. These courageous and adventuresome women provided medical services for Canadian and Allied troops and enemy prisoners of war at the war near the front in Europe and they operated treatment facilities and hospitals in rear areas of France, Belgium, and the United Kingdom. Some 50 Nursing Sisters were casualties of disease or enemy action such as bombings, or sinking of ships. The women earned the admiration and affection of their patients who referred to them as Sisters of Mercy or Angels of Mercy. I have included in this listing of nurses over 200 stories of these courageous and adventuresome women as samples of the dedication of the over 3,000 women who served.
Elvina 'Eva' Adams      0005

née Sinclair. Born  November 22, 1898, Shoal Lake, Manitoba. Died December 13, 1990, Neepawa, Manitoba. Eva took her early education there then attended nurses training in Neepawa General Hospital in Manitoba, beginning in February 1918. Nursing duties at the time included milking cows for the patients’ meal trays. She worked at the hospital during the influenza epidemic of 1918, and was also one of the nurses who volunteered at private residences in order to contain the illness. She was at the hospital for the second outbreak of influenza in April 1919. She nursed in Russell, Manitoba and Spy Hill, Saskatchewan, before settling down again at the Birtle, Manitoba, General Hospital. In November 1922, she married William R. Adams and the couple had four children. She worked with the Red Cross as a Home Nurse and at blood donor clinics. In 1982 she wrote her autobiography, Diary of a Nurse, providing a written legacy of being a nursing student from 1918 though 1921. Sources: Memorable Manitobans, Manitoba Historical Society Online (Accessed December 2011); Diary of a Nurse by Eva Adams Manitoba History no. 14, autumn 1987. (2020) (2021)

Mary Ellen 'Minnie' Affleck- Wolfe



Nursing Sister during Boer War
0006

née  Affleck. Born May 28, 1874, Middleville, Ontario. Died March 21, 1956, Vancouver, British Columbia. Minnie, like so many young women of her generation, taught school after graduating high school After she had save enough money she nursing at the Kingston General Hospital Training School for Nurses in Ontario. Minnie worked for a year in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. prior to returning to Canada to work at the Ottawa Children's Hospital. Within a few months she was one of the first four women who enlisted to serve as a nursing sister in the Boer War 1899-1901 serving with the 1st Canadian Contingent under Nursing Matron Georgina Pope (1862-1938). This was the 1st time the Canadian military had sent nursing sisters on overseas assignment. The Nursing Sisters serving in the Boer War were granted the equal rank and pay to that of lieutenant. On her return from the Boer War she was greeted as a heroine in her home area. She was met in Perth Ontario, by a reception committee and a procession complete with bands wound its way through Lanark County for 19 miles to Middleville where there was a torchlight parade to welcome her home. Minnie received the Queen's South African War Medal for her services in South Africa. In 1900, after having had time to recuperate from the war, she was posted to work in Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1912 she married Adolphus Wolfe (1881-1956) and the couple had two children. In 1913 she retired from the military and became active for the rest of her life in the Boer War Veterans Association. She would marry a second time to Jack George Mitchell. (2021)

Lizzie Ramsay Aikman



World War l Nursing Sister   
3266

Born October 20, 1883, Whitburn, Scotland. Died December 3, 1931, Brandon, Manitoba. Lizzie trained as a nurse at Craig House Private Nursing Home, Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1909 she immigrated to Canada. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1912. She began her career as an operating room nurse at a private doctor's hospital. IN 1914 she was an assistant Operating Room Nurse at WGH. That year she was one of three nurses chosen to represent Manitoba in the British Red Cross. Overseas, after a short stay in London, England she served in Malta at the residence of the governor. Returning to London  she was posted to the No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, France and later to NO. 10 Casualty Clearing Station in England. In June 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was stationed at the Canadian Military Hospital at Shorncliffe. Back in Canada she was posted  to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. She was discharged in 1923. She worked as Matron at the Brandon Mental Hospital in Manitoba and then did some private duty nursing. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Allemang      0007

Born July 19, 1914, Toronto, Ontario. Died April 14, 2005. Chronic illness as a child made her formal education a longer process than for most people. However, she was not deterred and at 22 she entered the School for Nursing at the University of Toronto. She began her working career at the Toronto General Hospital and then volunteered for service during World War ll. After the war she took advantage of educational opportunities for veterans and returned to university studies at U of T to earn a BA and Bachelor of Science in Nursing. She became a teacher of nursing science at Belleville General Hospital. In 1951 she returned to teach at the School of Nursing at University of Toronto. She continued her personal post graduate studies at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A. Her thesis was on nursing history. It was the beginning of a lifetime interest in all things historic and nursing. She interviewed nursing sisters from both world wars. She collected stories, photos, uniforms and all sorts of memorabilia. In 1987 she and Barbara Keddy of Dalhousie University inaugurated the Canadian Association for the History of Nursing. She was also a kingpin of the Ontario Society of the History of Nursing incorporated in 1993 as the Margaret M. Allemang Centre for History of Nursing.  (2021)

Edith May Allison                 3225

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born May 14, 1878, Marysville, Ontario. Died July 10, 1933, Calgary, Alberta. Edith graduated from the Nursing School, Bellville, Ontario, in 1898. A few years later she moved with her family to Calgary, Alberta. Edith enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) April 5, 1917. She served overseas in Brighton, England and No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Otreau, France. Back in Canada after the war she served at Colonel Belcher, Hospital, Calgary.  Discharged in January 1920 she worked as Matron in Charge until 1933. In 1934 the Calgary Branch of the United Empire Loyalist's Association furnished a room in the Colonel Belcher Veterans Hospital in her honour. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Mabel Hilda Allison-Fetterly 3226

World War 1 Nursing Sister

née Allison. Born January 27, 1887, Demorestville, Ontario. Died April 16, 1976, Belleville, Ontario.  Mabel graduated from the Toronto Western Hospital School of Nursing in 1914. She was working in Toronto when World War 1 broke out. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on April 21, 1918. She was posted to Niagara Camp in Canada and later overseas in Thorncliffe, Brighton, Bramshott and Orpington, England. She returned to Canada at the end of the war. She worked as a nurse at the Ontario School for the Deaf, Belleville, Ontario. She was a member of the Albert College Guild . July 11, 1934 she married Hiram Bingham Fetterly. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Agnes Estelle Alpaugh

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born July 5, 1891, St. Jean Quebec. . Died October 12, 1918, Fredericton, New Brunswick. Agness enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) July 4, 1918. Agnes served at the Fredericton Military Hospital, New Brunswick. She died from the Spanish flu in a military hospital in New Brunswick. This was her second attack of influenza. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Womaen and Men Who Served in Armed Conflict online (accessed 2021)

Isobel Anderson     0009

née Rae. Born FeImage result for isobel anderson nursebruary 18, 1910, Toronto, Ontario. Died December 5, 1999. Isobel graduated from nursing in 1929 from Grace Hospital, Toronto. In 1933 she married Fred Benham (d 1938). She became ill with tuberculosis and spent four yeas in Sanitariums and at the same time endured the death of her infant son. She returned to nursing in 1937 and became a widow a year later. She volunteered at the Chinese United Church, Toronto, working with young girls. In 1943 she entered the United Church Training School. Graduating in 1945 her 1st appointment as a Deaconess Candidate was at a United Church in Brantford, Ontario. Isobel became a designated Deaconess on May 28, 1947 and worked at the Dixie Work Camp. Here she met the Reverend Norrie Anderson and In June 1948 they married. She gave up being a Deaconess as a married woman. By 1950 the couple were serving in Scotland. After the death of her husband in 1952 Isobel replaced him in the pulpit. She moved to Edinburgh, Scotland and served as a Deaconess with the Church of Scotland. She served as a Dormitory Matron at King Edward's School in Surry England prior to returning to Canada in July 1954. Isobel worked at the United Church's Five Oaks Centre in Ontario and took a refresher courts in nursing. Nursing wages were higher than wages of a Deaconess so Isobel worked at the Lambert Lodge for 14 years being Director of Nursing the last six years. Isobel retired from nursing to care for her mother in 1969. She volunteered at St. Andrew's United Church, Toronto and started her own seniors home. Source: Deaconess History of the United Church of Canada online. (2021)

Pearl Anderson-Boal  3828 Born December 26, 1923, Ninette, Manitoba. Died 1986, Brampton, Ontario. Pearl grew up on her parents farm near Gibbs, Saskatchewan. She enlisted in the Women's Division of the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1941. She served in administrative roles as various postings across the country. At the end of the war in 1945 Pear studied nursing. She Married December 18, 1948 a former service man and engineer,Earl William Boal (1921-2010). She helped the family finances working as a home care nurse. Source: Saskatchewan Legion, Military Service Book, online (accessed 2022)
Alba Elizabeth Andrew

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3110

Born September 23, 1884, Newdale, Manitoba. Died May 26, 1949, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1909 Alba Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  April 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she was posted to the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, England, No. 2 Canadian General Hospital and No. 2 Casualty Clearing Station in France. She returned to Winnipeg in January 1919. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2021)

Maude Annie Andrews

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3277

Born January 5, 1887, Swindon, England. In 1913 Maude graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. After graduation she relocated to Saskatchewan. In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) as part of the Saskatchewan Nurses' Unit. Overseas she was posted to Granville Canadian Stationary Hospital, Ramsgate, and then to Shorncliffe, England.  She then served at No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital, France and No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, The Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, England.  After the war she settled in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. working as a private nurse.  Died 1960, San Francisco, California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021)

Augusta Edith Ariss        0010

 

Born 1871*, Guelph, Ontario. Died January 9, 1952, Grand Falls, Montana, U.S.A. Augusta took her studies at the Guelph General Hospital Nursing School graduating as a Registered Nurse. She then graduated from the Toronto Methodist Deaconess Home and Training School in 1900. She worked with the Fred Victor Mission in Toronto for her Deaconess internship. Working in Toronto she did what was called 'rescue work' which today would be called being a street nurse dealing with the homeless and prostitutes. She was a familiar figure riding her three wheel bicycle though slum areas of the city. She went on a two year loan program to to Grand Falls, Montana, U.S.A. and her work at the Grand Falls Methodist Hospital became her life career. In 1905 she started the nursing school and served as the Superintendent of the Hospital and the School for 30 years. The school had strong religious requirements including nursing students to attend daily chapel prior to going on duty*some records indicate 1877. Source: Deaconess History of the United Church of Canada. Online 2019 (2021)

Evelyn Mary Aston-Simister

World War 1 Nursing Sister      
3288

née Aston. Born October 13, 1889, Grenfell, Saskatchewan. Died January 14, 1971, Port Burwell, Ontario. Evelyn graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked at the Regina Hospital, Saskatchewan and then the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia.  In 1917 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. Overseas she worked for a year at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, Hants, England before she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Military Corps (CAMC) in February 1918. She was then posted to No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England. After the war she served as a private nurse in Winnipeg before she married Alexander Simister. The couple settled to Ingersoll, Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Alfreda Jenness Attrill



World War 1 Nursing Sister




                                             
3108

Born July 31, 1877, Minden, Ontario. Died October 14, 1970, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was christened Isabella Jane but legally changed her name to Alfreda Jenness Attrill, taking the name of her stepfather in 1904. Her family moved to Manitoba when she was an infant and her mother left her father and took the children to Bismark, North Dakota, U.S.A. By 1894, the mother was a widow and she moved her family back to Manitoba. Alfreda studied at Normal School after high school earning her teaching certificate in 1896. She would  teach for a couple of years in Dauphin, Manitoba until the death of her mother in 1899. From 1898 through 1906 she worked at various jobs to support herself and her siblings.  By 1909 she had graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing and worked on staff at the WGH. In 1912 she took a military Nursing Course in Kingston, Ontario, and joined the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) reserve nursing service. In 1914 she was working at the Winnipeg Public Health Department for a short time prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the CAMC. She served at No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Touquet, France, Salonika, Greece, Malta, and in England at No. 4 Canadian Military Hospital, Basingstoke and No 10 Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton. Returning to Winnipeg after the war she worked at the city's Department of Public Health until 1943. In 1924 she became the Superintendent of the Fort Gary Division of the St. John's Ambulance. In 1966 she was proclaimed a Dame of Grace of the St. John Ambulance Association and a year later she was named a Dame of Justice.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, online, (accessed 2021)

Patricia Hill Bailey          0011

Born fall 1947, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. Died November 15, 2017, Sudbury, Ontario. Patricia earned her nursing diploma from Grace Hospital, Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1966. Desiring to further her knowledge of her chosen profession she studied at McGill University, Montreal for her undergraduate years and went on to earn her Master's at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Still pushing forward she studied at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland and earned her PhD. While working at the emergency department at the Queensway General Hospital in Toronto she met and married Bruce Bailey. The couple settled in Sudbury in Northern Ontario and raised two children. Patricia would teach her beloved nursing at Laurentian University in Sudbury for 30 years. In 2014 she became a professor Emeritus. Along the way of her career she was presented with the Queen's Golden Jubilee Medal as a person who has made significant contribution to Canada, to their community and to their fellow Canadians. (2021)

Ruth Bailey                    3313
Black Nurse
Born Toronto, Ontario. Ruth and Gwennyth Barton were the first Black Nurses to earn a diploma in nursing in Canada. They graduated in 1948 from Grace Maternity Hospital training, Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1948. Prior to this time, Canadian Nursing Schools did not accept non white women as students. (2021)
Miriam Eastman Baker

World War 1 Nursing Sister 
3402

Born August 20, 1886, London, England. Died October 17, 1918, Clivedon, England. Miriam graduated from Saint-Rubis Hospital training for nurses, New York, U.S.A. in 1915. By October 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She was posted overseas to the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital and No 15 Canadian General Hospital. She was admitted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital October 3, 1918 and shortly died from bronchopneumonia. She is buried Cliveden War Cemetery, Buckinghamshire, England. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women and Men who Have Died in Conflict. online (accessed 2021).

Dorothy Mary Yardwood Baldwin 3885

Born October 10, 1891, Toronto, Ontario. Died May 30, 1918, Doullens, France. Dorothy was born a twin but sadly her sister died in infancy. Dorothy studied nursing at the Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, London, Ontario. On the day she graduated she enlisted with as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp to serve during World War l. She arrived in France on July 25, 1917. she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.  While serving at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Etaples, Frances she was killed in the operating room when the camp was bombed by enemy aircraft. Two other Nursing sisters Eleanor Lyal Pringle (1893-1918) and Agnes MacPherson (1891-1918) were also killed during the bombing. Her name appears on the plaque at Queen's Park, Toronto dedicated to the Nursing Sisters who died in the First World War as well as in the Book of Remembrance, Ottawa and the War Memorial, Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Pauline Douglas Ballock

World War 1 Nursing Sister 
3301

Born February 23m 1882, Centreville, New Brunswick. Pauline graduated as a nurse and was working in Toronto when World War 1 broke out. In the spring of 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at No. 3 Canadian Stationary hospital BEF, France. She returned home to New Brunswick after the war.  Source: Canadian Nursing Sisters  Harold A. Skaarup. Online (accessed 2021)

Sibella  'Bey/Bay' Annie Barrington
                                      
0012

Born December 4, 1867, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. Died December 7, 1929, Saint John, New Brunswick. She was called 'Bey' (sometimes spelled Bay) from 1901 through 1904 she attended the Aberdeen School of Nursing in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. She followed these studies with post graduate work in Chicago, Ireland and London England. She volunteered in the recovery during the Halifax explosion in 1916 and was made a life member in the British Red Cross. By 1917 she was set up in Halifax in private practice. From 1918-1923 she was superintendent at the Halifax Infant Home. She became an Registered Nurse when Nova Scotia opened its registration of nurses in 1922. She was a member and served as president of the Graduate Nurses Association of Nova Scotia. By 1924 she was working with children through the Red Cross. She was by all accounts a gifted speaker and lectured about Home Nursing classes linking support from various organizations throughout the province. By 1928 she was Port Nurse at Saint John, New Brunswick. She was well remembered for her skills, service and dedication to her profession. Source: D C B  vol. 15 1921-1930 (2021)

Bertha Baumann              0013

Born September 1,1916, Arbuthnot, Saskatchewan. Died April 19, 2005, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Bertha had worked for two years at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Gravelbourg before entering the Grey Nuns Order on February 5,1939. She graduated as a registered nurse in 1947 from the St. Boniface General Hospital School of Nursing and, in 1951, as a Laboratory Technologist specializing in Clinical Chemistry. Named Supervisor of the Laboratory at St. Boniface Hospital, she served for twelve years until she became Assistant Administrator of St. Boniface Hospital in 1962. A few years later, she was appointed administrator of the St. Boniface Sanatorium, later to become the St. Amant Centre, where she helped the cognitively impaired children and young adults of Manitoba. After 22 years she retired and continued until 1994 to serve at the Grey Nuns Provincial House as coordinator for the visiting residents whose health required medical needs. She was inducted into the Order of Canada in 1985 and the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt the following year. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 21 April 2005; Memorable Manitobans Online (Accessed December 2011) (2021)

Hilda Tumaine Beeston-Scott
World War 1 Nursing Sister    3303

née  Beeston. Hilda graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1915, She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service Reserve as a staff nursed in 1917 and served until 1919. After the war she married Richard Scott a Major with the British Imperial Indian Army and the couple lived in India where he was posted. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Constance Bell
World War 1 Nursing Sister 
  3300

Constance graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing,  She served overseas during the war but is unknown with whom nor at which hospitals. In 1919 she returned to Winnipeg where she worked at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park. Source: Heath Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Lola Bell

World War 1 Nursing Sister


                                         
      3103

Born November 5, 1885, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died July 22, 1951, Victoria, British Columbia. Lola graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1908.  She took her first job with the Winnipeg School Board as a school nurse in 1910. In 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Salonika, Greece and then to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, France where she would work with others from WGH. Returned to Canada in 1919 she was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she returned to nursing with the Winnipeg School Board. She instituted the school nursing divisions in both Moose Jaw, and Regina, Saskatchewan.  She retired in 1943. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class or1908. online (accessed 2021)

Yvonne Beaudry/Baudry


World War 1 Nursing Matron 
0014

Born October 16, 1875, Beauharnois, Quebec. Died 1947. In 1901 Yvonne graduated for the Nursing School of the St.-Luke Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario.  After graduation she worked for six years at the Strathcona Hospital in Ottawa.  In 1909 she became Head Nurse at the Gross-Ile quarantine station, Quebec. Grosse-Ile was the quarantine station for all immigrants headed for Quebec City as a port of entry to Canada. Yvonne managed a team of 12 nurses. In the late fall of 1915 Yvonne enlisted as a Nursing Sister in the Canadian Medical Corps (CAMC) and by February 1916 she was serving in England before proceeding to the No 8 Canadian General Hospital and the No. 6 Canadian General Hospital with the rank of Matron. In June 1919 she was back in Canada where she was discharged. In 1919 she was presented with the Royal Red Cross 2nd Class medal and in 1926 she was awarded the French Médaille des Epidemies Or. She worked with the Dominion Bureau of Statistics in Ottawa until her retirement in 1939. Source: A Tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts. Online (2021)

Ethel Bennett

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3366
 

Born August 18, 1883, Northumberland, England. Died July 19, 1959, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Ethel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1916 and for awhile worked at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. Overseas she was posted to Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, the Canadian Military Hospital, Basingstoke and the West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, England.  In the late fall of 1917 she was serving in France at No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital.  By March 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). After the war she worked at the Winnipeg City Welfare Department. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

Myra Bennett                  0015

née Grimsley. Born April 1, 1890, London, England. Died April 26, 1990, Daniel’s Harbour, Newfoundland. As a girl Myra studied nursing and continued courses as a midwife. During World War l she worked in England in the North London slums. She was persuaded by Lady Harris, wife of the governor of Newfoundland, to immigrate and on April 13, 1921 she sailed for St. John’s, Newfoundland. She worked caring for the people of the great northern peninsula, a 200 mile stretch of isolated coastline in colony. In 1922 she married Angus Bennett, a former merchant marine. The couple had three children. Once her paid contract ran out, Myra worked free lance. She served as nurse, midwife, dentist, veterinarian, educator, and was known as the 'Florence Nightingale of Newfoundland'. She retired in 1953 but still continued to care for folks. In 1935 she was presented with the King George V Jubilee Medal and in 1937 the coronation Medal of George VI. She was made a member of the Order of the British Empire and the Order of Canada. In 1974 the CBC made a documentary on her life.  In 1991 the province of Newfoundland and Labrador declared her home in Daniel’s Harbour an Historic Site. Source: 100 more Canadian Heroines by Merna Forster, Dundurn Press, 2010; Heritage Newfoundland (accessed  June 12, 2012. (2022)

Mary Agnes Best

World War l Nursing Sister        
3121

Born September 24, 1884, McKillop, Ontario. Died July 26, 1968, Walhalla, North Dakota, U.S.A. Mary graduated in 1910 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (W G H) School of Nursing. She found work on staff with the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan. In April 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) . Overseas she served at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Egypt, No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England as well as in France. Returning to Canada in 1918 she was posted at St. Andrew's Military Hospital, Toronto. She was discharged in April 1920. She returned to Winnipeg and then relocated to North Dakota, U.S.A. In 1933 she worked as Matron of an American hospital in Mexico for several years. Source: Health Sciences centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021).

Mary Ellen Birties           0016

Born 1858, Sheffield, England. Died June 22, 1943, Alexander, Manitoba. Mary Ellen immigrated to Canada with her family in June 1883, settling at Winnipeg. In 1889 she was one of the first three graduates of the nurse training program at the Winnipeg General Hospital, established in 1887. Upon graduation, she left to work at a small hospital in North Dakota where she remained a few months. In 1890 she accepted a position as assistant nurse at a new hospital in Medicine Hat, North West Territories (now Alberta), staying there two years until a hospital opened at Brandon. She took the position of senior nurse and remained there a year and a half. Moving to Calgary in 1894, she was in charge of the new hospital being built there, the first Matron of the Calgary General Hospital. She attended British celebrations of the 1887 60th anniversary of the reign of Queen Victoria, returning to Manitoba the next year to become Matron of the Brandon General Hospital, where she stayed until her retirement in August 1919. In 1935, she received the Order of the British Empire. Source: Memorable Manitobans. Profile by Gordon Goldsborough Online (accessed December 2011) (2021)

Elizabeth Hazeltine 'Bonnie'  Bjarnarson                       0017

née Polson. Born August 22, 1893, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died November 12, 1979, Gladstone, Manitoba. Bonnie's family moved to Gimili, Manitoba in 1901 where she taught school for five years before taking nursing training at the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing in 1916. She nursed privately and worked for the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) until her marriage in 1922. After marriage she continued to provide nursing support to her community and especially to residents of the Sandy Bay First Nation, where she was known as “Mrs. Barney”. In 1969 she was presented a Good Citizenship Award for meritorious service to Manitoba. (2021)

Donna Margaret Louise Blight

                                       
0018

née Crosland. Born September 30, 1936, Calgary, Alberta. Died February 5, 2008, Calgary, Alberta. Donna graduated from the Calgary General Hospital,  went on to earn a Bachelor of Nursing Science Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, and  a Master's Degree from University of Manitoba, Winnipeg. While nursing in Saskatoon, she met her husband, Dr. William J. Blight. The couple moved to Winnipeg Donna worked briefly for the VON (Victorian Order of Nurses) prior to raising the couple’s two sons. She returned to work as a nursing instructor and registrar at the St. Boniface Hospital School of Nursing and as registrar with the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. She was a long time member of the Alpine Club of Canada, and she served as a member of the Manitoba Environmental Council. She was actively involved with the University Women’s Club of Winnipeg and the Provincial Council of Women of Manitoba, serving on a variety of committees and as president of both organizations. The latter organization honoured her in 2007 at its first Celebration of Women. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 9 February 2008; Memorable Manitobans. Online Accessed December 2011) (2021)

Florence Bloy

World War l Nursing Sister                                                                               3305

Born May 12, 1884, Dereham, England. In 1915 Florence graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked after graduation at the Weyburn Hospital, Saskatchewan. In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and went overseas with the Saskatchewan Nurses Unit. Overseas she was posted to the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe Canadian Military Hospital, No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 2 Canadian General Hospital. She resigned her position in October 1918. Returning home to Canada she took courses in Public Health at the University of Toronto.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).

Ada Lucy Bodkin            3434

World War l Nursing Sister  

Born October 28, 1887, Delaware, Ontario.  Died March 16, 1962. In 1914 she graduated from the Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London, Ontario. On December 14, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served overseas at No. 12 Canadian General Hospital and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital , Orpington, England and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital. Returning to Canada after the war she worked as the first Matron of Crèche Day Nursing in London, Ontario. From 1923 through 1932 she worked at Westminster Hospital. Source: Class of 1914, Victoria Training School, London Public Library (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

Grace Errol Bolton
Nurse in World War 1           
3413

Born September 14, 1890, Quebec. Died February 16, 1919.  She served as a nurse with the Canadian Voluntary Aid Detachment during World War 1. Source: [Canada} A Tribute to Some Woman and Men Who Served in Armed Conflict. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Crisp-Bond           0019

née Crisp. Born 1854, Warwickshire, England. Died  June 11, 1943, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Annie trained at Queen’s Hospital before joining as Nursing Sister in the British army. She served in the South Africa Zulu War, as well as in Egypt, and the Sudan. She was decorated in each campaigns, receiving the Royal Red Cross Medal in 1884. That same year she moved to Auckland, New Zealand, to establish New Zealand’s first school of nursing. In 1886 she married Dr. John Henry Richard Bond. The couple moved to the U.S.A. to administer the British exhibit at the Chicago World’s Fair in 1896. They  eventually settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1903. She began urging the foundation of a children’s hospital in 1906 and in 1909 she began one on Beaconsfield Street which became the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital. Sources: Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted (University of Manitoba Press, 1999); Memorable Manitobans. Online (accessed December 2011) (2021)

Marie Bonin                   0020

Born November 15, 1932, Laurier, Manitoba. Died January 20, 2003, Lexington, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Marie entered the Grey Nuns novitiate in St. Boniface, Manitoba, August 1950 and dedicated herself to the service of the poor in February 1953. Sister Marie received her nursing diploma from the Regina Grey Nuns School of Nursing. She also earned her Masters in Nursing and a Doctorate in Education. She was director of the School of Nursing, Saint Boniface, Manitoba, from 1960 to 1963. She helped to establish the baccalaureate degree in nursing at the University of Montreal from1965 to 1972 and 1978 to 1980 she became director of Pastoral Care at Saint Boniface General Hospital. In 1983, she was inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt. She served as local superior and provincial superior of St. Boniface from 1980 to 1986, and was elected assistant general of the Grey Nuns congregation in 1986. Towards the end of her life, she did mission work in the USA. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 25 January 2003; Memorable Manitobans. Profile by Gordon Goldsborough. Online (Accessed December 2012.) (2021)

Beulah Vernon Bourns  0021

Born March 28, 1906, Havelock, New Brunswick. Died March 28, 1990, Morden, Manitoba. She studied nursing graduating from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1929. Her first job was on the nursing staff at the United Church Hospital in Hafford, Saskatchewan. In 1931 she spent a year in Toronto preparing to leave Canada for Missionary work in Korea. In 1932 she took charge of nurse training in a 50 patient hospital while Superintendent Ada Sandell went on furlough. In 1933 she was assigned to a small hospital in Ling Chin Sen, Manchuria, and carried out public health work and began her interest in working with mothers and babies. She moved on to North Korea as an itinerant, travelling by ox cart, horse and train along the Manchuria border. While nursing she provided baby clinics, established mother’s club, cooking, and sewing classes, and challenged herself with learning the local language. During World War ll she and Dr. Florence Murray (1894-1975) were held under house arrest and worked in an adjacent hospital. She was repatriated in a Prisoner of War exchange and returned to work in a United Church Hospital in British Columbia until the end of the war. At the end of the war she studied Psychiatric Care and went on to work in Matheson, Ontario, before returning once more to Korea, this time to serve by special request of the Koreans. She was the only western woman and the only Canadian not to leave Seoul during the Communist Invasion. During the Korean War she worked at refugee camps, helping organize evacuation of hundreds of orphans. In 1959 she was made a Honourary Life Member of Winnipeg General Hospital Nurses  (WGH) Alumnae Association and in 1962 she received the Korean Presidential Medal for her distinguished public service. She retired home to Manitoba in 1974. A chapel at Severence Hospital in Korea is named in her honour. In 1979 she received the Jubilee Award from WGH Nurses Alumnae Association. The Koreans called her their “blue-eyed-angel” and took her ashes to be buried in Yanghwajim International Cemetery, Seoul, Korea. Source: Beulah Bourns.  Winnipeg General Hospital/Health Sciences Centre Nursing Alumnae Association Archives. online (accessed April 2014) (2021)

Jean Kathleen Boyce-Fisher                             3227

World War 1 Nursing Sister

née  Boyce. Born June 11, 1889, Grafton, Ontario. Died December 12, 1965, Fonthill, Ontario.. Jean moved with her family to Belleville, Ontario in 1894. She graduated from the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing in 1916. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) March 12, 1917. Overseas she served at the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. In June 1918 she was serving on transport duty returning wounded to Canada and then returning overseas.  She was on board the Canadian hospital ship, Llandovery Castle, returning from Halifax, Nova Scotia when the ship was torpedoed by an enemy U-boat, U-86, (submarine) off the coast of Ireland on June 27, 1918. Jean was one of the survivors of 14 Nursing Sisters and 210 medical personnel and seamen who died when the ship sank. The German U Boat Captain even fired on occupants of a life-raft in an attempt to cover up the fact that he had fires on a clearly marked hospital ship. The German Captain thought that the ship was carrying armaments. Firing on a hospital ship was against international law and standing orders of the Imperial German Navy. She served at hospitals in Kingston, Montreal and Cobourg Military Hospital, Ontario and was discharged on April 30, 1920.  She married Harold Fisher on September 1, 1923. The couple settled in Belleville, Ontario, to raise their family.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Constance Eleda Brewster
                                     
0022

Born September 27, 1888, Brantford, Ontario. Died July 4, 1988. After completing her nursing studies at the University of Toronto, Constance taught school in Saskatchewan. She took additional studies in nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, and began working in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1925. From 1934 through 1953 she was Director of the School of Nursing at the Hamilton General Hospital. During her career she improved working conditions, strove for shorter working hours, better accommodations, and fought for a higher rate of pay for the nurses under her charge. She also served as President of the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario from 1938-1940. (2021)

Marjorie Brook              0023

née Buck. Born 1898, Port Rowan, Ontario. Died April 5, 1988. A talented hospital administrator she took her early nursing training in the United States. She became the 1st Superintendent of the Norfolk General Hospital in Simcoe, Ontario, in 1925 and remained in the position until 1943. She was an active member national nursing organizations, the I.O.D.E., the University Women’s Club, and the Norfolk Historical Society. (2021)

Margaret Martha Brooks

World War 11 Nursing Sister
  Born April 10, 1915, Ardath, Saskatchewan. Died January 9, 2016, Victoria, British Columbia. Margaret studied household science at the University of Saskatchewan. After her graduation Margaret enrolled in the Canadian Navy on March 9, 1942 as a Nursing Sister dietician with the rank of a sub-Lieutenant. While serving in the S S Caribou, the ship was torpedoed in mid October 1942. Margaret clung with one hand to a lifeboat and with her other hand she held on the her friend and colleague, Agnes Wilkie. Unfortunately Agnes died due to the frigid temperatures in the Cabot Straight off the coast of Newfoundland. Margaret became the only Nursing Sister during World War ll  to be named a member (Military Division) of the Order of the British Empire for her heroic effort to save her friend. Margaret remained in the Canadian Navy and in April 1, 1957 having obtained the rank of Lieutenant Commander. She retired in 1962. Returning to Saskatchewan she resumed her post graduate studies in paleontology earning her PhD. She would author numerous research papers in her discipline. She retired to Victoria, British Columbia. In the spring of 2015 she was contacted by Canadian Defense Minister, Jason Kenny to inform her that the Canadian Navy would name one of the new arctic offshore patrol ships in her honor. Sources: James Goldie,  “Canada’s Navy names vessel after living Victoria woman for the first time.” In Globe and Mail April 14, 2015. ; Arctic/offshore Patrol Ships Naming Biographies – HMCS Margaret Brooks. National Defense and the Canadian Armed Forces. Online (accessed June 2015). (2022)
Maude King Brown


World War 1 Nursing Sister  
0024

Born April 11, 1876, Chatham, Ontario. Maude Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1898. In 1915 she relocated to England with her husband, Dr. John K. Brown who was serving with the British Royal Army Medical Corps. In Maude joined the St. John's Ambulance and was appointed Matron in Charge of the Auxiliary Hospital, Shorne Hill, Totton. England.  In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was one o the first married Canadian nurse permitted to enlist. Maude served three years in England working at Granville Special Hospital, Ramsgate, Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital, Buxton, and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe. She returned to Winnipeg in 1918 and served at No 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park. After the war she and her husband settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Class of 1898. (accessed 2021)

Phyllis Burgess              0025

Born 1917, Assiniboia, Saskatchewan. Died November 9, 1988. Between 1957-1977 she was the Director of Nursing at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, Ontario. She was internationally renowned for developing nursing strategies for the treatment of cancer patients. She would pioneer programs to meet physical and emotion needs of the hospital’s cancer patients. For her contribution to ontological nursing she was presented with the Civic Award of Merit from the city of Toronto. She would also serve on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Cancer Society of Ontario for 20 years. In 1988 she was awarded the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Canadian Women’s Breast Cancer Foundation. (2021)

Kathryn 'Kay' Emilor Burns Rodger    3805

Pioneer Nurse in Northern Ontario

Born December 31, 1906, Spanish, Ontario. Died April 25, 1990, South Porcupine, Ontario. As a youngster Kay and her family moved to the Porcupine area of northern Ontario. After high school she studied nursing in Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. In 1927 she began nursing in Porcupine at St. Mary's Hospital. Within a year she was working at the Presbyterian Hospital in South Porcupine which was an outpost supported by the Presbyterian Women's Missionary Society. In 1930 she married Frank Rodger and the couple had three children. While it was normal for a nurse to stop working after marriage there was a shortage of good nurses in northern Ontario and Kay continued to work as a nurse. In 1936 her husband became ill with tuberculosis and was sent to a Gravenhurst sanatorium leaving her as sole supporter for her family. A new hospital  was built in 1938 and Kay would work there until she retired in 1956. That year she became the administrator of the Golden Manor seniors home. She took courses in typing, bookkeeping and nutrition to make sure she did her job well. She retired from the Golden Manner in 1967. (2022)

Mary Irene Burns-Thomas


World War 1 Nursing Sister

 

                                                3094

née  Burns. Born March 6, 1883, Woodstock, Ontario. Died December 16, 1966. In 1883 Mary moved to Manitoba with her family. In the 1890's she was working at the offices of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) but then decided to study nursing. Mary Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1907.  After graduation she worked with the Eye and Ear Department of the WGH. In 1914 she joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and served at Valletta Hospital with the Red Cros in Malta. By November 1915 she was working at Hamrun Officers Hospital, Malta. From there she served at No. 5 British General Hospital and No. 20 Casualty Clearing Station in France. In June 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was sent to No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and then to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, The Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Clivedon, England.  Returning to Canada she was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg until 1922. On June 9, 1923 she married Wesley Thomas (died 1956). Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online (accessed 2021)

Norma Busby                 0026

née Ingimundon. Born February 25, 1930, Lundar, Manitoba. Died April 8,  2008. She trained to be a nurse then worked at Whitehorse, Edmonton, and Winnipeg with the federal government working in Aboriginal and Northern Health and in Occupational Health. In 1978, she led a national federal nurses’ strike resulting in salary increases and other benefits for nurses. In the 1980s, she was instrumental in developing national guidelines for occupational health nursing certification and she initiated the Nurses-at-Risk program, the first of its kind in Canada. In 1992 she was awarded the Confederation Medal. Sources: Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 10 April 2008: Memorable Manitobans. Online (Accessed December 2011) (2021)

Julie C. Cardigan

Volunteer Nurse 1918 Influenza                             
3486

Born 1871?, Glace Bay? Nova Scotia. Died 1918? Marble Mountain, Nova Scotia. In 1918 the city of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. was one of the hardest hit cities during the influenza pandemic.  Julies soldier son was at Camp Devens in Boston suffering from influenza and she headed there to help nurse her son. Returning to Canada she volunteered at an influenza hospital in Sydney, Nova Scotia. Learning that there were 100 influenza cases in Marble Mountain, Inverness County, Nova Scotia she once again volunteered. Sadly seven days later she herself died of influenza. (2021)

Grace Louise Reynolds Calder                            0027

née Reynolds. Born 1854, United Kingdom. Died June 16, 1924, Saskatchewan. Grace trained in Leeds, England with the teachings of the Florence Nightingale system of nursing. In 1884 she immigrated to Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1890 she became the 1st Matron at the new Medicine Hat General Hospital which opened June 4, 1890. This hospital was the 1st such hospital between Winnipeg and British Columbia. Grace is credited with introducing the Nightingale system of nursing to the Canadian west. Grace resigned her position on December 14, 1891 and on January 12, 1892 she married the chief Medical Superintendent of the hospital Dr. John George. Calder (d 1912). John served as superintendent from 1881 through 1894. August 1, 1894 a training school for nurses opened at the hospital with Miss Jean Miller as Head Nurse. Perhaps Jean Miller called upon the expertise of Grace in establishing the student curriculum. The Calders remained in Medicine Hat and john took over his brothers pharmacy in 1911 just a year before his death. There is not much information on Grace and her son after this date but there is a record  of a Mrs. J. G. Calder purchasing 160 acres of land in Saskatchewan in 1912. Source: Kay Saunderson, 200 Remarkable Alberta Women, (Famous Five Foundation, 1999); Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021). (2021)

René M. Caisse              0028

Born 1888, Bracebridge, Ontario. Died December 26, 1978, Bracebridge, Ontario. While nursing in Hailabury Hospital in northern Ontario, René (she pronounced it Reen)  came across an old woman who had survived much longer with cancer than doctors had projected. The old lady had used a remedy that she said was an old Indian cure for cancer. The old lady shared the recipe for this life saving tea and René, whose goal was to control cancer and alleviate pain, used it to help cancer patients, including her own mother, who were considered to be incurable.  René  began to refine the herbal tea. She joined with Dr R. D. Fisher to study in a makeshift lab and began to research on mice with the herbal tea and found it to be successful in treating breast cancer and other cancers. They isolated what they deemed was the herb responsible for reducing the tumors and called their product ESSIAC which is René’s surname spelled backwards. In 1926 she was charged with practicing medicine without a license by the Canadian Government. Thus began a 50 year controversy over this “cure”. From 1928 through 1930 René worked at the Christie Street Hospital Laboratories, Toronto and even consulted with Dr. Frederick Banting (1891-1941), one of the discoverers of Insulin) but she always kept the formula of Essiac to herself. She opened a cancer clinic in Bracebridge, Ontario where tending patients deemed hopeless by other doctors. René continued to treat patients in Bracebridge even though her cure fell out of favour. She married Charles McCaughey, a North Bay Lawyer, and former patient but retained her maiden name. In retirement she took up oil painting. In 1977 René handed her formula to the Resperin Corporation, controlled by uranium magnate Stephen Roman of Toronto who paid $250.00 during a test period and promised of a share in future profits. In 1985 a Dr. Gary Glum purchased the formula for $120,000.00 from one of René’s former patients and released this formula into public domain in 1988. He wrote a book, Calling of an Angel: Essiac Nature’s cure for Cancer. Mary McPherson who had worked with René in preparing the formula did not want to die with the controversy over her head so she released the formula, as she had prepared it, to public domain on December 23, 1994. Today several versions of Essiac are on the market sold as a natural remedy. The Rene M. Caisse Memorial Theatre was built and named in her honour in her hometown of Bracebridge. Sources: Obituary. Bracebridge Examiner, 1978 : Lisa Wajna. Great Canadian Women: Nineteen Portraits of Extraordinary Women. (Folklore publishing, 2005). (2021)

Ann Thomas Callahan

Aboriginal Nurse                  0029

Born 1935, Peepeekisis First Nation, Saskatchewan. Ann was forced to attend File Hills Residential School away from her family for ten yeas. In 1946 she went home to Peepeekisis and attended Birtle Indian Residential School. She enrolled at the Winnipeg General Hospital three year nursing school. After working twice as hard as non-indigenous students who had received good primary education, and surviving racism, she graduating in 1954 as one of the 1st aboriginal nurses to graduate from the program. In 1958 she worked in the gynaecology ward of the WGH. She quickly was promoted to Head Nurse, a position she held until 1973. After leaving the hospital job she took a position with the newly formed Continuing Care for People in Need providing care to people in the inner city. In 1983 she became an instructor and counselors with the Southern Nursing Program at Red River Community College. She retired in 1996. Retirement did not meant she stopped learning as she earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master degree. On June 28, 2006 the Winnipeg Health Services named a building in her honour. (2021)

Christina Campbell


World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea                                     
3346

Born August 17, 1877, Beauly, Scotland. Christina graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, Victoria British Columbia in 1897. On September 16, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC)  in London, Ontario. Over seas she was posted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital and then she served on the Llandovery Castle. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

Edith "Daisy' Campbell

Matron of Nursing world War 1                                                                      3412

Born November 1871, Montreal, Quebec. Died 1951, Toronto, Ontario. Daisy graduated from the Presbyterian Hospital School of Nursing, New York, U.S.A. in 1907.She worked at the hospital after graduation and then worked in Manhattan before returning to Montreal to work.  In September 1914 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she assisted in the establishment of the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. She was one of nine Canadian Nursing Sisters to receive the Military Medal for bravery shown on May 31 1918 at the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France was bombed in an enemy air strike. After the war she was Superintendent of the Toronto Branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VO N) retiring in 1934.  She also received the King George Jubilee Medal in 1935. A collection of her medals and some personal affects are maintained at the Canadian War museum, Ottawa, Ontario.

Margaret Amelia Campbell

                                     
0030

Born June 27, 1923, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died January 29, 1992, Vancouver, British Columbia. She earned her Bachelor of Arts at the University of British Columbia (UBC) in 1947 and then earned a second bachelor degree in Nursing Science in 1948. She would continue her studies with a Masters of Science in Nursing at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. in 1955 and returned to again study to earn her Education Doctorate at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. in 1970. She was the co-developer of conceptual models for nursing. In 1987 she was recognized for her research efforts with the Award of Excellence from the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia. She was also the recipient of an Award of Distinction from the Nursing Division of the Alumni Association of the University of British Columbia in 1988. followed in 1990 by a Certificate of Merit. She was an instructor and professor of nursing at the UBC School of Nursing from 1955 through 1988. She died six months after her retirement. (2021)

Olive Marie Campbell-Menzies
World War 1 Nursing Sister  3228
 

née Campbell. Born May 7, 1890, Cannifton, Ontario. Died January 23, 1989, Syracuse, New York, U.S.A. Olive Marie graduated from the Hospital for Sick Children School of Nursing, Toronto in 1914. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on November 19, 1917. Overseas she served at the Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton, England May 20, 1918 she married Dr. Percival Keith Menzies, a Lieutenant Colonel with the CAMC. After the war the couple settled in Syracuse, New York, U.S.A.. The couple raised two sons together. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Mary Lillian Cameron-Chisholm

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3291

Born December 8, 1894, Canso, Nova Scotia. Died August 26, 1956, Montreal, Quebec. On May 22, 1917 Mary graduated from nursing school in Montreal, Quebec and after graduation she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). In December 1916 through January 1917 Mary with the 8th Field Ambulance in Montreal and then she worked in a Montréal military hospital.   She went overseas and served at the University of Toronto No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, Kent, England. She also served for a short time at No. 15 Canadian General Hospital before returning home in July 1919. She worked in New York City, U.S.A. and in Montreal, Quebec as a public health nurse. On June 27, 1927 she married Colin Andrew Chisholm and after a year the couple relocated to Kirkland Lake, Ontario where they raised their four daughters together. In 1951 the family moved to Stirling, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. By 1956 they were back in Montreal.  Sources: Lieutenant Mary Lillian Cameron, A Nursing Sister's Story, The First War Veterans of Guysborough County. Bruce Macdonald. Online (accessed 2021)

Anne Canning

World War 1 Nursing Sister     
0031

Born August 6, 1885, Helensburg, Scotland. Died ???? In 1909 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In October 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg.  Overseas she served at NO. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe England. She returned to Canada in January 1919 where she worked for the Manitoba Agricultural Hospital and the Deer Lodge Hospital. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online. (access 2021)

Marguerite Carr-Harris     

World War 1 Nursing Sister    
0032  

Born July 4, 1879, Ottawa, Ontario. Died 1964. Marguerite was born into a family of means. Her father was a university professor. In 1886 to 1899 she attended Queens University, Kingston, Ontario, where she was a member and captain of one of the earliest women's hockey teams. There was a reversal of family fortune and Marguerite left Queen's without graduating. She trained as a nurse at New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York, U.S.A. She worked in New York and Canada prior to enlisting May 12, 1915 as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) serving at the No.16 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England.. She was awarded the Red Cross 2nd Class medal for bravery while evacuation patients from the hospital during the bombing of Etaples in northern France in 1918. After the war she worked for a short while at the Canadian Department of Soldiers Civil Re-establishment Hospital. By 1927 she was attending teachers College at Columbia University, New York City, New York, U.S.A. after having earned a Bachelor of Science. Her story was written by Meryn Stewart and published in the Canadian Medical Lives Series.  (2021)

Ethel Carter
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3289

Ethel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1914. After graduation she relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia and then to Skagway, Alaska, U.S.A. In 1917 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service.  She served overseas but it is not known where. After the war she worked at a mission in Romania. She returned to Canada and settled in Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Anne 'Annie' Sutherland Cavers                           3396

Nursing instructor & historian

Born 1888, Dutton, Ontario. Died November 1971, Vancouver, British Columbia. As a teenager Annie moved to Calgary Alberta so that she could attend high school. At 18 Annie Annie graduated with honours from the Calgary Normal School (teacher's colleg). After graduation she moved to join her family who had relocated to the Okanagan in British Columbia.  Between 1910 and 1918 she taught school in Armstron, British Columbia and served as principal from 1917. As the family storey goes she was brokenhearted by the death of her fiancée after World War 1. By 1920 she was teaching in Vernon, British Columbia.  At 36 she entered the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) School of Nursing where she earned the Alison Cummings medal for hights standing in the 1927 graduating class. She became Instructress of Nursing at VGH and won the adoration of her students until she retired in 1947. After retirement she wrote the book, Our School of Nursing 1899 to 1949. Source: Anne Sutherland Cavers (1888-1971) Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Amelia Chesley      0033

Born 1857/1858, Toronto, Canada West (now Ontario). Died November 6, 1910, Ontario. Anne studied nursing at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. In the mid 1890's Annie was appointed Lady Superintendent of Nurses at the new St Luke's Hospital (later Ottawa Civic Hospital) which had  patterned on the nursing school of the Lady Stanley Institute founded in 1891. The school provided instruction and residences for nursing students. Annie administered the 30 bed hospital and she up the three year training program for nurses. Seven nurses graduated in 1901. Annie served also as the 1st president of the Ottawa Graduate Nurses Association and established the first registry of professional nurses in the city. Source: D C B  (2021)

Jane Chisholm
World War 1 Nursing Sister    
3290

Born December 29,1888, Bresaylor, Saskatchewan. Died February7, 1976, Saskatchewan. Jane graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1914. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Eastbourne, England. In 1918 she suffered from poor health and by late fall was back in Canada where she was admitted to the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. Once recovered she moved to Saskatchewan where she married.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Kathleen 'Kay' Christie

World War ll Nursing Sister     0034

Born 1911. Died 1994, Toronto, Ontario. By 1934 Kay trained and worked as a nurse. When World War ll broke out she did not hesitate to sign up with the Royal Canadian Medical Corps in 1941 as a Lieutenant. She was posted to Hong Kong. The British military hospital where she served came under heavy Japanese shelling and the British surrendered on Christmas Day 1941. Kay spent the next 21 month as a POW (Prisoner of War) in the Far East living under severely crowed conditions with little food and water loosing some 20 pounds. In September 1943 she and other nurses were part of a prisoner exchange between the Allies and the Japanese. The conditions on the ship before the exchange were worse than at the camp. Even after the exchange she was more than a month before reaching home. After V E Day, Kay received a position with a prominent Toronto heart specialist as a medical nursing secretary. She was granted a discharge from the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps on October 30, 1945. After her discharge, she worked as a medical secretary for a neuropsychiatry specialist until retirement. She was awarded the Associate Royal Red Cross medal for her distinguished service, and in ensuing years she was named Honorary Patron of the National Council of Veterans, Honourary President of the Nursing Sisters Association of Canada, and in 1995, both she and fellow nurse, Ms. Waters were honoured by a plaque erected in the Police Academy in Hong Kong in recognition of their outstanding service. Sources: Women of Courage 1812-2012 Reading and Remembrance. Online (accessed March 2015) ; Veterans Affairs Canada. Nursing Sister – Kay Christie. Online (Accessed March 2015) (2021)

Eleanor Christopherson

World War 1 Nursing Sister  
3360

Born June 28, 1893, Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Died January 1965, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Eleanor graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She worked on the Military Wards of the WGH, and at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC),  She was posted overseas  to No. 13 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Hastings, England and in France to No. 3, N0., 8, and No. 6 Canadian Stationary Hospitals. After returning to Canada she married W. M. Graham and the couple settled in Yorkton Saskatchewan.  IN the 1960's they resettled in Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Agnes Anne Clarke


World War 1 Nursing Sister   3500

Born January 4, 1885, Elizabeth Bay, Ontario. Died September 12, 1987, Gore Bay, Ontario. Like many of the young women of her day , Jessie taught school after she graduated High School in 1904. In 1907 she relocated to Calgary, Alberta to attend nursing school at the Calgary General Hospital. Sadly she was forced to return to her Gore Bay home for six months to recuperate from Typhoid fever. She took up her nurse training again at the Guelph Sanatorium for mental and nervous patients. The supervisor at Guelph suggested that Jessie take studies at the Massachusetts's General Hospital, Boston, U.S.A.  She spent three years at the Harvard University Branch of the hospital and served as head of the surgery department. In 1911 she worked the Massachusetts Hospital, Fitchburg as Superintendent of nurses for a year and then returned to the Harvard University Peter Brent Brigham Hospital.  Hospital. With the breakout of World War 1 in Europe Jessie served in June 1915 with the Harvard Medical Unit in hospitals in both England and France until February 1916.  Returning from the front to England she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  She served back in France at a Canadian Casualty Clearing station. In England she served at a hospital in Hastings, England. She returned to Canada after the war. During the war she had kept track of the local Manitoulin Island Boys and often sent them  boxes  with cakes and candy which had been sent to her from Canada. She also wrote letters to the local boys who were wounded and in hospitals.  In 1919 she worked in Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.A. as Superintendent of Nurses in Training  and also as Superintendent of Nursing Schools for the state of West Virginia. In the early 1920's she returned to Gore Bay on Manitoulin Island to care for the three children after the death of their mother Nora, Jessie's sister. As the children grew up she ran a nursing home. During World War ll when the local doctor enlisted to serve she was a mainstay for her community. She worked at the Registry Office in Gore Bay but retired early  to care for her brother. When her brother was take to a nursing home Jessie moved to Toronto to be with her niece, Noreen. Jessie was a honourary member of the Canadian Legion and the American Veterans of Foreign Wars. Jessie is remembered in national memorials and at the Memorial to Women who have fought in Canadian Wars Memorial, Manitoulin Island. Source: Manitoulin Roots online (accessed 2021)

Mabel Clint

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3338

Born  June 21,1876, Quebec City, Quebec. Died March 17, 1939. A trained nurse she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps on September 25, 1914. She served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital. She suffered from Dysentery at Lemnos and later she had Influenza. In February 1916 she was admitted to hospital in Cairo, Egypt with phlebitis. and became dangerously ill with an embolism in her right lung. In May 1916 she was discharged to England. After having taken extended medical leave she re-enlisted in December 1917 and served at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital.  England, France, Turkey, Lemnos Island. In February 1918 she was serving at No. 4 Casualty Clearing Station.  After the war she returned to Canada and continued her nursing career. She wrote about her wartime experiences in a memoir, Our Bit: Memories of War Service by a Canadian Nursing Sister published in 1934. Source: Mabel Clint, Library and Archives Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Olive Maud Coad

World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                           
3114

Born March 5, 1884, Wingham, Ontario. Died April 23, 1974, Neepawa, Manitoba.  In 1890, Olive and her family relocated to Eden, Manitoba.  Olive graduated in 1910 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She served at the Camp Sewell (lated Camp Hughes) military hospital, Manitoba to gain military nursing experience. In November 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, the University of Toronto No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England. In France she served at No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Etaples, France where she survived enemy air raids. After the war she returned to Canada working as private or special nurse in both Canada and the U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Winnifred Cochrane-Coombe
World War 1 Nursing Sister  3278

Born July 17, 1888, Ranchvale, Manitoba. Died 1961, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jessie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1913. In September 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to West Cliff Eye and Ear Canadian Hospital, Folkstone and was transferred to Princess Patricia's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Ramsgate, England. In 1917 she was serving at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France. After the war she married C.  V. Coombe and the couple settled in Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021)

Gertrude Ethel Comerford-Durling                           3229

World War 1 Nursing Sister

née Comerford. Born June 29, 1892, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. Died April 2, 1954, New York State, U.S.A. Gertrude Ethel graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario in 1916. April 17, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England and then she served in France. She was herself hospital in England in the fall of 1917. After the war she immigrated to the United States in 1924 to work at the Detroit Board of Health. Later she relocated to work at the Oregon ENT Hospital, Portland, U.S.A. November 2, 1928 she married Vernon Beckwith Durling and the couple settled  in New York State, U.S.A. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Connolly

World War 1 Nursing Sister     0035

Born April 18, 1879, Antrim, Ireland. Died August 26, 1926, Winnipeg, Manitoba ?  In 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She worked on staff at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. In may 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 16, Canadian General Hospital, the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England. After the war she returned to the King George Hospital, Winnipeg.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada, online (accessed  2021).

Margaret Elizabeth Copland-Hunter
3830
Nurse in 1885 Insurrection

née Copland. Born April 18, 1849, Kirkgunzeon, Scotland. Died February 18, 1940, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Margaret trained as a nurse prior to her marriage to William Hunter (1845-1894) in 1870. The following year the couple emigrated to Ontario and then moved west to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The couple homesteaded in Llewellyn community raising seven children At the outbreak of the Métis insurrection in 1885 the Copland homestead was an encampment ground for Canadian troops. Margaret used her nursing skills to treat wounded from both sides of the conflict. Source: Saskatchewan Legion, Military Service Book. Online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)

Rebecca "Ruby' Muriel Cornette-Kidd

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3352

née Cornette. Born March 9, 1889, Orangeville, Ontario. Died 1973, Leduc, Alberta. Ruby enlisted as a nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on  May 5, 1915. She registered with sever of her roommates from the Nurse's Home, Kingston, Ontario. She was posted to N0. 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital. She was then sent to France at N0. 1 Canadian General Hospital for two month. Back in England she was sent to Egypt. In 1916 she was serving at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, France and after a month she was transferred to No. 7 Canadian General  The hospital was bombed on May 6, 1918 which caused Ruby anxiety and she was found to be fit in July of 1916 to return to duty at No. & Hospital. After the war she married Dr. Clarence Kidd (Died 1946)in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1919. The couple settled in Leduc, Alberta where they raised their son. Source: Beckwith Heroes , Officers of Beckwith Township. online. (accessed 2021) 

Dorothy MacLeod Penner Cotton

World War 1 Matron of Nurses 3098

Born August 2, 1886, Quebec City, Quebec. Died August 12, 1977, Outremont, Quebec. Dorothy graduated from nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal. In 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Overseas she served at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, supported by McGill University. Later she was one of nurses who were sent to serve in an Anglo-Russian hospital at Dmitri Palace, Petrograd. In 1917 she returned to England to serve as acting Matron at an officer's hospital, London. Her diary (1915-1916) and several photographs taken during her war are preserved at the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Sources: Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada (accessed 2021)

Jean Cowan

World War 1 Nursing Sister    
3207

Born August 7, 1891, Guelph, Ontario. Died April 1, 1971, Saskatchewan. Jean graduated in 1915 rom the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In April 1916 jean enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She travelled overseas with the Saskatchewan Unit of Nurses and was posted to Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe Canadian Military Hospital, No 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Hastings in England and then in France at NO. 6 Canadian General Hospital. She suffered from poor health, extreme fatigue and a bout with the mumps before she returned home in 1919. She settled in Toronto, Ontario and worked for the Department of Soldier's Civil Re-Establishment (now Veterans Affairs) IN the early 1960's she returned to Saskatchewan. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).

Mary Clark-Pyne SEE - Social Activist

Grace Jean Conner-McKenzie

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3286

Born May 21, 1887, Morden, Manitoba. Died February 7, 1974, Manitou, Manitoba. Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing in 1914. After graduation she worked in the operating room at the WGH. May 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport and the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France. She also served at No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton , England before returning to Canada in 1919. After the war she married William McKenzie. They lived in Peace River, Snowflake and Pilot Mound where Grace continued her nursing career. She retired in 1952 to Manitou, Manitoba. Source: Health Science Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Hilda Corelli

World War 1 Nursing Sister     
0036

Born May 30, 1884, Birkenhead, Cheshire, England. Died July 3, 1963, Sussex, England. Hilda graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1909. She originally worked with the Winnipeg Children's Hospital but soon left her position to work as a private nurse. She relocated to British Columbia to work at the Royal Inland Hospital, Kamloops. By 1914 she was working at the Regina General Hospital in Saskatchewan. the following year she was Acting Superintendent at Ninette Sanatorium, Saskatchewan. In November 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was stationed at the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital/No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Clivedon, England, No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, South Hampton, England, No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, Canadian Special Hospital, Lenham and also on the hospital ship H. M. A. T. Araguaya. After the war she took courses in child welfare work and was certified by the Central Midwives Board, London, England.  In 1921 she returned to Winnipeg working until retirement in 1952 when she returned to England. Source: Heath Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Jane Coulter

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3127

Born February 6, 1877, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Died October 17, 1934, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Annie graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  In February 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she served  at Moore Barracks Hospital, England before she was sent to France. She was posted to No. 1 and No. 2 Canadian General Hospitals in France prior to serving at the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in Shorncliffe, England. After the war she returned to Sault Ste. Marie where she worked with the city as a relief officer. Source: Heath Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. online Class of 1911 online (accessed 2021); The Canadian Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

Irene Pearl Courtice-Lambert

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3230

née Courtice. Born September 26, 1887, Bethany, Ontario. Died August 17, 1963, Toronto, Ontario. After attending Albert College Irene Pearl attended Normal School (Teacher's College) and taught school in Fortescue, Ontario. By 1913 she had graduated from the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing. April 7, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) jut a few weeks after her brother Dr. John Thomas Courtice had enlisted. Overseas she was posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and later in France and Salonika, Greece. She also served on transport duty in 1918 on the H. M. H. S. Araguaya.  She became Matron at the Whitby Military Convalescent Hospital in Ontario. March 30, 1920 she married Rev. Sidney Lambert who became president of the Amputee Association of the Great War (War Amps). Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Jean Cowie-Harry

World War 1 Nursing Sister     
3268

née  Cowie. Born June 9, 1888, Fort McMurray, Northwest Territories (now Alberta). Died February 11, 1982, Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. In 1912 Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. The next year she was working as Nigh Supervisor at the Royal Island Hospital, Kamloops, British Columbia. Shortly after she worked in the Operating Room at WGH. By 1916 she was on staff at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. Later that year she joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. While serving overseas she met and married Lieutenant W. Earl Harry. After the was the couple returned to Manitoba and she became teaching supervisor at WGH from 1928-1932. She served as president ot the Nurses' Alumnae Association in 1932. Until 1959 she worked as Superintendent of both Administration and School of Nursing of Victoria Hospital, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. In 1935 she was presented with the King George V Jubilee Medal. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)

Elsie Cressman                0037

Born April 13, 1923, Wilmot Township, Wellington County, Ontario. Died September 11,  2012, New Hamburg, Ontario. Elsie attended Goshen College in Indiana, and Easter Mennonite College, Virginia, U.S.A. and studied nursing at St Mary’s Hospital, Kitchener, Ontario. Later in life she took extra midwifery training in England. As a Mennonite medical missionary from 1953 through to the mid 1970’s she established a number of health clinics in East Africa. She also established a Leprosarium in Shirati, Tanzania and the Tom Mboya Memorial Health Centre in Kenya. Elsie was also responsible for setting up midwifery program at various Canadian Universities such as McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Ryerson University, Toronto, Ontario, and Laurentian University, Sudbury, Ontario. All of these universities offer a bachelor degree in midwifery. Her efforts earned her recognition with the Order of Ontario. She retired from birthing babies in 1998 at 75 years of age. In 2010 she was the subject of a documentary aired on CTV.  Source: Waterloo Region Hall of Fame. Online (Accessed July 2014) ; “Elsie Cressman was staunch advocate of midwifery in Ontario.” The Record, Kitchener/Waterloo September 13, 2012. Online (Accessed July 2014) ; “Elsie Cressman” . Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. (Accessed July 2014) Book: Elsie Cressman: A trailblazing life by Nancy Silcox, 2012  (2021)

Gladys Elizabeth Matheson Crim                                       0038                   

née Matheson. Born September 27, 1892, St Barnabas Mission, Onion Lake. Died 1968, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gladys was the daughter of Dr. Elizabeth Scott Matheson (1866-1958) who was the 1st woman licensed doctor in the area. From 1906 through 1909 she attended Kilborn Sister’s School at Dunham Ladies College, Ottawa, Ontario. She returned home to work at her parent’s mission for two years before she began training as a nurse at Memorial Hospital in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Again she returned home to work. She taught at the mission school for three years while helping in her mother’s hospital. In 1914 she went to Winnipeg General Hospital to complete her nurse training. In 1916 both her father and her fiancé died but she continued her studies graduating in 1917. She worked at Tuxedo Military Hospital in Winnipeg prior to enlisting on May 25, 1917 for overseas war service as a lieutenant nursing sister at the Eastborne, England hospital for Canadian soldiers. On May 6, 1918 she was ordered to serve at no three Canadian General Hospital in Boulogne, France which was a series of huts near the front line of the war. In May 1919 she was back serving at the Winnipeg Tuxedo Military Hospital. In 1920 she was worn out and went to Vancouver, British Columbia for three months. In 1926 she married U.S. Infantry officer Stirling Crim (1891-1980) in Hawaii. The couple settled in San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.. After the death of her husband she returned to live in Winnipeg. Source: The Story behind the Statue, Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association. Online (Accessed June 2014) (2021)

Doris Crummey-Harrison

World War 1 Nursing Sister   
3387

née Crummey. Born February 25, 1892, Nellore, India. Doris graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By April 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Over seas she served at No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton and No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Eastbourne, England. After the war Doris married Charles Harrison and the couple lived in California, U.S.A. where she worked as a private nurse. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Cathy Crowe       SEE - Social Activists
Ada Victoria Cuddy-Morgan

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3388

Born June 28, 1887, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Died 1954, Toronto, Ontario. Ada graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1917. After graduation she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, West Cliffe Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, and the Ontario Military hospital, No. 16 Canadian General hospital where she served until she was hospitalized with appendicitis. In March 1919 she married Dr. A. E. Morgan in England. After the war the couple returned to Canada and settled in Toronto, Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Ethel Eva Cutter-Jackson

World War 1 Nursing Sister        3315

Born March 12, 1888, Aldershot, Ontario. Died August 31, 1966, Kern, California, U.S.A. Ethel trained in Vancouver, British Columbia to be a nurse. She relocated to Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. in November  1914 to continue her nursing training at the Good Samaritan Hospital. Rather than return to Canada to serve with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) during World War 1 she joined and served with the American Red Cross. After the war she relocated to Honolulu in September 1920 nursing at Queens Hospital. In 1922 she married Clarence E. Baxter in California but sadly they divorced in 1924. In 1964 she married Harold L. Jackson. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Ainslie St. Clair Dagg

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3358

Born February 5, 1892, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died November 29, 1918, Clivedon, England. After graduating from Havergal College in 1909, Ainslie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1916.In 1917 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. Overseas she served for a year prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in April 1918. She was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, also known as No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow. Shortly after her posting she contracted influenza and then pneumonia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Grace Annie Lamby Dainty   3560

Born 1877, England. Died 1974, Lethbridge, Alberta. While she was still an infant her parents immigrated and settled in Ontario. In 1904 she followed her father and brother to settle in Cardston, Alberta.  In 1905 she opened a Children's Shelter which she ran through to 1909 when she opened a private maternity hospital. The city of Lethbridge has names a street in her honour. She soon was a familiar figure working as the first public health nurse in Lethbridge.  She worked as a registered nurse at the Galt Hospital in Lethbridge earing her nursing degree in 1919.  A generous person , after a staff cut in pay she gave part of her earnings to supplement the hospital maid's pay.  In 1918 her private hospital became a public regional facility where she housed victims of the First World War Spanish influenza epidemic. In 1922 she retired but continued to care for people in her neighbourhood. St. Mary's Anglican Church named the parish hall Dainty Hall. The city of Lethbridge names a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Sarah Persis Johnson Darrach

World War 1 Nursing Matron  0039

née  Johnson.  Born February 8, 1886, Rosscarberry, Ireland. Died September 4, 1974, Brandon, Manitoba. Sarah's family emigrated to Canada in September 1898 and settled at Beresford, Manitoba. In 1908, she was admitted to the nursing program at Brandon General Hospital graduating as gold medalist in 1911. She did her postgraduate work at Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. and returned home to become Assistant Matron of Brandon General Hospital. She was  posted overseas in 1914. Working as a nurse during the First World War she nursed in field hospitals in France, and war hospitals in England. She served Matron of No. One Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. She was awarded the Royal Red Cross, Second and First Class, the latter being awarded to her by the Prince of Wales in 1919. Returning home in 1919, she became Superintendent of Nurses at Brandon Hospital where she worked to improve the working conditions of nurses and establishing standardized nursing training programs. In 1920 she married Robert Darrach. The couple set up a fresh-air camp for disadvantaged kids at Lake Clementi, south of Brandon that accepted needy children for ten years. In 1934, she was the recipient of the Order of the British Empire. In 1936 she became the Dean of Women at Brandon College where she retired in  1953. She received the Canada Centennial Medal in 1967. Darrach Hall at Brandon University was named in her honour as was Darrach Avenue in the City of Brandon. Source: Memorable Manitobans Online (accessed February 2014) (2021)

Winnifred Dawson

World War 1 Nursing Sister     
3292

Born February 26, 1890, Ontario. Died June 1972, New Brunswick? Winnifred graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  After graduation she nursed in Canora, Saskatchewan. By 1916 she was working at the WGH in the operating room. In 1917 she became nurse in charge of the operating room at the N0. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg.  She enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in September 1917. Overseas she was posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England. After the war she returned to Canada and worked in Toronto for the Child Welfare Department.  In 1922 she moved to Rio d Janeiro, Brazil  working for the Rockefeller Foundation as a public health nurse. In 1937 she became the Eastern Supervisor of the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N), Moncton, New Brunswick.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1914.. online (accessed 2021);

Edith Deason

World War 1 Nursing Sister     
3280

Born November 28, 1880, Lancashire, England. Died February 12, 1967, Brandon, Manitoba.  In 1913 Edith graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  After graduation she worked at the WGH> In April 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, France and then to NO. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Lemnos Island and Alexandria, Egypt. Returning to England she served at the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe. She was then transferred to No 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital and NO. 11 Canadian General Hospital, France. In 1919 she was working at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In 1922 she relocated to San Francisco, California, U.S.A. to work as a private nurse. In 1927 she was in Illinois, U.S.A. where she took a course in anesthetics. She would return to Canada and settled at the Brandon Mental Hospital, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Ida Georgina Denmark-MacNutt

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3231

née Denmark. Born July 13, 1886, Belleville, Ontario. Died February 12, 1969, Vancouver, British Columbia. Ida began her nursing training at the Montreal Maternity Hospital, Quebec. In August 1909 while visiting his daughter in Montreal she father collapsed and died. graduated from the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, New Westminster, British Columbia in 1912. September 18, 1914 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital LeTouquet, France. This was the first of all Canadian units to set up in France. In July 1916 she resigned her commission and married Dr. Louis Wellington MacNutt. After the war the couple settled in Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Agnes Dennis                  0040

née Miller. Born April 11, 1859, Truro, Nova Scotia. Died April 21, 1947, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She attended Truro's Model and Normal Schools and taught at the Model School for two years prior to her marriage in 1878 to William Dennis (d 1920), publisher of the Halifax Herald newspaper. Agnes served as president of the Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) from 1901 through to 1946.  She was president of the  Halifax Council of Women from 1906 through 1920. Agnes mobilized women in World War I for the Red Cross for which she was also president at the provincial level from 1914 to 1920. She actively participated include the Women's Auxiliary, YMCA 1910-1921, Halifax Relief Committee, Canadian Council of Immigration of Women, and Nova Scotia Provincial Girl Guides. She also helped co-ordinate relief efforts for the Halifax Explosion of 1917. In 1919 she was named to the Order of Queen Elizabeth of Belgium.  Even with all this work she found time to raise ten children of her own! After the death of her husband she became president of the Halifax Herald Ltd. In 1934 she became a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. The following year she received the King of England's Silver Jubilee Medal. (2021)

Agnes Foley Dick

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3232

Born May 3, 1891, Lochgelly, Scotland. Died ???? Agnes immigrated to Canada in May 1911. She graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario in 1917. She settled in Toronto and enlisted as a Nursing Sister in January 1918. She was posted to Davisville Military Orthopaedic Hospital, Spadina Military Hospital and Base Hospital, Toronto. She herself was hospitalized for influenza, then anaemia and was giver a disability discharge on August 31, 1919. After the war she nursed in Toronto. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Ruby Belle Dickie

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3365

Born July 29, 1890, Carlyle, Saskatchewan. Died March 20, 1981, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Ruby graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. Right after graduating she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and served in Mesopotamia, Egypt and England. After the war, she returned to Winnipeg and worked with the Manitoba Provincial Board of health. In 1925 she was working out of Brandon, Manitoba. Later she would joint staff at the Out Patients Department of St. Boniface Hospital where she retired in 1956. Ruby was an active member of the WGH Nurses' Alumna Association and enjoyed working on the Alumnae Journal. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Mildred Sarah Dobbs  3561 Born June 11, 1878, Gloucestershire, England. Died January 17, 1974, Lethbridge, Alberta. Mildred trained as a nurse in England and for awhile worked with the Queen's Nurses, an English organization similar to the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) in Canada. In 1911 she immigrated to Canada following her brother to Lethbridge, Alberta. She began working at the Isolation Hospital just outside of Lethbridge. She hauled coal  to keep the six coal fires burning. Her assistant was 'fumigated' and allowed out for one day each three months. Relatives left treats for patients outside the hospital fence. By 1828 there wa new quarters for the Isolation Hospital which was furnished with beds from the Grace Hospital. Mildred retired after 32 years in 1950 at 74 years of age, never having taken so much as one day sick leave. The local I O D E chapter was named in her honour. The city of Lethbridge names a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)
Carola Josephine 'C J" Douglas

World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea                                       3341
 

Born April 7, 1887, Toronto, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918 at sea.  She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on March 2, 1915.  On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

Jean Isabel 'Jennie' Drummond-Field
World War 1 Nursing Sister   3316

Born July 28, 1882, East Flamborough Township, Ontario. Died October 28, 1985, Burlington, Ontario. Jennie travelled to the U.S.A to train as a nurse at the Episcopalian Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.  After graduating she returned to Canada and worked at a hospital in Toronto. March 17, 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to the Base hospital, Military District No. 2 organizing blood donor clinics. After the war she married Arthur Thomas Field on June 22, 1921.  Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Lylia Miller Drummond-Plunkett

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3233

née Drummond. Born May, 16, 1886, Keene, Ontario. Died September 3, 1961, Peterborough County, Ontario. In 1910 Lylia graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario. She went overseas to work at Bloomingfield Bridge-of-Allan, Scotland. October 7, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to military hospitals in Ramsgate, London, England Brighton and Eastbourne, England, She returned to Canada after the war and nursed in Belleville. She went on to private nursing in Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A. for awhile and then returned to Canada. November 27, 1942 she married Robert Plunkett and the couple settled in Keene, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Thurley May Duck

Born 1928, Victoria, British Columbia. Died September 26, 1997, Duncan, British Columbia. In 1951 Thurley graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing in Victoria, British Columbia. She worked as a staff nurse at the hospital and went on to become a Head Nurse and Assistant Supervisor. She furthered her education with  a Bachelor of Nursing, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. From 1966 through 1973 she was Assistant Supervisor of Centennial Pavilion of the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH). from 1975-1978 she was Building Supervisor of the Heather Pavilion, VGH. In 1978 she became Director of Nursing at VGH. She also served as the 24th president of the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia. After retirement she relocated to Shawinigan Lake, British Columbia. Source: BC History of Nursing Society. Online (accessed 2021)

Beverly Witter Du Gas     0041

Born June 29,1923, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died November 20, 2012, Vancouver, British Columbia. She studied nursing earning a Bachelor degree in nursing in 1945 and earning her masters in 1947 at the University of Washington in Seattle, U.S.A. Later in life she would return to school for her PhD in Adult Education in 1969. She began her nursing career at the Vancouver General Hospital and in 1957 she became acting director and director in 1960. Beverly was married and the mother of four children. She introduced students to real people as patients and wrote a 1st year nursing textbook, the 1st of many textbooks in the nursing education field. In 1965 through 1967 she worked for the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations going to India. Back home in Canada she began working at Health and Welfare Canada and with World Health. In Barbados she established a program to prepare teachers for the Health Sciences. In 1982 she joined the faculty of nursing t the University of Ottawa and became director of the School of Nursing in 1987, retiring in 1989. She continued in nursing with WHO going to Fiji, China, Manila, and India as well as producing more nursing textbooks. In 1999 she was presented with the Order of British Columbia and in 2001 the Order of Canada. Source: School of Nursing at the University of British Columbia, Online accessed November 2012. ; Obituary.   (2021)

Wendy Duggleby            0042

née Rennie. Born November 1953, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Wendy earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan in 1975. She married Tom Duggleby and the couple have two children. She furthered her education with a Master’s in Nursing at the University of Alberta before heading to The University of Texas Health Sciences Centre, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. to earn her PhD in 1999. She returned to Saskatoon in 2001 to work at the College of Nursing. Her main efforts in research have been on eldercare. She is the founder of Living in Hope Program with the mandate to explore and foster hope in terminally ill health. In 2006 she earned the Distinguished Researcher Award from the University of Saskatchewan before moving to become Professor and acting Vice Dean, for the Endowed Nursing Research Chair in Aging and Quality of Life at the University of Alberta. She is a regular contributor to medical and scholarly journals on her area of expertise and she has contributed several chapters to books on this topic as well. In January 2013 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. Source: Herstory 2012: The Canadian Women’s Calendar (Coteau Books, 2011)  (2021)

Alexina Dussault


World War 1 Nursing Sister Died at Sea                                    3339

Born March 25, 1875, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Alexina enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on September 25, 1914. It is possible that she claimed she was born in 1882 to be younger than was allowed to enlist. She was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital and No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital. In February 1916 she was on the front in Boulogne, France. She volunteered to serve on hospital ships caring for wounded being sent back to Canada.  On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 sould on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: Alexina Dussault, Library and Archives Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Eunice Henrietta Dyke

Public Health Pioneer            0043

Born February 8, 1883, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 1, 1964, Toronto, Ontario. In 1905 she studied nursing at the John Hopkins School of Nursing in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. Back home in Toronto she began working for the Toronto Department of health and worked her way up to Superintendent of Nurses in the department. In 1914 she established Public Health Nursing in the Toronto Department of Health. Her advocacy for Public Health Nursing got her fired at the peak of her career. This was an era when nurses were nothing more than hand maids for doctors. Eunice went on and  facilitated the education of public health nurses in a university setting. She developed a visiting housekeeper service which was the forerunner of the Visiting Homemakers Association. She would travel throughout North America and Europe lobbying and encouraging others in the field of Public Health Nursing. After her retirement she established the Second Mile Club for seniors in Toronto. This was the 1st senior citizens organization in Canada. In 1960 the Canadian Public Health Association honoured Eunice with a life membership. The book Eunice Dyke: Health Care Pioneer by Marion Royce from Dundurn Press tells the whole story. Suggestion submitted by Dave Ferguson. (2021)

Margaret Eaton

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3317

Born June 11, 1865, Carlisle, Canada West, (now Ontario). Died ???? While living with her brother Dr. John Murray in 1901 she worked as a nurse in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She travelled on a medical excursion with her brother and another doctor to Havana, Cuba in 1911. She worked after her Cuban trip in London, Ontario. Jun 2, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). When she enlisted she gave the date of her birth as June 21, 1878 so that she could meet the age restrictions of the CAMC. She served in England and in Canada until 1920. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Susan 'Susie' Mae Elliott
World War 1 Nursing Sister 3435

Born January 15, 1889, London, Ontario. Died 1965?, London, Ontario. Susie graduated from the Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London, Ontario in 1914. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on April 5, 1917. After the war she returned home to London, Ontario. Source: Class of 1914, Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London Public Library online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada. (accessed 2021)

Kathleen Wilhelmina Ellis 0044

Born July 16, 1887, Penticton British Columbia. Died March 9, 1968, Penticton, British Columbia. As a child Kathleen professed that she always wanted to help people. In 1915 she graduated in nursing from the Johns Hopkins College, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. Returning to British Columbia she became Matron of the Vancouver Island Military Hospital in Victoria. She went on to work in Detroit Michigan, U.S.A. and Toronto, Ontario. In 1921 she became Superintendent of Nurses and Principal of the School of Vancouver General Hospital. During this time she was President of the Vancouver Graduate Nurses Association and went on to be president of the Graduate Nurses of British Columbia. In 1929 she enrolled in a Public Health Course at Bedford College, London, England. Returning to Canada she worked as Director of Nursing at the Winnipeg General Hospital in Saskatchewan. In 1930 she had a major role in publishing the National Survey of Nursing in Canada which is a historical milestone in Canada’s nursing history. In 1938 she played a major role in opening the School of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan and served as Director of the school until her retirement. She would serve as vice-president of the Canadian Nurses Association and during World War ll she was the national emergency advisor for the Canadian Nurses Association as well as holding the position of secretary treasurer. During her distinguished career she published numerous articles in the Canadian Nurse Journal. In 1966 she was presented with ‘the Freedom of the City’ from Penticton, British Columbia. (2021)

Muriel Shirecliffe Parker Ellis-Slevin

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3415

Born October 27, 1878, London, England. Died December 9, 1965, Vancouver, British Columbia.  The family immigrated to Canada just prior to 1911 and settled in British Columbia. . Muriel enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in May 1915. Her enlistment declaration gives her date of birth as 1881 but she may have lied to be sure she would be accepted for service. She served at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France after a short time with the No. 4 British General Hospital. In August 1916 she was invalidate to Villa Tino Hospital.  Fit for service by the end of Novemeber she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, England. By February 1917 she herself was in Hospital and given 14 days leave. She was posted to France serving at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Doullens. May 4, 1918 she was again back in hospital. Recoperated she was posted at the No. 14 Canadian General Hospital and later at the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital. December 1918 once again found her in hospital.  By March 1919 she was declared medically unfit and she returned to British Columbia. She was posted for the last time to Hastings Park, Vancouver. In July 1919 she was discharged. November 30, 1929 she married Edward Lawrence Slevin (died 1953). Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Gertrude Lagoria English

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3318

Born September 29, 1888, Waterdown, Ontario. Died May 25, 1980, Waterdown, Ontario. Gertrude travelled to the U.S.A. to train as a nurse at Grace Hospital, Detroit, Michigan. After graduation she worked for the Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit. In 1918 she joined the American Red Cross to serve overseas during World War 1. After the war she returned to work again at the Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit. In September 1921 she took out her American citizenship. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Catherine English

World War 1 Nursing Sister    0045

Born May 11, 1877, Keady, Ireland. Died Died September 7, 1925, Dublin, Ireland. In 1912 Mary immigrated to Montréal, Quebec. February 5, 1912 she registered to be Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and enlisted in Montreal May 1 of that year. She was originally posted to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital Le Touquet, France and then transferred to England working at the No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital in South Hampton, England. By August she was serving on the Greek Island of Lemnos. Here she suffered from jaundice and was sent to England where by February she was once again fit for service. February 23, 1917 King George V himself presented her with the Royal Red Cross 2nd class (A. R. R. C. ). The next month she was serving in Boulogne, France. July 1918 she was with the No. 8  Canadian General Hospital where Canadian Head Matron reported that she was one of the best nurses. She served in various additional locations in France. June 20, 1919 she arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia. and was demobilized July 1, 1919. Source: A tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts. Online (accessed 2020) (2021)

Muriel Marguerite Fell

World War 1 Nursing Sister     0046

Born September 6, 1889, Burlington, Ontario. Died July 31, 1941, Toronto, Ontario.  Muriel's father was a dentist in Gore Bay, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Muriel Marguerite graduated from Nursing School, Clifton Springs, New York, U.S.A. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on December 15, 1916. Overseas she served in several hospitals in England and then at No. 6 Canadian General Hospital, Troyes, France and then to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. In 1919 she herself was in hospital with anaemia. After the war she worked at the Belleville General Hospital and served as Superintendent of Nurses at the new San Jose Hospital, California, U.S.A. She returned home to Canada working for the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N ) in Toronto. She is remembered for her service in the Book of Remembrance, Ottawa, the Canadian War Memorial, and on the Manitoulin Women's War Memorial. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Ida Hattie May Ferguson


World War 1 Nursing Sister 

Born June 26, 1885, Assiginack Township, Manitoulin Island, Ontario. Died August 25, 1981. Ida was doing nursing studies at the New York Post Graduate General Hospital during World War 1. In June 1917 Ida, was a member of the New York Hospital Unit with the Army Nurse Reserve Corps. Their ship headed to serve in France was rammed by a German vessel and their departure was delayed. Much of their equipment and personal possessions were ruined. In August the group set sail again this time on the S.S. Finland as part of a convoy. This trip they were involved in a battle with a German U-Boat (submarine). The finally arrive at St. Naziare, France where they marches 18 kilometres to a Base Hospital No. 8. While serving at Field Hospital No. 12 Ida display great courage on October 8, 1918 when the hospital was bombed for an entire day. She remained at her post in the operating room risking he own life for 12 hours. She and another nurse received a citation Certificate and the Crois De Guerre Medal from France for their bravery. Both the citation and medal are  on display in the War room of the Assiginack Museum. When she returned home from overseas to Manitowaning, Manitoulin Island she was met by a large crowd who had decorated the town in her honour. Source: Manitoulin Roots. online (accessed 2021)

Sadie Ferguson-Hook

World War 1 Nursing Sister   
3267

née Ferguson. Born December 30, 1888, Belfast, Ireland. Died January 6, 1965, British Columbia. Sadie graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, by 1914 she worked on the staff of the Regina General Hospital, Manitoba. In February 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France, and No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece.  Suffering poor health  she was discharged and returned to Manitoba in 1917. Having recuperated she worked that summer at Keewatin Beach in charge of the convalescent cottage for returned soldiers. She then became Assistant Matron at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she married John Hook and the couple settled in California and then returned to British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)

Georgina Flemming   4001
 
Born 1894, Nova Scotia. Died 1918, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. In December 1917, when Halifax suffered the great explosion that killed some 3,000 people, the City of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. had responded by immediately sending medial works and aid. In 1918 Boston was suffer from Influenza with 85, 000 flu cases. The call to help Boston was received at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax. In all 32 Nova scotia nurses served in Boston in the fall of 1918 with at least 12, Including Georgina and her sister Winnifred (1885-1918), making the ultimate sacrifice, dying with the flu that they had come to fight. Source: The Nurses who repaid Halifax's 1917 debt to Boston. online (accessed 2022)
Winnifred Flemming   4002 Born 1894, Nova Scotia. Died 1918, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. In December 1917, when Halifax suffered the great explosion that killed some 3,000 people, the City of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. had responded by immediately sending medial works and aid. In 1918 Boston was suffer from Influenza with 85, 000 flu cases. The call to help Boston was received at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax. In all 32 Nova scotia nurses served in Boston in the fall of 1918 with at least 12, Including Georgina and her sister Winnifred (1885-1918), making the ultimate sacrifice, dying with the flu that they had come to fight. Source: The Nurses who repaid Halifax's 1917 debt to Boston. online (accessed 2022)
Rachel Fogarty

World War 1 Nursing
Matron   0047

Died 1954. Rachel graduated from the Winnipeg General hospital School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1898. She served as a missionary nurse to South Africa in 1900 and worked at Cottage Hospital, Bloemfontein where she became Nurse Superintendent in 1921 in charge of both hospital and training school for nurses. She served with Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service during World War 1 receiving the Royal Red Cross Medal First Class from King George V on July 26, 1919. She returned to Winnipeg after she retired and became the first librarian in the Nurses Residence Library. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1898: The British Journal of Nursing, August 2, 1919 pg. 78. online (accessed 2021)

Minnie Asenath Follette

World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea                                       3342

Born November 11, 1884, Port Grenville, Nova Scotia. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Minnie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps on September 25, 1914. She was posted at No. 1 Canadian Casualty Station, Quebec. Serving overseas she was diagnosed with nervous exhaustion on April 8, 1916 and was given two months res. Returning to duty she contracted bronchitis and was once again in hospital this time at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital near the end of march 1917.  In August of 1917 she served on the H M S Letitia and was transferred to the Ontario Medical Hospital that fall. In March 1918 she was posted to serve on the Llandovery Castle hospital ship. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts, online (accessed 2021)

Agnes Annie Forbes

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3267

Born September 12, 1887, East Flamborough Township, Ontario.  Died ???? Agnes Annie travelled to the U.S.A. to train as a nurse at White Plaines Hospital, New York. After graduation she returned to Waterdown, Ontario and worked as a nurse for a year. In 1914 she returned to White Plains, New York with her step -sister who was a student nurse.  August 22, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Sara Forbes

Nursing Sister of the Boer War
0048

Born April 7, 1880, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Died December 1, 1902, Liverpool, Nova Scotia. Sara's early education was at Liverpool Academy and later at a young ladies' finishing school. Although interested in becoming a nurse, her father was opposed and it was not until after his death in 1887 that she attended Columbia Hospital, Washington, D.C., U.S.A. Under the Canadian nurse Georgina Fane Pope (1862-1938). Sara worked in Montreal, Quebec, with the Victoria Order of Nurses and then returned to Columbia Hospital as head nurse under Georgina Pope. Back once again in Canada she worked in private nursing. Sara was one of four nurses in the 1st contingent of Nursing Sisters sent to the Boer War in South Africa in the fall of 1899. Sara, Minnie Affleck (1874-1956), and Elizabeth Russell (1879-???), served under Matron Georgina Pope. (1862-1938). The Nursing Sisters were given a rank and pay equal to that of an army Lieutenant. They were the 1st Canadian military Nursing Sisters to be sent overseas. These were the nurses worked at No.1 General Hospital, and then at No. 3 General Hospital at Rondebosch (Cape Town). In May 1900 she assisted Georgina Pope in establishing a temporary hospital and finally worked in Pretoria at a Irish Hospital Sara was awarded the Queen's South Africa Medal for her services. Sara returned home for awhile but was soon back in South Africa with the 2nd Regiment, Canadian Mounted Rifles at No 19 Stationary Hospital near Harrismith. She would return to Halifax at the end of the war in 1902 weakened by the overseas ordeal.  Source: D C B (2021)

Agnes Florien Forneri

Nursing Sister of the Boer War0049

Born April 18, 1881, Belleville, Ontario. Died April 24, 1918, Bramshott, England. Agnes graduated from the Lady Stanley Institute Nursing School, Ottawa, Ontario in 1906. February 22, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with teh Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at the Kitchener Memorial Hospital, Brighton, England and then was posted to No. 8 Canadian General Hospital St. Cloud, France. In February 1918 she was invalided to England where after a month's rest she was posted to Bramshott, Canadian Military Hospital, England. Within a few weeks she suffered a relapse and died of hemorrhagic peptic ulceration. She is buried in the church yard at Bramshott, England where her nursing colleagues erected a marble cross. She is also commemorated on a plaque at St. Luke's Church, Kingston, Ontario where her father was minister. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Annie McInnis Forrest

World War 1 Nursing Sister
                                             
   3096
 

Born November 16, 1880, Renfrew, Ontario. Died ???? Annie Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1907. After graduation she worked in charge of the Operation Room at Galt Hospital in Lethbridge, Alberta. By 1909 she was working in the Operating Room at the WGH. In 1914 she was appointed Lady Superintendent at Ninette Sanatorium in Manitoba. May 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served overseas at No. 5 Canadian Hospital, Shorncliffe and then at a Casualty Clearing Station Hospital in France. In 1918 she was posted to a Canadian Special Hospital, Lenham, England. After the war she settled in London, Ontario working at the Queen Alexandra Sanatorium. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Mary Forshaw-Byron
3484

née Fraser. Born October 1, 1892, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died January 28, 1958, New Albany, Ohio, U.S.A. Jess took her step-father's ? name Forshaw, as an infant. Jessie graduated from the St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing 1915. The following spring she was working at the St. Ann's Hospital, Juneau, Alaska. In 1918 she was working with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) and was the first V O N to establish a health centre in Saanich, British Columbia under the provincial Public Health Department. She travelled throughout the eastern part of the province visiting Women's Institute groups espousing the virtues of public health facilities. In 1922 she was in Quebec teaching Public Health Nursing at MacDonald College, part of McGill University, at the agricultural extension on Montreal Island. She went on a four month extended tour inspecting and surveying in Eastern Quebec, the Maritimes, and touched some parts of Northern Ontario. She relocated to New York State in the U.S.A. for post graduate studies in mental hygiene and by 1930 she was in Queens, New York working to employ nurses. She was also very active in community life. In 1934 she married Richard M. Bryon and by 1948 the couple had settled in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. (2021)

Margaret Jane 'Daisy' Fortesuce

World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea                  

Born 1878, York Factory, Manitoba Territory. Died June 27, 1918, at sea. Daisy spent her childhood at the home of her paternal grandfather in Dawlish, England. She returned to Canada living in Kingston, Ontario, and then attending the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1905. April 22, 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) serving in France at various hospitals. By June 1918 she was assigned to HMHS Llandovery Castle returning war wounded to Canada. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Her name appears on a Halifax memorial at Point Pleasant  Park and memorials in Kingston, Ontario and Dawlish, England. (2021)

Annie Mabel Foster          3236

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born February 22, 1891, Moira, Ontario. Died February 18, 1949, Belleville, Ontario. Annie Mabel graduated with honours in 1917 from the Toronto Wellesley Hospital School of Nursing. May 1, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). In December 1938 she designed and built a new home in Belleville. She served first at Camp Borden before going overseas where she was posted to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. After the Armistice she was left in charge of the hospital until the patients were transferred or discharged. After the war she travelled to Europe visiting France and Germany. Sadly when she returned to Canada she never enjoyed good health having contracted tuberculosis during her service.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Margaret Vitaline Foster-Harston

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3237

née Foster. Born July 28, 1894, Bancroft, Ontario. Died May 1, 1990, Toronto, Ontario Margaret graduated in 1917 from the Nursing School, Belleville, Ontario. After graduation she worked at the hospital for a few months before enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on May 5, 1917.  Overseas she was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Cliveden, which was also called the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital. She resigned in January 1919 and married Rev. Ernest Harston. The couple returned to Canada after the war. After the death of her husband in 1944 she returned to her nursing career working at the Toronto General Hospital and then at Lockwood Clinic.   Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Margaret Marjory 'Pearl' Fraser

World War 1 Nursing Sister & Matron died at sea                   3340

Born March 20, 1885, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Pearl graduated from the Lady Stanley Institute for Trained Nurses, Ottawa, Ontario, in 1909.  She became Head Nurse at Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia Pearl enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on September 28, 1914. She served overseas in England and  at No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital in France. In July 1917 she was transferred to Kin's Red Cross Special Hospital, England and promoted to Matron with the rank of Major. In March of 1918 she was posted to the H M C S Llandovery Castle, a hospital ship that took wounded soldiers home to Canada.  On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: Valour Canada, Matron Fraser and the Llandovery Castle. online (accessed 2021)

Christina C. Frederickson
World War 1 Nursing Sister  

Born July 9, 1886, Skagafjord, Iceland. Died October 24, 1918, Edmonton, Alberta. Christina was a trained nurse and worked at Strathcona's Military Hospital, Edmonton, Alberta. On January 10, 1918 Christina enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She died in the isolation section of the hospital from influenza.  Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Isabella Flora Frid
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3320

née McGregor. Born October 28, 1889, Waterdown, Ontario. Died October 8, 1987, Waterdown, Ontario.  January 27, 1917 Isabella married Herbert Percival Frid. She joined the American Red Cross in 1917 as a nurse even though she had no formal training the Canadian Army Medical Corps did not accept married women of those without formal training as Nursing Sisters. She served in England with the American Red Cross. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Minnie Katherine Gallaher


World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea                                       3343

Born January 10. 1876, Pittsburgh, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Minnie was a graduate nurse from the Protestant General Hospital, Ottawa, Ontario.  On September 2, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in England. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

Evelyn Grace Galloway- Richards
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3321

Born April 4, 1893, Freelton, Ontario. Died July 1987, Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.A. Evelyn was a trained nurse. On May 2, 1917 she enlisted along with her sister Ruby Lorene Galloway (1888-????) as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) at Base Hospital, Toronto, Ontario. She went overseas and served in France. After returning to Canada at the end of the war she married on October 14, 1920 to Albert Edgar Richards, in Hamilton, Ontario.  The couple relocated to Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.A. in 1928, Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Ruby Lorena Galloway
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3322

Born August 17, 1888, Freelton, Ontario. A trained nurse she and her sister Evelyn Grace Galloway-Richards (1893-1987) enlisted as Nursing Sisters with the Canadian Army Medical Corps on May 2, 1917 at Base Hospital, Toronto.  Ruby served overseas in France. After the war she moved to New York City, U.S.A. and worked as a private nurse. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Laura Adelaide Gamble

World War 1 Nursing Sister          3100                    

Born September 4, 1887, Wakefield, Quebec. Died 1939?, Ontario. In 1910 Laura graduated in nursing from the University of Toronto (U of T). She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on May 4, 1915. She served overseas at the No. 4 Canadian General Hospital which had been organized by the U of T. She was also posted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital. Most of her service was spent on a medical ship in Malta and Salonika, Greece. Laura's war diary, which describes the nurses' social life, is preserved at the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa.  Source: Library and Archives Canada, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Sarah Ellen Garbutt

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3399
Born May 14, 1875, Pickering, England. Died August 20, 1917, England. On April 3, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted overseas to the No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, England. She herself was in hospital at the end of June 1917 at Queen Alexandra Hospital. She died of abdomen cancer and is buried at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surry, England. Her name appears on an plaque at Queens Park, Toronto, honouring the Nursing Sisters who died in W W l.  [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021); Great War Project, Nursing Sisters online (accessed 2021)  
Celestine Geen-Steele

World War 1 Nursing Sister     
3238

née Geen. Born February 7, 1878, Belleville, Ontario. Died August 16, 1972, Toronto, Ontario.  In 1910 Celestina graduated from the Halifax Military Hospital School of Nursing. She enlisted as a nursing Sister in the Canadian Army Medical Corps, September 25, 1914. Overseas she was posted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne, France and also served in England and Belgium. In January 1916 she was hospitalized in England with influenza and nervous exhaustion. In November 1917 she returned to Canada and was discharged in May 1918. December 26, 1918 she married a decorated war veteran Samuel Steele (died 1923).  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Jessie Margaret Gent-Newton

World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                                
3113

née Gent. Born November 22, 1883, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Died 1967, British Columbia England. Jessie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1909. She immediately began working as Head Nurse of the Maternity Ward at the WGH. In 1910 she left the WGH and worked as a private nurse. In 1913 she became Night Supervisor at the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan. Jessie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in April 1916. She was part of a Saskatchewan Nurses Unit which went to England in JUly 1916. She served overseas at Granville Special Hospital , Buxton, England, Shorncliffe Military Hospital, Canadian Stationary Hospital, Ramsgate, England and No. 8  Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, France. She returned to Saskatchewan in June 1919 and later lived with her husband Lancelot Newton (1882-1965) in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1909. online (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2021)

Alice M. Gerard

SEE - Academics

Clara Sophia Gilles

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3269

Born September 22, 1889, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died May 5, 1971, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1912 Clara graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  By 1914 she was working at the King George Hospital, Winnipeg. In 1916 she became Lady Superintendent of the King George Hospital for a year before enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in April 1917. Overseas she was posted to the No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, the Granville Canadian special Hospital, and the No. 15 Canadian General Hospital in England. After the war she returned to her position at the King George Hospital.  In 1920 she worked on the staff of the City of Winnipeg Anti-Tuberculosis Department. In 1926 she relocated to New York City to do special nursing. She would go on to nurse in Washington and Virginia in the U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Jean Cuthand Goodwill


Aboriginal Nurse                    0050

Born August 14, 1928, Little Pine First Nation, Saskatchewan. Died August 25, 1997, Regina, Saskatchewan. Orphaned as a child she was adopted by the Cuthland family of Little Pine Reserve, Saskatchewan. Her adoptive mother and grandmother were community midwives and healers. Jean attended high school in Saskatoon. She had tuberculosis when she was a student but new drugs helped her survive and while at a sanatorium she worked as a nurses aid. She studied nursing at Prince Albert Holy Family Hospital and began her career at Fort Qu’Appelle Indian Hospital. She was the 1st Aboriginal woman from Saskatchewan to complete a nursing program.  She married Ken Goodwill in 1965 and the young couple moved to Ottawa for Ken’s job with the Canadian Government. Jean soon was working as well. In 1973 she was coordinator with the Native Citizen’s Directorate with the Secretary of State. 1975 was the International year of the woman and she worked on a book on First Nation and Inuit women while working on a survey on Aboriginal nurses. Between 1983 and 1990 she was president of the organization Registered Nurses of Canadian Indian Ancestry (Now Aboriginal Nurses Association of Canada). While working with the Canadian government the travelled the country to identify health problems in Aboriginal communities. In the late 1980’s she was back in Saskatchewan heading the Indian Health Care Program at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College a part of the University of Regina. (2021)

Edith Alma Graham

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3239

Born October 18, 1889, Belleville, Ontario. Died May 4, 1959, Tweed, Ontario. Edith Alma graduated from nursing school in New York City, U.S.A. about 1914. March 18, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served over seas as the Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke and Westerhanger, England. She also served in France posted at the No. 1 and No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospitals. She returned to England to serve at the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow. After the war she nursed for many years in the United States before retiring to Tweed, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Mary Graham-Archibald

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3240

Born February 7, 1887, Elmvale, Ontario. Died June 28, 1984, Belleville, Ontario. After leaving high school she worked on the family far and then as a nanny in Toronto. In 1913 she graduated from the Monteal Western Hospital School of Nursing. April 14, 1914 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at the Imperial Stationary Hospital and the Canadian General Hospitals in Rouen and Etaples, France. She was transferred to the West Cliff Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, England where within thre months she was admitted suffering from influenza.  March 12, 1919 she married Alexander Archibald. In 1925 the couple relocated to Belleville. Mary served as a nurse at the Red Cross Blood Donor Clinic, helped organize the Young Women's Guild and was a member of the School for Leisure which helped women in strained circumstances learn to keep house.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Katherine Ethelwynne Gray-Borden

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3267

née Gray. Born May 19, 1892, Brierwood, Manitoba. Died !975, British Columbia. Katherine graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In January 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was stationed at Granville Canadian Special Hospital, England and then to NO. 3 Canadian General Hospital, France. She returned to England to serve at No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks. After the war she joined the staff at WGH/ She married L. E. Borden and the couple settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

Lilly Naomi Gray

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3241

Born October 29, 1881, Beaurepaire, Quebec. Died February 19, 1967, Ottawa, Ontario.  Lilly Naomi graduated from the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing in 1913. She went on to receive a Certificate of Military Instruction from the Divisional School of Instruction in March 1915 in Quebec City. April 22, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at Canadian military hospital in Etaples and Camiers, Frand and then at Shorncliffe and Eastbourne in England.  Returning to Canada after the war she worked at the Tuberculosis Sanatorium , Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. She relocated to the U.S.A. and worked at the Contagious Disease Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and the Henry Street Settlement in New York City. Back in Canada she served with teh Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N ) in Montreal, Quebec and Renfrew, Ontario. In 1928 she became Superintendent of the V O N in Belleville before settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Caroline Graham Green
World War 1 Nursing Sister 

Born February 7, 1891, St. Thomas, Ontario. Died April 4, 1922 St. Thomas, Ontario.  Caroline enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in January 1917 in Toronto. Overseas she was posted to the Ontario Military Hospital ,Orpington, England. At the end of the years she was in hospital  for diphtheria. By February 10, 1918 she was fit for duty and returned to duty.  In the fall of 1918 she was serving on a hospital ship.  In February 1919 she suffered from influenza and returned to Canada. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Alice C. Green SEE - Academics - Historians
Lucy Ann Green   3778 née Hunter. Born October 14, 1867. Died July 24, 1955, Alberton, Prince Edward Island. Alice was a trained nurse. October 30, 1906 she  married George Campbell Gordon (1860-1916) a wealthy fox rancher. The couple had two children. Lucy served as midwife to her community helping with the birth of children with almost every family.  Her daughter Alice (1908-1980) also became a trained nurse who served as a medical missionary in western Canada. Alice returned home to care for Lucy when she was ill and remained home becoming a noted local historian. (2022)
Matilda Ethel Green 3887

World War 1 Nursing Sister 
Born August 14, 1886, Listowel, Ontario. Died October 9, 1918, Etaples, France. Matilda graduated from the Medicine Hat General Hospital School of Nursing, Alberta. April 30, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps and ten days later she arrived in England. She served at the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington and then at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington. She was Struck-off-Strength )S o S) on June 7, 1918 and granted leave from August 10 through August 1918, She was assigned  to the No. 7 Canadian General Hospital (Queen's University Hospital) in August 1918. Suddenly on October 4, 1918 she was admitted to hospital and diagnosed with lobar pneumonia and a few days later she was listed as dangerously ill. She died following an attack of influenza  Matilda died of double pneumonia. Her name appears on a plaque at Queen's Park, Toronto dedicated to  Ontario Nursing Sisters who died during World War l. Source: Canadian Expeditionary Force Research Group. online (accessed 2022)
Sarah Hannah Roberta Grier-Coome

Matron of Nursing Sisters at the 1885 Northwest Rebellion     0051

née Grier. Born October 28, 1837, Carrying Place, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died February 9, 1921, Toronto, Ontario. July 23, 1859 Hannah married Charles Horace Coome, Widowed in 1878 Hannah took her nursing training at Trinity Hospital, New York, U.S.A. as a novitiate of the Anglican Sister of St Mary. Shortly after she established the Sisters of St John the Devine in Toronto.  In April 1885 she was the Nursing Matron in charge of five Nursing Sisters serving in the Northwest Rebellion. The women, Mother Hannah, Amelia Elizabeth Hare, Helen Augustine Crouch , Mary Campbell MacKenzie, Florence Caroline Cottle, and Joan Matheson were the 1st women to serve as Nursing Sisters in the Canadian Military. The group reached Moose Jaw Saskatchewan on May 30, 1885. Their patients, who had been transported several days from the scene of the battle were waiting for them. The nursing sisters tended the sick and wounded for 33 days. The Rebellion was suppressed by June 26, 1885 and the Nursing Sisters were ordered to return home. Back in Toronto, Mother Hanna and the other nurses in her Order established  St. Jon House, the city's 1st women's surgical Hosp. The Nursing Sisters received the North West Canada 1885 silver medal for their service as members of the expedition. (2021)

Ivy Griffiths-Randall

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3308

Born March 3, 1891, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died June 4, 1963, Vernon, British Columbia. Ivy graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. for two years she worked as Lady Superintendent of the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Kenora, Ontario. In April 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England. She returned to Canada in the summer of 1919. She married Phillip Randall in May 1920.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).

Irma Elizabeth Hacking  0052

Born September 17, 1917, Aneroid, Saskatchewan. Died November 4, 2014, Victoria, British Columbia. After her nursing training Irma Served with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps during the second World War. She served in field hospitals on the front lines in Europe where the nursing lieutenant met and served with Dr. Lawrence Hacking (d 1961) At one point he asked her to cut her long hair so that he could use the hair for stitching up wounded soldiers. Romance ensued and the couple were married. Returning from the war the couple 1st settled in Regina, Saskatchewan and then in 1955 with three children they moved to Nanaimo British Columbia. Widowed suddenly, Irma became a determined single parent. She refreshed her nursing skills and began working in the admitting department at the Nanaimo Regional General Hospital. She retired from nursing in 1983 at 66 and began working at a jeweler store. She enjoyed buying jeweler for herself and her daughters. Source: ‘Lives Lived: Irma Elizabeth Hacking’, the Globe and Mail February 13, 2015. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon Ottawa, Ontario (2020)

Evelyn Emily Hall-Patterson

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3270

née Hall. Born August 29, 1888, Indian Head, Saskatchewan. Died January 25, 1977, Indian Head Saskatchewan. In 1912 Evelyn graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and was overseas in 1916. She served a year posted in Malta. In 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England until April 1919. In 1922 she was on staff at the Social Service Department of the WGH. She married W.R. Patterson and the couple settled in Indian Head, Saskatchewan. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Gertrude May Hall  4003 Born May 6, 1897, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died October 14, 1960.  In 1916 she completed a one year maternity nursing course at the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing  and she then completed three more years of nursing training to become a Registered Nurse. She received a scholarship and too post graduate work earning a Public Health Nursing Certificate at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. Returning to her home province she worked for twelve years with the Manitoba Department of health at various positions including in Portage-la-Prairie. From 1936 through 1943 she served on the executive of the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses.  In 1943 she served as Director of Public Health Nurses with the Winnipeg Department of Health. From 1944 through 1952 she served as a National Advisor of the Canadian National Association of Registered Nurses in Montreal. In 1952, with a severe shortage of nurses in Calgary she became Director of Nursing Services and Nursing Education at the Calgary General Hospital. Here she would take the Calgary General into the modern era a nursing. In the face of budget cuts she resigned in 1960. In 1959 she was name an honourary life member of the Winnipeg General Hospital Alumni Association. She was also a member of the Business and Professional Woman' Club. Source: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2022) 
Mary Hale Hambly-Young 

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3242

née Hambly. Born October 29, 1885, Belleville, Ontario. Died November 1, 1929, Santa Ana, California, U.S.A. Mary travelled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. to live with her brother Charles and study at the Nursing School. She graduated about 1910. Back in Canada at the beginning of the first world war she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on May 5, 1915. Mary served overseas at the Canadian Military Hospital, Etaples as well as at several Canadian medical hospitals in England. She suffered influenza, neurasthenia, pleurisy and gastroenteritis during her war service and was often in hospital herself. After the war she retuned to Belleville to live with her parents. By 1920 she was in the U.S.A. November 25, 1926 she married James Young in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Annie Bertha Hamilton

World War 1 Nursing Sister    0053

Born August 17, 1888, Saskatchewan. Died ???? Annie graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of nursing.  By 1914 she was nursing in Revelstoke, British Columbia. She became part of the British Columbia Unit for overseas service when she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in September 1915. She was posted to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross in England and No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece. In 1918 she returned to British Columbia.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Bessie Maud Hanna

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3507
Born December 24, 1884, Wingham, Ontario. Died September 5, 1921, Toronto, Ontario. On January 30, 1916 Maud enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp. She served at Orpington Hospital Kent, England, Shorncliffe Hospital, England, La Treport Canadian Hospital, France Canadian Stationery Hospital No. 3. She contracted diphtheria after being transferred to the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station after a few weeks of beginning her tour at the hospital. She was placed in the base Isolation Hospital and then transferred to England.  She died from diphtheria in Toronto.
Charlotte Hardcastle-Coltart

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3309

Died November 30, 1970, California, U.S.A. Charlotte Hardcastle graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  After graduation she was on staff in the operating room at the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia. She served during World War 1 but it is not known where or with what organization. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Winnipeg. She married Ian Coltart and the couple settled in California.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021).

Amelia 'Aimee' Elizabeth Hare

Nurse in 1885 Northwest Rebellion

                                               
0054

In June 1881 she entered the novitiate of the Anglican order of the Sisters of St Mary at Peekshill New York, U.S.A. She trained as a nurse at Trinity Hospital, New York City and spent time at hospital missions in New York City. Aimee joined Mother Sarah Hannah Roberta Grier Coome (1837-1921) as she founded the Sisterhood of St John the Devine in Toronto, Ontario. In April 1885 she was among five Nursing Sisters serving in the Northwest Rebellion. The women, Mother Hannah was the Matron in Charge, accompanied by Amelia, Helen Augustine Crouch, Mary Campbell MacKenzie, Florence Caroline Cottle, and Joan Matheson. These women were the 1st women to serve as Nursing Sisters in the Canadian Military. The group reached Moose Jaw Saskatchewan on May 30, 1885. Their patients, who had been transported several days from the scene of the battle were waiting for them. The nursing sisters tended the sick and wounded for 33 days. The Rebellion was suppressed by June 26, 1885 and the Nursing Sisters were ordered to return home. Back in Toronto, Mother Hanna and the other nurses in her Order established  St. Jon House, the city's 1st women's surgical Hosp. The Nursing Sisters received the North West Canada 1885 silver medal for their service as members of the expedition. (2020)

Grace Irene Harriott-Tickell

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3368

née Harriott. Born October 11, 1888, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died May 12, 1966, British Columbia. Grace graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  By the fall of 1916 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England and then to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital Le Treport, France.  While in France she was in hospital herself with appendicitis and spend several months recovering. Fit for duty again she served at West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital and then the Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Buxton in England. While in England she married Gordon Tickell.  After the war the couple settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

Marion Belle Harvie
World War 1 Nursing Sister    3323

Born April 9, 1892, Kirkwall, Ontario. Died June 25, 1981, Cambridge, Ontario. Marion trained as a nurse in Toronto. October 4, 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to the Burlington Military Hospital until she was discharged in 1919. After the war she did post graduated studies at Albany General Hospita, New York, U.S.A. in 1925. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Lulu Jenny Hastey-Kidd

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3351

 

Born April 8, 1888, Wakefield, Quebec. Died October 26, 1941, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1911 she moved to Kingston, Ontario and started nursing at a nursing home.  On August 14, 1913 she married George Edward Kidd (Died 1948) when he was studying medicine at Queen's University, Kingston. Lulu enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on May 5,1915 and began serving beside her husband. While married women were not usually accepted in the CAMC, Mrs. Hastey-Kidd was most likely accepted to serve with her physician husband. She was posted to N0. 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital and later at No. 7 Canadian General Hospital. After the war the couple settled in Winnipeg, Manitoba and later to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Beckwith Heroes, Officers of Beckwith Township. on line (accessed 2021)

Amorita Heath  4009 Born Bloomburg, Ontario. Amorita was a trained nurse living in Brantford, Ontario when she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CA M C). Traveling though post world War l (1914-1918) France, Switzerland, Austria and Czechoslovakia, Amorita went to Poland in July 1919 with Mr. and Mrs. Paderewski. She was there to clean up villages and Care for the sick. She wrote to her sister of the post war conditions expressing concern for the ragged looking people who had no shoes. Letters to her sister are preserved by the Great War Centenary Association, Brantford, Ontario(2022)
Eliza Parks Hegan           0055

Born 1861, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died February 18, 1917, St John, New Brunswick. In 1888 she was one of ten women chosen to tale a trial in nursing training at the Saint John General Public Hospital. All the women remained for two years after their training. After graduation in 1890 she moved to Fredericton, New Brunswick were she took charge of the 20 bed Victoria Public Hospital. In 1892 she was back in Saint John as matron at the Saint John Public Hospital. Here she made changes dividing duties and appointed a head nurse. She was strict with student nurses as shown when she refused to sign graduation certificates for 4 students who had broken rules during training. When the Hospital turned against her decision she left in 1895 and spent the next 3 years as night supervisor at the New York Polyclinic Medical School and Hospital. After contracting typhoid fever she returned to Saint John and opened a private hospital. She played a role in forming in 1903 the 1st society for nurses in the Maritime Provinces. By 1909 the society admitted all nursing graduates in the city and was called the Saint John Graduate Nurses Association with Eliza serving as its 5th president. The group was incorporated in 1916 as the New Brunswick Association of Graduate Nurses and Eliza helped draw up the by-laws.  Source: D C B  (2020)

Lenora Herrington

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3243

Born July 17, 1873, Ameliasburgh, Ontario. Died November 16, 1960, Kingston, Ontario. Lenora graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1912. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (CAMC) on May 5, 1915. Overseas she served in Canadian Military hospitals first in England and then in France.  She served as Night Superintendent at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, France and was on duty in June 1918 showing courage and determination during an enemy air raid. Returning home after the war she worked at Sydenham Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, until the hospital burned down. She  went to California for awhile after the fire. She retired to Napanee, Ontario, living with her brother Walter Stevens Herrington. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021);  Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)   

Isabelle Maud Hill          3430

Born 1871. Died 1936, British Columbia. Isabelle Maud graduated from the Hamilton General Hospital (H G H) School of Nursing in Ontario in 1900. She went on to take a year of training in Montreal with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) Isabelle Maud was chosen as the first Vancouver nurse for the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in 1901. She would go on to become what is now called an occupational health nurse when she worked with the Britannia Mining Company in Howe Sound, British Columbia in 1905. She opened the first private hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia in 1917 and helped open the Vancouver Military Hospital which would become known as Shaughnessy Veterans Hospital. In 2004 a miniature costumed doll of Isabelle in uniform was displayed by the B.C. Nursing History group. In 2006 the Isabelle Hill Memorial Fountain was dedicated at the Family Respite Centre and Home Care Society of BC. Source: B.C. Nursing History Group. Nursing Dolls, online (accessed 2021)

Judy Hill                         0056

Born Kingsbridge, Devon, England. Died November 1972. She studied to be a nurse. She worked at the nursing station at Spence Bay in the Canadian North. In the seclusion and solitude of the far north, nurses were forces to also serve as dentists, Public health inspectors and take care of serious heath cases that had to be flown out to Yellowknife hospital. It was during such an attempt of evacuation that Judy Hill was killed in an airplane crash. The pilot survived the crash but spent a month in the wilderness before being located. The incident was surrounded by controversy as pilot Hartwell decided to use Judy’s body as nourishment to survive. The controversy forced action. The Spence Bay Nursing Station became a hospital, communications to the North were investigated and improved. Evacuation of the extremely ill was written into formal procedures. A foundation in Judy Hill’s name finances specialized northern nursing training. Source: Angel of the Snow: the Story of Judy Hill by Jim McDougall (London, Frederick Muller Ltd., 1977) (2020)

Meta Hodge

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3363

Born January 28, 1882, Clontribet, Ireland. Died June 19, 1954, Vancouver, British Columbia. The family immigrated to Canada in the early 1900's. Meta graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1916. After graduation she worked in the Military Wards of the WGH. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate, England and then to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, France. At night May 30, 1917 enemy aircraft bombed the hospital. Three nurses were killed and Meta even though she was wounded remained at the post helping survivors and evacuating patients until she became unconscious. She was sent to hospital in London, England, and received the Military Medal for bravery. Once recovered she was posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England. After the war she returned to work at the WGH. She later worked as a Public Health Nurse with the Manitoba government. In 1921 she relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. to take post-graduate courses on infectious diseases. Meta returned to Canada and settled in British Columbia working with the Department of Education, Victoria. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021).

Sophie Mary Hoerner
World War 1 Matron of Nurses
                                               
 
3097

Born August 21, 1877, Montreal, Quebec. Sophie trained as a nurse at McGill University, Montreal. During World War 1 she enlisted on August April 22, 1915 as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served at No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, France, Canadian General Hospital, and later she became Assistant Matron at No. 3 Casualty Clearing Station Hospital. During her first year of service Sophie wrote letter home and some of these letters are preserved with the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Sources: Canadian Great War Project, online, (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada (accessed 2021)

Annie Julia Hood-Moorehead

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3272

née Hood. Born August 17, 1887, Shadeland, Manitoba. Died February 28, 1979, Ontario.  In 1912 Annie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in May 1917. Overseas she served first at Moore Barracks, No. 11 Canadian General Hospital before serving at No. 10 Canadian Special Hospital, No. 2 Canadian General Hospital and then No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, France. In May 19, 1919 she married W. J. Moorehead in England and the couple returned to Canada.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Clara May Hood-Morrison

World War 1 Nursing Sister


                                          
      
 3093

Born October14, 1874*, Goderich, Ontario. Died April 21, 1948, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Clara moved with her family to Manitoba in 1878. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1901. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in May 1915. Overseas she served as the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, also known as No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Clivedon, England, for tow years and then was posted to N0. 2 Casualty Clearing Station. From there she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France. Her final overseas posting was at Granville Special Hospital, Buxton, England. Returning to Winnipeg after the was she married Dr. John Francis Morrison (1876-1963) on April 22, 1922. She continued in her profession working as a private nurse. She served two times as president of the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. *Some sources put date as December 14,1876. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1901. online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021) Find a Grave Canada, online (accessed 2021)

Jean Houston

World War 1 Nursing Sister   
3310

Born December 23, 1884, Glasgow, Scotland. Died March 1959, British Columbia. In 1915 Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked after graduation in the operating room of the Children's Hospital in Winnipeg. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Meical Corps (CAMC). Over seas shw was posted to the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, England.  After the war she took courses in Public Health Nursing at the Henry Street Settlement, a housing complex that offered nursing services to immigrants in New York City, U.S.A. She also enrolled in post graduate studies at the Teacher's College ad Columbia University, New York City. By 1927 she was on staff at Ninette Sanatorium shere she retired in 1943 as Superintendent. In retirement she settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Houston

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3369
 

Born September 4, 1888, Ottawa. Died July 10, 1970.  In 1900 the family relocated to Saskatchewan. In 1916 Mary graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Service and  overseas for a year prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical corps (CAMC) in October 1917.  She served at No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England and then in France at No. 7 Canadian Stationary Hospital. After the war Mary worked at the Saskatchewan Sanatorium, Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan where she worked until retirement. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class or1916. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Howe

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3128

Born October 9, 1888, Ottawa, Ontario. Died ???? Margaret graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked on staff with the WGH. In 1915 Margaret enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she we posted to No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, France, No.16 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and the Canadian Casualty  Clearing Station , Shorncliffe, England. She returned home to Winnipeg and was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg until 1922 when she relocated to the United States. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021);

Laura May Hubley

World War 1 Nursing Sister & Matron                                  0057

Born June 2, 1879, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died April 15, 1964, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Laura enlisted November 15, 1915 as a World War 1 Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served with the Dalhousie University Medical Unit as Matron of the unit. She was sent to England in January 1916 and six months later was in France at the No. 7 Canadian Stationary hospital. She also served at the Shorncliffe Military Hospital, the West Cliffe Eye and Ear Hospital, and the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital. She returned home to Nova Scotia in 1919. For her services during the war she received the Royal Red Cross 1st Class. Laura retired from nursing in 1938. (2021)

Deborah Hurcomb

Boer War Nursing Sister      
0058

Born 1867, Montreal, Quebec. Died February 28, 1907, Buffalo, New York, U.S.A..  A few months after her birth her family settled in Alverstoke, Hampshire, England where she would grow up. She returned to Canada where she studied and graduated from the Montreal General Hospital Training School for Nurses. She worked at first as a private nurse and then relocated to Ottawa to become superintendent of the Perley Home for Incurables. In 1900 she volunteered to enter the Canadian Military as a Nursing Sister and was sent in the second contingent of Nursing Sisters to serve in what was called the Second Boer War in South Africa. The nurses were given a rank and pay equal to that of an army lieutenant. She sailed with three other nurses in February 1900. They served at No. 3 Hospital at Rondebosch and then at Kimberly at a makeshift hospital in a Masonic Temple. They were soon relocated to Bloemfontein to help with an epidemic where Deborah and tow other nurses became ill bur still continued their work. By July 1900 the Nursing sisters were in Pretoria serving in an Irish hospital. By December 1900 the women were an their way back to Halifax, Nova Scotia. Deborah was presented with the Queen's South African Mar Medal for her services. Deborah returned to South Africa in 1902 as a member of the British Army temporary unit. She served at the the Canadian 10th Field Hospital as it moved to various locations. She became ill again with enteric fever and had to be evacuated back home in May. After her last enrolment for service Deborah worked as a private nurse in Ottawa. She died while visiting her father in Buffalo, New York. (2020)

Alice Edith Isaacson

World War 1 Nursing Sister
                                              
 3099

Born October 2, 1874, Bray, Ireland. Died ???? Shortly after her birth Alice  and her family immigrated to the U.S.A.  Alice studied nursing at Sr. Luke's Hospital, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.A. She went on to complete graduate work at the Chicago Lying-I Hospital, Illinois, U.S.A. She joined the Royal Army Medical Corps in 1914 but transferred and  enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in London, England on August 29, 1916. She served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital , Le Treport, France. A amateur photographer her war photographs and her diary are preserved at the Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa. Source: Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

Helen Glass   3463

née Preston. Born October 24, 1917, Regina Saskatchewan. Died February 14, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Helen studied at the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Montreal, Quebec graduating in 1939.She studied to earn a Master of Arts in 1951. By 1953 she began a career in nursing education at the Holy Family School of Nursing, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Two years later she relocated to Winnipeg to raise her daughter and to earn a certificate in teaching and supervision from the University of Manitoba in 1958. In 1960 she received a Bachelor of Science in Nursing form Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. In 1962 she began teaching as the University of Manitoba's School of Nursing.  By 1970 she had earned a Master of Education and the following year a Doctor of Education in Nursing all from Columbia University. She served as Director of the School of Nursing at the University of Manitoba from 1972-1979. She would also play an important role in establishing the graduate program of nursing and creating the Manitoba Nursing Research Institute. She served as president of the Canadian Nurses Association and the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. In 1977 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Silver Jubilee Medal. In 1983 she was inducted into the Teacher's College Nursing Hall of Fame at Columbia University.  In 1984 she worked in helping with the scope and wording of the new Canada Health Act. In 1987 she was inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt and the following year the Order of Canada. In 2002 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal. In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. The Helen Glass Centre for Nursing at the University of Manitoba was named in her honour.  Source: Memorable Manitobans online (accessed 2021) .

Isabel Jaffares-Gibb

World War 1 Nursing Sister   
3370
née Jaffares. Born November 6, 1895, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died June 14, 1951, Nanaimo, British Columbia. Isabel graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. That summer she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas in England she served at No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Bramshott and at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington.  In France she was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, and No. 2 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. Returning to Canada after the war she worked for the Manitoba Board of Health, Winnipeg. She relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia and worked as a public health nurse. She married John Gibb and the couple lived in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)
Winnifred James  4169 Born 1925, Brussels, Ontario. Died 1997.  Winnifred earned her nursing degree from Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario. She would continue her education studying for her Canadian Public Health nurser certificate at the University of Western Ontario in London. She joined the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N) and became V O N Nurse in charge in Truro, Nova Scotia. Moving back to Ontario she worked at various senior positions with the V O N in Kent County and in North York. By 1958 she was Nurse in Charge of the Sarnia Branch of the V O N. Here she expanded the care to include seniors. She became VO N Director in the Prairies where she remained until retirement. Source: The Story of Winnifred James, Canuckhistorian Project: Canadian History for Kids by Kids! online (accessed 2022)
Mary Jamieson-Pepper

World War 1 Nursing Sister    
3281

née Jamieson. Born February 9, 1886, Dumbarton, Scotland. Died October 17, 1982, Victoria, British Columbia.  In 1913 Mary graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She returned to Scotland and worked in a hospital in Glasgow for two years prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in  spring of 1918. She was posted to No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, England. Returning to Canada after the war she worked as a nurse in Victoria, British Columbia for a couple of years and then relocated to work at the Fort Qu'Appelle Sanatorium in Saskatchewan. She married T. W. Pepper and the couple settled in Victoria, British Columbia in the 1940's.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Stella May Jenkins

World War 1 Nursing Sister    0059

Born November 20, 1881, Belleville, Ontario. Died March 23, 1954, Utica, New York, U.S.A. Stella May graduated in 1906 from the St. Luke's Hospital, School of Nursing, Utica, New York. U.S.A. January 6, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She sailed overseas in the spring of 1916 with the Queen's University Unit of Nursing Sisters. She served at the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital in England before leaving for France to serve at the No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Treport. From there she was posted to Etaples near Boulogne. She was commended for conspicuous bravery and honour and was awarded England's Laurel Leaf along with the Royal Red Cross First Class Medal and the Victory Medal. Back in Canada she wa posted to the Queen's Military Hospital, Kingston before being discharged in the fall of 1919. Returning to Utica, New York she worked as Director of the Utica Red Cross and in 1942 she was presented with the Business and Professional Club of Utica's Scroll of Achievement. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Lenna Mae Jenner

World War 1 Nursing Sister   0060

Born November 17, 1889, Brookfields, Nova Scotia. Died December 12, 1918, North Finchley, Great Britain. In 1901 Lenna and her family moved to Halifax when her father was hired on as minister at North Baptist Church. in 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing  nursing school. Lenna joined the Volunteer Aid Detachment (VAD) for service in World War l. These units were formed to provide medical assistance in time of war. By April 1917 Lenna was working at a military Hospital in Kentville, Nova Scotia, where nurses were known to work 12 hour days. She went on to work at the West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital in Folkstone, Great Britain. In October 1918 she complained of lack of strength and was diagnosed with tubercular peritonitis and she was sent to Clarence House, North Finchley for an operation where she died of septicaemia. Source: Debbie Marshall, War Changes Everything. Online (accessed July 2015) (2021);: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Susan 'Sue' Johanson
Sex Educator
SEE - Social Activists
Ethel Johns       
                                      
0061
Person of National Historic Significance

Born 1879, England. Died September 2, 1968. Ethel's family emigrated to Canada and family friend, Cora Hind, encouraged the girl to graduate in 1902 from the Winnipeg General Hospital Training School for Nurses. After working in several provinces and in the U.S. she attended Teachers College at Columbia University in New York City before returning to Canada in 1915 as superintendent of the Children's Hospital, Winnipeg. In 1919 she was appointed to the dual position of director of nursing service and education of the Vancouver General Hospital and coordinator of the newly established  program in Nursing at the University of British Columbia.  In 1925 she left for Europe to work for the Rockefeller Foundation, establishing  training programs and schools of nursing. In 1933 to 1944 she worked as editor and business manager of the Canadian Nurse magazine. After retirement, she collaborated in writing a history of Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, a series of health pamphlet and the history of the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing. In 2009 was declared a Person of National Historic Significance and an historic plaque was placed in the garden adjacent to the UBC Hospital in 2019 (2020)

Inga Johnson

World War 1 Nursing Sister



                                         
3095

Born October 17, 1881, Gimili Manitoba. Died January 3,1948, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Inga graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1907. For two years after graduation she served as a staff nurse at the WGH. She took a leave of absence in 1909. In 1910 she was appointed Lady Superintendent in charge of Social Service Department at WGH. August 10, 1916 she enlisted, in Kingston, Ontario, as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted overseas to the No.1 Canadian General Hospital in France. By 1917 she was serving at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station in France and then at the hospital in Mons, France. After the war in 1919 she completed post graduate course in Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. and then resumed duties as head of the Social Services Department at WGH in 1921 but was forced by ill health to resign in December of that year. In 1926 she joined the staff of Ninette Sanatorium (now Rural Municipality of Prairie Lakes) Manitoba. She relocated to Victoria, British Columbia in the early 1930's  but soon returned to be Matron of the Icelandic Old Folks' Home in Gimili, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online. (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada, online (accessed 2021)

Lillie Johnson
Black Nurse & Activist
SEE - Social Activists
Sybil Johnson-Dunfield  0062

Lady Dunfield

née Johnson. Born November 19, 1887, St. John’s, Newfoundland. Died December 14, 1973, St. John’s, Newfoundland. In 1920 Sybil traveled to Liverpool England to visit with family and attend Cheltenham Girls School for two years. At 16 she traveled to Germany and studied the violin at the Leipzig Music Academy. By 1909 she was back Newfoundland where she performed at various concerts and charity events. By December 1916 she was back in England where she joined and trained with V A D’s. She nursed at the Western Military Hospital Fozakerley in Liverpool, England until 1918. Her sister Jill also served at this hospital. Returning to Newfoundland Sybil married a lawyer, Brian Dunfield on August 8, 1918. The couple had three children. She continued to play violin at various charity events. In 1949 her husband was knighted and she became Lady Dunfield. Her wartime correspondence and description of wartime life in England is on Deposit with the Newfoundland Archives. Source: Bert Riggs. The Gazette November 13, 1997. Online Accessed March 2016. Suggestion submitted by Nora Phillips, Newfoundland. (2021)

Annie Johnston-Argue    0063

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born March 9, 1879, Glencross, Manitoba. Died January 17, 1965, Toronto, Ontario. Annie attended the Winnipeg Normal School to earn her teaching certificate. She taught High School for four years  but decided that she wanted something else. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1907. She worked as a school nurse with the Winnipeg School Board and was involved with the Medical inspection of schools. In 1915 she went overseas and served with the Red Cross in Malta. She was posted to Nor 5, Canadian General Hospital, France. In 1918 she married Captain (Dr.) R. Fletcher Argue. The couple returned to Canada in 1919 and she once gain took up her position Editor of the WGH Nurses' Alumnae Journal. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1907. online (accessed 2021)

Alice Mary Jones-Holt

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3361

née Jones. Born December 21, 1886, Shropshire, England. Died January 17, 1970, West Kootenay, British Columbia. After the death of her mother Alice along with her father and brother immigrated to Canada and settled Shackleton, Saskatchewan. Alice graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She worked on staff at the WGH.  By 1917 she was working at the Brett Hospital, Banff, Alberta. In February 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she contracted influenza in England and was in hospital at the Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton and when she suffered from pneumonia she was sent to the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital.  Once recovered she was posted to King's Canadian Red Cross Convalescent Hospital, Bushey Park, Hampton Hill. After she returned to Canada in 1919 she was posted to the Saskatchewan Military Hospital, No. 12 District Depot Moose Jaw. In March 1920 she was working at Balfour Tuberculosis Sanatorium, West Kootenay, British Columbia. She married war veteran Charles Holt who operated the local country store and post office. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Cecilia/Cecelia Clara Ellen Jowett  4064

Nurse in Northern Ontario
Born November 11, 1890, East India Docks, England. Died June 3, 1983, Gravenhurst, Ontario. . When Cecilia was just three her family broke up. She was placed in one of the English Dr. Barnardo Homes along with her sister Ethel and brother Ernest. In 1901 Cecilia was sent to Canada to the Hazel Brae home, Peterborough, Ontario. She was taken in by the Partridge family of Shanty Bay (near Barrie), Ontario, a good Methodist home and a good farm life. She was teased at school because she was a 'Home Child'. and felt a deep loneliness for her family. Studying at night and working during the day Cecilia put herself through nursing school at the Orillia General Hospital. She went on to nurse at Mount Sinai, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto Sick Kids and the Hamilton General Hospital.  In 1930 she went to Northern Ontario as a Missionary Nurse. Cecilia spent seven years nursing her brother Ernest who had served a World War l (1914-1918) and suffered from pleurisy and was living in Hunta, a small Northern Ontario area. She enjoyed life in the north and had a cabin build to live in. She skied, walked, paddled or rode a bicycle to visit patients who often paid for her services with a loaf of bread or a chicken or ham. It was during the long northern evenings that she began to write enjoying correspondence with various people. She wrote to England and eventually connected with her father. Selling her home, Journey's End, in Northern Ontario and went to England meeting her father and an aunt. In 1934, feeling disconnected in England she returned to Canada and settled in Langford Mills on Lake Simcoe and nursed the Ojibwa peoples at Rama.  Here she also worked in Orillia caring for the wife of the author Stephen Leacock (1869-1944) and he encouraged her to write. In 1948 she published the history of Geneva Park , the Young Men's Christian Association (Y M C A) in Langford Mills. In 1954 published her autobiography called No Thought for Tomorrow - The Story of a Northern Nurse. Source: Cecelia Jowett, Her sisters Ethel & Annie, Rose, Violet .... British Home Children in Canada. Online Accessed 2022)
Helen Mary Kendall   3531

World War 1 & World War 11 Nursing Sister
Born November 29, 1892, Sydney, Nova Scotia. Died 1982, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia. Helen studied nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Montreal, graduating in 1916. . Helen joined the Canadian Army Military Medical Corps (C M A C) as a Nursing Sister. Helen when overseas in March 1917 but almost did not make it as the ship she sailed on, S. S. Essequibo,  was stopped by an enemy submarine. The next day the ship arrived safely in Liverpool, England. She was posted at the Canadian Hospital, Orpington, England and by September 1917 she was serving in France. She often worked as an Anaesthetist because doctors were too busy.  By May 1918 she was posted to No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France where on May 31 the hospital was attacked by enemy bombers intent on destroying a nearby bridge. She earned the Royal Red Cross Class 2 medal for her exceptional acts of bravery while on duty. Later in 1918 she contracted the Spanish Flu but did  survive. Helen served in England until 1919 before returning to Canada. During World War 11 she served once more working at No. 1 Neurological Hospital, Basingstoke, England from 1940 through 1942.  Source: Nasty Work: The forgotten role of Canada's Nursing Sisters during WW 1 CBC News Nova Scotia November 11, 2021.
Nancy Blodwen Kennedy-Reid  3840 Born August 2, 1902, Carnarvon, North Wales, United Kingdom. Died, 1994, Quebec. Nancy seems to have globe trotted for several years going to Bangkok, and Siam (now Thailand). In 1926 Nancy immigrated to Canada and trained as a nurse at the Montreal General Hospital in 1929 in Quebec.  With the onslaught of the Second World war she travelled with the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada to England in December 1940. Enlisting with the Canadian Army Medical Corps she worked as an Assistant Matron at No. 1 Canadian Hospital, Marston Green, England. In June 1942 she was promoted to Major and served as a Matron.  The following year was serving at No. 1 General Hospital, Andria, Italy and later moving to Rome. Back in England in August 1944 she served at No. 23 Canadian General Hospital, Leavesden.  Returning to Canada on January 1, 1946 she took the position of Director of Nursing at St. Anne's Hospital at St. Anne de Bellevue, Quebec. She retired in 1967 and the following year served as president of the Canadian Nurses Association. Nancy is buried at the National Field of Honour Cemetery, Pointe Claire, Quebec. Some of her war time mementoes are maintained at the Archives, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. Source: Angels of Mercy: Canada's Nursing Sisters in world war l and ll. McMaster University. Online (accessed 2022); Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)
Jean Elizabeth Kidd-Ramsay

World War l Nursing Sister  3353

Born April 22, 1889, Beckwith Township, Ontario. Died 1988, British Columbia. A trained nurse Jean served with the Dr. Depage unit in Belgium  in Belgium which was the firs exclusively military hospital established during the Balkan Wars 1912-1914. She Enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and served at the first Station Hospital and then the Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Buxton, England. She was also posted to The Canadian military Hospital , Basingstoke and served in Salonika, Greece. She was part of the first 107 Canadian Nursing Sisters to serve in World War 1. After the war she settled in Ducks, British Columbia and married Kenneth Alan Ramsay (Died 1949)  in Grimsby, Ontario. The couple lived in Cariboo, British Columbia. Source: Beckwith Heroes, Officers of Beckwith Township. online (accessed 2021)

May Eleanor Kilborn 4033 Born 1924, Chengdu, China. May studied nursing in Canada at the Women's College in Toronto, Ontario. She went on to do some postgraduate studies in Montreal prior to accompanying her father Leslie Kilborn (1895-1967) back to Chengdu China in October 1949,  May worked at the University Hospital at West China Union University (W C U U) making her the third generation of the Kilborn family to do medical work in China.  May returned to Canada in 1951. Source: Offspring of Founder (O. L. Kilborn, Canada) of Modern Medical Science in West China Visited Sichuan. online (accessed 2022)
Susan Emma Kilpatrick

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3129

Born September 14, 1880, Kemptville, Ontario. Died November 10, 1943, Manitoba. Susan graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on March 27, 1917.  Overseas she was posted to No. 16, Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England . She suffered poor health and spent several months in hospital.  She returned to Winnipeg in the spring of 1919 and later in 1923 she relocated to Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. She eventually returned to Manitoba and worked at the Ninette Sanatorium. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Nelson King                

Born June 8, 1892, North Vancouver, British Columbia. Died April 4, 1919, Boulogne, France. Jessie graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, British Columbia in 1916. By the spring of 1917 she had enlisted to serve in the Canadian Medical Corps in response to the call to service in World War l. By June of 1917 she was serving at the 9th Canadian Stationary Hospital. She went on to serve with the 12th Canadian General Hospital and the 1st Canadian General Hospital and the 14th General Hospital at Wimereux, France. It was here she was hospitalized in November 1918 with influenza. She was in hospital as a patient again in the spring of 1919 . She is buried in the British Cemetery in Terlincthun, Boulogne,  France. Source: A Tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts Online; Canadian Virtual War Memorial (CVWM) Veteran Affairs Canada Online. (2020)

Louise de Kiriline Lawrence

                                               0064

née Flach. Born January 30, 1894, Sweden. Died April 27, 1992, Pimisi Lake, Ontario. Louise was named for her godmother, Princess Louise of Denmark. Her possible life as a rich socialite was cut off when she became a nurse during World War l serving with the Red Cross. At the end of the war in 1918 she married a young lieutenant from the Russian Imperial Army, Greb de Kiriline who died in revolutionary Russia. . While in Russia with her husband incarcerated she ran an Red Cross orphanage. In 1927 she immigrated to Canada taking a position as a solitary nursing outpost in Bonfield, Northern Ontario. Having gained a strong reputation for her nursing skills she became the head nurse for the famous Dionne Quintuplets in May 1934. Upset with the Ontario Government treatment of the five babies she retired from nursing in 1935. The following year she published the book; The Quintuplets' First Year. She married a carpenter, Len Lawrence in 1939 and the couple had a cabin on Pimisi Lake. Retirement allowed her more time to pursue her lifetime interest in nature. She became interested in the wild birds about her home and earned herself the title of Bird Lady of Pimisi Lake. She went on to write scientific articles and five books about birds becoming an international accredited ornithologist. She was the 1st Canadian women to be elected to the American Union of Ornithologists. In 1969 she earned the John Burroughs medal, and the Sir Charles G. D. Roberts Special Award. In 1980 she earned the Frances H. Kortright Outdoor Writing Award for her autobiography To Whom the Wilderness Speaks. Sources: Ontario Historical Plaque; the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Marguerite Merle Lazier-Tyrer
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3245

née Lazier. Born July 2, 1891, Belleville, Ontario. Died December 12, 1975, Chatham, Ontario. Marguerite Merle studied nursing around 1914.  She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on August 10, 1916. Commission in the fall of 1917. She married Captain Dr. Wilfred Tyrer (died 1940). Marguerite Merle retired to Chatham, Ontario  living with her daughter.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Mary Gabriel LeClair 4000a Born 1924. Died 1994. Mary Gabriel graduated from the Charlottetown Hospital School of Nursing. In 1948 after her graduation she entered the Sister of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island. She went on to study Pediatrics at the  Toronto Sick Children's Hospital in Ontario. Returning to Charlottetown she became Supervisor of Pediatrics at the Charlottetown Hospital in 1954 through to 1964. She then becae a clinical supervisor at the Charlottetown and Prince Edward Island Schools of Nursing. In 1973 she was appointed Director of the Prince Edward Island School of Nursing a position she held until retirement in 1993. Sister Mary Gabriel also enjoyed painting and many of her works are hung at Mount St. Mary's. The University of Prince Edward Island created an Memorial Award in nursing in her honour. Source: Prince Edward Island University. online (accessed 2022)
Gertrude Elizabeth 'Nora' Livingston
 

Pioneer Nursing Administrator 3357

Born May 17, 1848, Sault Ste Marie, Michigan, U.S.A. Died July 24, 1927, Val-Morin, Quebec. When her father retired from the British Army the family settled on Lac des Deux Montagnes in Quebec. Nora graduated from the New York Hospital Training School for Nurses in the U.S.A. and worked on staff at the hospital after graduation. February 20, 1890 she began working at the Montreal General Hospital in Quebec as hospital Superintendent. By April 1890 the Montreal General Hospital had accepted its first students at the School of Nursing. She imposed draconian rules of conduct on students and nurses hired at the hospital. April 17, 1905 she was instrumental in establishing the Club of Graduated Nurses of the Montreal General Hospital known as the Livingston Club. In 1940 the Nora Livingston Scholarship Fund was established. Nora Livingston established the model and standards for other nursing schools to follow where nurses were relieved of domestic housekeeping duties and were centered on patient care. In 1954 the Livingston Hall nurses residence was opened at the Montreal General Hospital. Source: D C B (accessed 2021)

Isabel Agnes Elizabeth Lloyd


World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                           
3104

Born September 28, 1884* Gladstone, Manitoba. Died January 3, 1939**, Manitoba. Isabel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1908. After training she relocated to Fernie, British Columbia, working at the general hospital. Within the year  resigned and accepted a position as nurse with the T. Eaton, Company. In June 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to the Kitchener Military Hospital Brighton, England and then to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, England. She suffered bronchitis and was diagnosed with Epilepsy and deemed unfit of service and was discharged to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg in 1918. After the War she once again took her nursing Position at the T. E Eaton Company. She also worked at the Selkirk Mental Hospital in Manitoba. * Tombstone states birth date as 1882 but CAMC record says 1884. ** death sometimes reported as December 1938. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Class of 1908. online (accessed 2021); Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021)

Ellie Elizabeth Love

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3311

Born March 2, 1884, Seaforth, Ontario. Died May 30, 1963, Ariss, Ontario. In 1915 Ellie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in May 1918. She was posted in Canada to the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg., also known as Deer Lodge Convalescent Hospital. She was discharged in August 1919. After the was she relocated to Saskatchewan where she worked at the Sanatorium in Fort Qu'Appelle. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Lowe

World War 1 Nursing Sister died on duty 
3359

Born January 26,1886, Morayshire, Scotland. Died May 28, 1918, Etaples, France. Margaret's father brought her and sister to Canada settling in Binscarth, Manitoba where thy had relatives. In 1916 Margaret graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing and enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in March 1917. Overseas she was posted to No. 16 Canada General Hospital, No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 4 Canadian General Hospital in England. By 1918 she was in France at the No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Calais and then No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples. May 19, 1918 German aircraft attached Etaples with 116 bombs, one of which fell near the nursing sisters' quarters. One nurse was killed outright, Nursing Sister Katherine Macdonald (1893-1918), and Margaret  was one of seven nurses wounded. Her name appears on a plaque at Queen.s Park, Toronto, dedicated to the Ontario Nurse Sisters who died in World War 1.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Edith 'Effie' Lumsden    0065

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born October 2, 1875, Brooklin, Ontario. Died December 23, 1954, British Columbia. Effie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1900. She relocated to British Columbia and on September 13, 1915, she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she served at the No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing station, No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece, serving as Acting Matron, and at the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England.  Back home in British Columbia she was posted to the Esquimalt Military Hospital until being discharged in April 1919. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899/1900. online (accessed 2021)

Lilian Lynch

World War 1 Nursing Sister   
3287
 

Born June 10, 1889, Westbourne, Manitoba. Died March 30, 1965, Regina, Saskatchewan.  Lilian graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In February 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Overseas she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France and No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. After the was she lived in the United States working as a private nurse in California and Arizona. In 1923 she returned to Canada to work with the Saskatchewan Department of Education in the Regina public school system. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1914, online (accessed 2021)

Ruth Catherine MacAdams
                                        
0066

Born July 21, 1880, Sarnia, Ontario. Died December 16, 1959, Calgary, Alberta. Roberta was a graduate from Macdonald Institute of the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario (Now University of Guelph.) In 1912 she was hired by the Alberta Government to offer “institute” courses for rural women across the province. As well the Alberta Department of Agriculture had her conduct a survey to determine the viability of a provincial Women’s Institute. Roberta was what was called a new woman participating in society out of the home in non-traditional ways through education, employment and civic engagement. In 1914-1916 she worked for the Edmonton Public School Board creating the 1st Department of Domestic Economy (Home economics) in Alberta. In 1916 she left her job to serve as a lieutenant during World War l. She served as a dietitian in the Canadian Military Hospital in Orpington, England. In 1917 the Alberta Military Representation Act allowed the 38,000 Alberta soldiers and 75 nurses overseas to elect 2 representative to the Provincial legislature. On September 17, 1917 Robert Pearson and Roberta MacAdams were elected. Roberta was the second woman in the Empire after fellow Albertan Louise McKinney to be elected to office. In 1918 she became the 1st woman in the British Empire to introduce legislation when she brought forward a bill to incorporate the War Veterans Next of Kin Association Bill. After the 1st legislative session she was back in Britain with the Khaki University which provided women’s staff for continuing education for overseas Canadian forces. Back in Alberta in 1919 she served as district Director of the Soldiers Land Settlement Board. After this position Roberts married lawyer Harvey Price and was less prominent in the public eye. Source: Our Future, Our Heritage. The Alberta Heritage Digitization Project. Online (accessed May 2014) ; Roberta MacAdams and the New Woman. Alberta’s Women’s Institute. Online (accessed May 2014). (2020)

Beatrice Mary MacDonald 3497

Most Decorated Nurse in World War 1

Born 1881, North Bedeque, Prince Edward Island. Died 1969, New York City, New York, U.S.A. After graduating from the Notre Dame Academy, Charlottetown she went to the New York City Training School for Nurses and graduated in 1905. She worked in new yor becoming surgical assistant and office manager for a Dr. George Brewer. When World War 1 broke out she served with Dr. Brewer. The doctor and his tem signed up twice for service. at the British Casualty Clearing Station No. 61 at Poperinghe, Belgium thery were only four miles from front lines. The medical encampment was bombed and she was wounded becoming blind in her right eye. She was the firs seriously injured person from the American Army during the war. She returned to her unit in Etretat. She went on to serve as Chief Nurse at the American base at Baccarat in the spring of 1918. She also served in Coblentz, Germany before returning home in time for Christmas that year. She received the American Distinguished Service Cross, the Distinguished Service Medal and the Purple Heart. She was als presented the British Military Medal for bravery in the battlefield and the the Associate Red Cross Medal which was given to nurses for exceptional duty. From France she received the Croix de Guerre. This accumulation of medals made her the most decorated nurse of World War 1. In 1924 she became an an American Citizen. Source: Bedeque Area Historical Museum Facebook. online (accessed 2021)

Jean Alexandrina MacDonald

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3273

 

Born March 11, 1888, Canon Bridge, Scotland. Died November 23, 1969, Roblin, Manitoba. Jean immigrated to Canada in 1908. She graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing. After graduation she worked as a private nurse in Winnipeg and then relocated to Edmonton, Alberta to work in the operating rom of the hospital. In January 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) as part of the Queen's University Unit from Kingston, Ontario. Overseas she was posted at the Granville Stationary Hospital, Ramsgate, England before being transferred to No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, France. In the spring of 1919 she was presented with the Médaille des Epidemies 'en argent' , an award from France given to Nursing Sisters for attending wounded civilians under fire.  By June 1919 she was back in Canada posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In 1922 she was working on staff a city hospital in Mexico.  By 1933 she was working special duty in New York, U.S.A. She returned to live in Roblin, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Jessie Macdonald    3482
World War 1 Nursing Sister & Halifax Explosion
 

Born June 20, 1880, Copper Lake, Nova Scotia. Jessie graduated in 1915 from the Victoria General Hospital School of Nursing, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) April 3, 1916. She served overseas at Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Uxbridge, Moore Barracks Military Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and at No. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital. She resigned August 20, 1917 and returned to Halifax.  Jessie was part of the head nurse of operating staff at the Victoria General Hospital during the aftermath of the Halifax explosion in 1917 when staff worked 2-3 days and nights. Source: History of Victoria General Hospital online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Robina Gilchrist-MacDonald
World War 1 Nursing Sister 3485

Born July 25, 1893, Brandon, Manitoba. Died April 14, 1992, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Jessie enlisted on May 18, 1917 as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital ,Shorncliffe and Granville Canadian Special Hospital. In France she served at No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport where she herself was in hospital with influenza. She also spent sime time in England with influenza. She returned home to Canada in 1919. Jessie married Nathanial Macdonald and the couple raised two children together. Source: Great War Project Nursing Sisters, Online (accessed 2021)

Josephine 'Josie' Angeline MacDonald

World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                   
 
 3116

Born October 31, 1878, Brantford, Ontario. Died ???? Josie moved with her family first to Emerson, and then to Portage, Manitoba in 1906. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1910. Her first job was as Nurse Superintendent at the Lashburn Hospital in Saskatchewan. A year later she was employed as a private nurse in Portage la Prairie. Josie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) July 21, 1916 at Camp Hughes, Manitoba.  Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital/No. 15 Canadian General Hospital,  Taplow, England and then in 1917to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital. She was also posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France surviving several enemy air raids. After the war she spent two years nursing in La Jolla, California, U.S.A.. Returning to Canada she nursed at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In 1926 she joined the staff of Deer Lodge Hospital where she worked until her retirement in 1940. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

Katherine Maud MacDonald

World War 1 Nursing Sister   

                                           
 
3119

Born January 18, 1893, Brantford, Ontario. Died May 19, 1918, Etaples, France. Katherine studied nursing at Victoria Hospital, London Ontario graduating in the spring of 1915. enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC)  on April 16, 1917. Overseas she served at No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Eastbourne, England and then in January 1918 she was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France. On May 20 1918 the hospital was bombed in an enemy air strike. 66 patients and staff were killed during the bombing. Katherine became the first Canadian Nursing Sister casualty of World War 1. Nursing Sisters Margaret Lowe and Gladys Maude Mary Wake also died of injuries sustained in this attack. Katherine is buried at the Etaples Military Cemetery, France. She is commemorated in the  Canadian Book of Remembrance, The Canadian War Memorial, Halifax, and with a memorial plaque at Victoria Hospital, London, Ontario. Source: We Remember, G W C A; Brantford, Brant County, Six Nations, online (accessed 2021); Library and Archives Canada, online, (accessed 2021)

Edith Frances Macey

World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                      
                                              
        3105

Born January 15, 1886, Saskatchewan. Died 1951. U.S.A. Edith graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1908. After her training she worked for a short time in Fernie, British Columbia, before returning to her home province and working in Maple Creek. she then returned west taking a position as Lady Superintendent, Kamloops Hospital. By 1916 she was working as a private nurse when she joined the Queen's Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. She was stationed at first for a year in Malta and then in late 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served at the No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England prior to being posted in France. While in France she suffered from appendicitis and required an operation at No. 24 General Hospital, Etaples.  Once recuperated she was sent to No. 12 Canadian General Hospital. Back home in Canada in 1919 she worked as a Public Health Nurse for the Manitoba Provincial Board of Health in 1920. Later , relocating to Prince Albert , Saskatchewan working at the Victoria Hospital. She then left to work at Iverson Memorial Hospital, Wyoming, U.S.A. and eventually nursed in San Diego, California. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1908.

Jessie Gertrude Macey

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3372

Born November 18, 1891, Saskatchewan. Died November 1967, Ontario. Jessie graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in the spring of 1917. Overseas she was posted Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate and No 16, Canadian General Hospital know as Ontario Military Hospital, England. In France she was stationed at No. 7 and No. 2 Canadian General Hospitals, Le Treport. Going back to England she served at No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks. After the war she worked in the United States as an anaesthetist at St. Mark's Hospital, Cleveland, Ohio and then as a private nursed in California and Hawaii.  She also worked as Nurse Superintendent at one of the Mayo Clinic Hospitals. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg School of Nursing 1916. Online (accessed 2021)

Idella 'Dell' Gertrude MacGregor                     0068

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3112

Born June 30, 1880, North Gower, Ontario. Died 1947, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1909 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  After graduation she relocated to Vancouver British Columbia where she worked as a private nurse. In August 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in Kingston, Ontario. Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital /No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow. In France she served at No. 3 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and then to NO. 7 Canadian General Hospital and No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport.  Back home in Canada after the war she worked with the Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) in Ontario. IN 1921 she took a course in Public Health in Toronto and then returned to British Columbia where she worked at Kamloops Hospital.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg Online (accessed 2021)

Dorothy Macham           0067

World War 11 Nursing Sister and Matron

Born July 19, 1910, New Lowell, Ontario. Died July 12, 2002, Toronto, Ontario. In 1932 she graduated from the Toronto Women's College Hospital School of Nursing. She then did post graduate work in psychiatric nursing and nursing administration at the Whitby Mental Hospital. She retuned to work as an operating room supervisor at the Women's College Hospital in 1936.  On September 10, 1939, one day after Canada entered World War 11, she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  She was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital organized as the Toronto Military Hospital. In June 1940 she went overseas to England. She was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott Chase, England and then to a plastic surgery unit in Basingstoke, England where she was promoted to Nursing Sister in Charge. In 1943 she was serving at No. 5 Casualty Clearing Station. She was promoted to Matron with the rank of Captain. In 1944 she was posted to No. 8 Canadian General Hospital in England, Holland, France and Belgium. In December 1944 she was promoted to Principal Matron with the rank of Major. At the end of the war she took on the task of closing several Canadian General Hospitals. Dorothy returned to Canada after the war and was appointed as Women's College Hospital's Superintendent. She served at the hospital for 30 years retiring as Executive Director in 1975. After her retirement she joined the staff or West Park Hospital as Executive Director for four years. In 1976 the City of Toronto presented her with the Toronto ity Award of Merit. In 1981 she was inducted into the Order of Canada.

Christine MacInnis  4000e Catherine graduated from the Victoria General Hospital School of Nursing in 1918. In December 1917 when Halifax suffered the great explosion that killed some 3,000 people, the City of Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. had responded by immediately sending medial works and aid. In 1918 Boston was suffer from Influenza with 85, 000 flu cases. The call to help Boston was received at Victoria General Hospital in Halifax. Eveline Pemberton, a night supervisor at the hospital, lead the first contingent of eight nurses, including Christine, to help Boston. Christine earned the name of 'The Nightengale of Nova Scotia' for her care and devotion to her patients in Boston. In all 32 Nova scotia nurses served in Boston in the fall of 1918 with at least 12 making the ultimate sacrifice, dying with the flu that they had come to fight. Source: The Nurses who repaid Halifax's 1917 debt to Boston. online (accessed 2022)
Elizabeth 'Eliza' Margaret MacKenzie

SEE - Physicians

Mary Irene Mackinnon 4000 Born 1917. Died 2002. Mary was a Sister of St. Martha of Prince Edward Island. Sister Mary worked in nursing a Charlottetown Hospital. She became supervisor and an instructor in the Charlottetown Hospital School of Nursing (C H S N). In 1969 she became the first Director of the Princedwar Island School of Nursing. She served on the executive of the Canadian Nurses Association. From 1973 through 1981 she was the Congregation Leader of the Sisters of St. Martha. The University of Prince Edward Island presents a memorial Award in Nursing in her honour. Source: Prince Edward Island University online (accessed 2022)
Edna Estella 'Stell' MacLachlan

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3246

née Thompson. Born October 16, 1881, Whitby, Ontario. Died October 31, 1976, Wiarton, Ontario. Edna became a young orphan and was raised in Clarenceville, Quebec by her aunt Edna Mary Caldwell,. Edna graduated in 1903 from the Nursing School in Belleville, Ontario earning the Gold Medal for her studies. In September 1904 she married Donald MacLachlan in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. She worked at the Manhattan Hospital in New York and raised her family She relocated to work in Montreal, Quebec, when she became estranged from her husband. In 1915 she graduated from the Divisional School of Military Instruction, Quebec City and within a few months enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she served at a Canadian Clearing Station in France. While posted in France her post came under enemy fire several times and for her bravery was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Palms by the French government. After the war she reunited with her veteran husband and the couple settled in Toronto. In 1973 the couple retired to Wiarton, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Anne Isobel MacLeod              0069

née Black. Born June 24, 1913, Sturgeon Falls, Ontario.Died October 19. 2019, Ottawa, Ontario. Isobel relocated, with her family, to Edmonton, Alberta in the 1920’s. After high school she courageously enrolled in a five year degree program at the University of Alberta. Isobel was one of just three graduates in 1936. For awhile she was assistant Supervisor for the Victorian Order of Nurses. From 1944 through 1949 she earned her Master’s degree in Nursing Administration from Columbia University in New York City, U.S.A. After graduating she took a position of Director of Nursing and Principal at the School of Nursing at the Montreal General Hospital in 1953 and remained until retirement in 1975. At 1st some were sceptical since she was not a graduate of the School of Nursing. She was the 1st director who was not a graduate. Sometime later she was presented with a nursing cap of the Montreal General Hospital and she wore it with pride. The School of Nursing now provides an annual Isobel MacLeod Award for nursing assistants. She would oversee 1, 852 graduates during her tenure. In 1953 she also married. Alistair William Thompson MacLeod (d 2004) psychiatrist and after her retirement from the School of Nursing she worked with him as his Montreal practice. In the mid 1990’s the couple retired and moved to retirement living in Ottawa. In 2003 they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary. In 2013 she celebrated her 100th birthday.  Source: Sonia Mendes, ‘Nursing Pioneer’s reflections at 101’. The Ottawa Citizen, June 21, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario.(2020)

JoAnn Lee MacMorran 3845 Born 1934, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died April 2, 2021. In 1955 JoAnn graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing. Ten years later she had returned to school and graduated from the university of Manitoba. Her nursing career took her to Los Angles and San Francisco in California, U.S.A, to England and finally back in Canada to Calgary, Alberta.  She eventually settled in Winnipeg and workded with the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N), the Manitoba Public Heal Department , and the Faculty of Nursing at the University of Manitoba. In 1971 she had worked as a nurs consultant i the treatment of Tuberculosis (TB) and chronic pulmonary disease giving workshops around the world. In 2001 she retired and joined the Canadian International Development Agency on a project in Guyana.  IN 2021 she was named a Manitoba Woman Trailblazer by the Nellie McClung Foundation. Source: Memorable Manitobans (accessed 2022); Obituary online (accessed 2022)
Margaret Wilhelmina MacRae

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3130

Born November 12, 1882, Scotland. Died 1962. Mary Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1911. She worked as a staff nurse at the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan in 1915. In May 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to the Kitchener Military Hospital (No. 10 Canadian General Hospital), Brighton, England. Returning to Canada she was appointed to the Winnipeg city Bureau of Child Hygiene in 1920.  In the early 1930's she relocated to Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. working as a private nurse. She eventually moved to Victoria British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Winnifred MacNutt- 0070 MacRae

née MacNutt. Born March 10. 1912, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Died August 1990, Prince Edward Island. In 1938 she graduated from the P.E.I. Hospital School of Nursing.  As a youth she had been part of the Girl Guides and she continued her services as an adult for over 50 years. In 1935 she received Their Majesties Silver Jubilee Medal for her work with the Girl Guides. In 1941 she served with the Royal Canadian Medical Corps and was sent overseas in 1943 to work in England and Italy. While working in Newfoundland she received the Royal Red Cross First Class for deeds during a dynamite explosion in Lewisport. She was the 1st Canadian nurse in World War ll to be so honoured. She also received the Italian Star for her services in that country. Returning to civilian life she worked in the North West Territories before taking additional nursing courses at McGill University, Montreal. In 1949 she married Norman MacRae of P.E.I. She would continue her nursing career through to 1969 also continuing community service with the Women’s Institute, her church and other community projects. Source: Outstanding women of Prince Edward Island Compiled by the Zonta Club of Charlottetown, 1981. (2020)

Agnes MacPherson  3886
World War 1 Nursing Sister   
Born March2, 1891, Brandon, Manitoba. Died May 30, 1918, Doullens, France. Agnes studied nursing in Winnipeg. On May 30, 1918 she was killed during an enemy bomb while in the operating room at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital Etaples, France. Two other nurses were killed in the same bombing, Dorothy Mary Yardwood Baldwin (1891-1918) and Eden Lyal Pringle (1893-1918). 
Anna Judson Rossborough Mair                                  0071

Born 1889, Moosehead, Nova Scotia. Died April 10, 1963, Prince Edward Island. When she was a child her family moved to Prince Edward Island where Anna grew up. She attended Prince of Wales College and became a teacher. After several years teaching she switched careers and in 1923 she graduated from the P.E.I. School of Nursing. She took additional courses at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal and in 1926 became Superintendent at the P.E.I. Hospital. This new position allowed her to use her teaching skills with student nurses. Later she took courses in Medical Records in Toronto, returning, as always, to P.E.I. she retired from nursing in 1952.  She held various positions in the Registered Nurses’ Association and in 1931 established and was the first president of the Nurse’s Alumnae. She received the King George V Medal at the Jubilee celebration in recognition of services, loyalty and professional nursing skills.   Source: Outstanding Women of Prince Edward Island Compiled by the Zonta Club of Charlottetown, 1981 (2020)

Jeanne Mance     0072

Baptised November 12, 1606, Langres, France. Died June 18, 1673 Montreal Lower Canada.. As a young reader she had enjoyed the Jesuit Relations, published reports of priests in the new world and thus she became interested in foreign missions. Jeanne joined the Société Notre-Dame de Montréal. She sailed as the 1st lay nurse for New France May 9, 1641 with financial support from some wealthy patronesses and and landed in Quebec in August. She founded Hôtel-Dieu hospital in Montreal in the fall of 1642 with construction taking place in1645. In 1651 Iroquois attacks on Ile de Montreal forced her to close the hospital and take refuge in the fort. in the Winter of 1657 she was inured as the result of a fall and lost the use of her right arm and she sailed to France in 1658.to seek help to run the hospital. While in France she recovered the use of her arm and returned to New France within the year. Sources: Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Online; The Canadian Encyclopedia, Online. (2020)

Jeanne Maranda SEE - Social Activists
Dorothy Marshall  4184

Born March 12, 1934, Melville, Saskatchewan. Died December 17, 2019, Regina, Saskatchewan.   At elementary school Dorothy enjoyed sports including track and field, Hockey and curling. She trained as a nurse at the Saskatoon City Hospital Student Nurse's Program graduating in 1955.She worked for a year and then using a scholarship she attended the College of Nursing at the University of Saskatchewan earning a diploma in Teaching and Supervision. In 1957 Dorothy married Elton Marshall and the couple had one son who survived infancy. She taught at the Regina General Hospital, Provident Hospital, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Nurse supervisor at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, Admissions Nurse at the Ontario Hospital, Kingston, Ontario, and Student Nurse Teacher, Stratford General Hospital, Teaching Master, Humber College, Toronto and Teaching Master at Sir Sanford Flemming College, Peterborough, Ontario. She was also a board member of the Victoria Order of Nurses (V O N) in Peterborough and Regina, Saskatchewan.. While in Kingston, Ontario, she was a member of the Elizabeth Fry Society visiting female inmates at the Prison for Women (P 4 W). Source: Obituary. online (accessed 2022)

Katherine McMillan Martin

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3371

Born November 26, 1891, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died 1955, Whonnock, British Columbia. Katherine graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By that fall she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to the Granville, Canadian Special hospital, Ramsgate, Canadian Convalescent Officers Hospital Kent, and West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital, Folkestone, England. In France she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital. After the was she returned to Canada settling in Whonnock, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Gladys Elizabeth Matheson-Crim

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3283

Born September 27, 1892, Onion Lake Saskatchewan. Died July 22, 1991, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Gladys Elizabeth graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. After graduation she worked at NO. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg.  By November 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 14 Canadian General Hospital. Eastbourne, No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England at the was transferred to France serving at No. 3. Canadian General Hospital. After the war she married Colonel S. M. Crim and the couple lived in several cities in the United States. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021)

Jean Matheson                0073

World War 1 Nursing Matron

Born April 23, 1874, Clinton, Ontario. Died April 22, 1938, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1899 she and her family relocated to Manitoba. Jean graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1899. After graduation Jean did some private nursing and  worked as the Superintendent of Nurses at the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan- From 1901 through 1906 she was Matron of the Royal Island Hospital, Kamloops, British Columbia. The following year she took a position as first Lady Superintendent of the new provincial Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Tranquille, British Columbia. By 1912 she was home in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan for a short  time prior to becoming Superintendent of Nurses at the Queen Victoria Hospital  Revelstoke, British Columbia where she opened a school of nursing in 1914. On September 14, 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps and was assigned at Matron with No. 5, Canadian General Hospital Salonika, Greece for two years. Later she took charge of the clearing hospital, Kirkdale, Liverpool, England. She also served at the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital in England. She received the Mons Medal, the Royal Red Cross Medal, the Victory Medal and later the King George Jubilee Medal in recognition of her war time service. Returning to Canada in 1919 she was posted as the second Matron of the Shaughnessy Military Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia where she worked until retirement in August 1937 when she returned to Winnipeg. In 1946 the Jean Matheson Pavilion was built at Shaughnessy Hospital. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021); B C Nursing History. Jean Matheson Memorial Pavilion. online (accessed 2021)

Johanna 'Joan' Matheson


Pioneer Military Nursing Sister

Born May 20,1842, Gairloch, Ross-shire, Scotland. Died June 11, 1916, Perth, Ontario. Joan was born while he mother was visiting family in Scotland. She was brought up in Perth, Upper Canada (now Ontario). In 1881 she entered training at Bellevue Hospital Training School for nurses in New York, City, U.S.A. After graduation she worked at New York's St Luke Hospital. In 1885 she was one of 12 nursing sisters who joined the military expedition to the Canadian Northwest Rebellion. This was the 1st time the Canadian Military included Nursing Sisters for service. The call went out in April 1885 by Dr. James Bell (1852-1911), Surgeon Major in charge of Base Hospitals, for trained nurses only. The group served under Matron Mother Sarah Hannah Roberta Grier-Coome of the order of the Sisters of St John the Devine, An Anglican Order of nuns out of Toronto. The group of Nursing Sisters reached Moose Jaw on May 30, 1885. Their patients, who had been transported several days from the scene of the battle were waiting for them. The Nursing Sisters tended the sick and wounded for 33 days not loosing one patient. The Rebellion ended on June 26, 1885 and the women were discharged from the military. Joan returned to New York City to St Luke's Hospital. In 1889 she was Head Nurse at the Bellevue Training School for Male Nurses. Joan retired in 1891 and returned to her home in Perth. She would receive the North West Red Cross silver medal for her services during the Northwest Rebellion. While the Nursing Sisters term of service was short it laid the basis for using trained female nurses in future military conflicts such as the Boer War in South Africa. Source: Joan of the Northwest. Online (accessed 2020)

Ruth Adelaide McClelland-Moody

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3293

née McClelland. Born September 23, 1884, Letellier, Manitoba. Died February 24, 1966, Morris, Manitoba. Ruth graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. After graduation she relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia and then to Skagway, Alaska, U.S.A. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Eastbourne, Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton, No 15, Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, and No, 16, Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. Returning to Canada at the end of the war she married Robert Moody and the couple lived in Morris, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1914.. online (accessed 2021);

Janet McClung

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3274

Born July 29, 1885, Ripley, Ontario. Died March 24, 1962, Vancouver, British Columbia. Janet graduated in 1912 from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing, Manitoba.  She worked as a private nurse in Winnipeg prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian army Medical C (CAMC) in 1915. She was posted as Assistant Matron tat the Canadian Military Training Camp Sewell Camp, near Carberry, Manitoba. In 1916 she was discharged from the CAMC and joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service serving for a year before she once again enlisted with the CAMC. Overseas she was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England. She returned to Canada in 1919 . By 1922 she was working as a private duty nurse in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Returning to Manitoba she worked on staff at St. Boniface Hospital, Winnipeg. The following year she relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Rebecca Helen McEachen
World War 1 Nursing Sister  3407

Born May 7, 1889, Drummond Township, Ontario. Died November 16, 1918, Cobourg, Ontario. Rebecca Helen enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in June 1918. She developed middle ear disease while on duty at the Ontario Military Hospital, Cobourg, Ontario. She was transferred to Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston for treatment. She recovered only to have a recurrence of the problem that developed into meningitis. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)  .

Margaret Helen McGill

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3282

Born March 10, 1895, Minnedosa, Manitoba. Died ???? In 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  After graduation she worked on staff at the WGH. Travelling overseas in 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in France. She was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Touquet and then at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station. After the war she worked as a private nurse for two years in Santiago, California, U.S.A. In 1922 she relocated to Arizona, U.S.A. where she worked in public health nursing before taking a position in Saskatchewan with the Public Health Department. From 1925 through 1943 she was a nurse at the Saskatchewan Normal School (Teacher's College). She would retire to Vancouver British Columbia when she retired in 1943. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Agnes  Buchanan McIntyre - Whiddon 4260

Born March 22, 1858*,  Edinburgh, Scotland. Died December 8, 1912, Toronto, Ontario. Agnes immigrated to Canada in 1882 originally settling in Montreal before moving to Toronto in the mid 1980's. For work as a nurse at the Toronto Smallpox Hospital in 1888 she received $100.00 and a gold medal from city council.  By the 1890's she was provided a haven for girls and street children in her home.  In 1892-1893 she was superintendent of the Night Shelter for woman  and in 1895 and of the Gospel Mission Rooms in 1894. In 1897 she was matron of the Shelter for Girls. On January 27,1898 she married Edward Gauthier Whiddon, a widower and became step mother to his four children. At one point just prior to her marriage she had worked as a part-time police Matron. January 1899 she became Matron fond for 13 years  and her office was set up to accommodate her living on site at Police Court Station No. 1. While she was tough enough to handle tough female inmates she was also known on occasion  to pay legal expenses of needy women. In March 1910 an assistant matron was hired and Agnes was transferred to police headquarters so she could attend Police court.   *this date appears on her gravestone however Mach 22, 1863 is listed in the 1901 census. Source D C B (accessed 2002 (2023)

Ruth Ester McKay

World War 1 Nursing Sister 3373

Born November 23, 1891, Moncton, New Brunswick. Died August 5, 1920, Albany, New York, U.S.A. Ruth graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By March 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to the Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Uxbridge and then the No. 10 Canadian General Hospital known as the Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton, England.  Transferred to serve in France she contracted influenza. She returned to Canada February 1919. After the war, Ruth worked as a special duty nurse at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916.. online (accessed 2021);

Mary Agnes McKenzie 3886 Born Toronto, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918 at sea. Mary graduated the nursing school at the Rochester General Hospital, New York, U.S.A. in 1903. Her name appears in the Book of Remembrance, Ottawa, the War Memorial, Halifax and on a memorial Plaque dedicated to the Nurses who died during World War l at Queen's Park, Toronto.
Hattie May Mastin - McLennan 

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3247

Born July 31, 1888, Deseronto, Ontario. Died January 2, 1968, Oshawa, Ontario. In 1908 she and her family relocated to Belleville, Ontario. She worked as a clerk at a local store. By 1915 she had graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville and January 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She first served at the military hospital in Belleville and then overseas was posted at teh No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France. She was admitted to a convalescent home in the fall of 1916 suffering from pleurodynia. She returned to service in England. Back home in Belleville she worked as a private nurse and then at St. Mary's Hospital, Rochester, Minnesota, U.S.A. Returning to private nursing she lived California. She became a widow with the death of her husband Bruce Gould in 1945 and in 1953 she married a second time to Byrne McLennan. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)  

Elizabeth Josephine McLoughlin
World War 1 Nursing Sister 3397
Died April 4, 1927, Montreal, Quebec. Elizabeth serves during World War 1 as a Nursing Sister with the Queen Alexandra Imperial Nursing Service and served overseas. [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021).
Minnie Pearl McBride-Neelin

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3248

Born February 18, 1891, Selby Ontario. Died September 12, 1985, Belleville, Ontario. Minnie Pearl moved to Humboldt, Saskatchewan in 1907. In 1914 she returned to Ontario to graduated from the Nursing School, Belleville, in 1914. May 5, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to Canadian military hospitals in Etaples and Etretat, France. She became disabled and invalided to England in September 1915. In early 1916 she returned to Canada. She married Frederick Neelin (died 1937)October 1, 1916. The couple settled in Toronto. Minnie Pearl retired from nursing and relocated back to Belleville.  Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Mabel McDiarmid

World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea                                 3344

Born August 14, 1880, Aston, Ontario. Jessie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on September 16, 1915 in London, England. She had served at No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, England prior to enlisting. She was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Taplow and was then sent to Salonika, Greece.  She was then posted to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England in 1917 and then to No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool England. On June 5, 1918 she was posted to the H M C S Llandovery Castle. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera.

Bertha Evelyn McDonald

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3401

Born March 3, 1895, Alexandria, Ontario. Died December 16, 1973, Ottawa, Ontario.  For a month in the spring of 1918 she was in hospital at Laurentide Sanatorium , Sainte Agathe, Quebec.  September 18, 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in Montreal.  Declared medically unfit in January 1919 she was hospitalized in April 1919 with influenza at Montreal General Hospital. She was then at Sainte Anne de Bellevue Hospital until June and was demobilized in July 1919. Source: [Canada} A Tribute to Some Women and Men Who Have Served in Armed Conflict. online (accessed 2021)

Agnes A. McDougall
World War 1 Nursing Sister 
3438

Born October 8,1872 Westminster Township, Ontario. Died July 18, 1919, London Ontario. .Agnes graduated from the Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London, Ontario.  In 1916 Agnes enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital, England.  Source: Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021).

Margaret Campbell McGilivray

World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                             3117

Born June 26, 1878, Glasgow, Scotland. Died May 29, 1947, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Margaret came to Canada with her family in 1886. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1910. Her first post was as Lady Superintendent of the Tranquille Sanatorium, Kamloops, British Columbia. In 1912 she returned to Winnipeg working as a private nurse for several years. In 1916 she joined the staff at King George Hospital, Winnipeg. Shortly after she worked with the Public Health Unit on the prevention of tuberculosis. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Hastings, and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott in England. Back home in 1919 she worked as a staff nurse  and supervisor of Military Wards at the WGH.  She became Night Superintendent in 1923 and remained in this position until her retirement in 1939. In 1936 she was awarded the King' Jubilee Medal. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

Elizabeth Muriel McGregor-Baker
World War 1 Nursing Sister   3324

née McGregor. Born November 12, 1887, Waterdown, Ontario. Died November 23, 1987, Hamilton, Ontario. She trained as a nurse in Canada and then went to New York City in August 1912 to do additional studies at Roosevelt Hospital, New  York, U.S.A.  On March 31, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She is known to have served overseas. After the war she returned to Canada and on June 9, 1923 she married Orrin Hugh Baker in Waterdown. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Lillian McGregor
Aboriginal Nurse & Activist
SEE - Social Activists
Evelyn Verrall McKay

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3398

Born November 24, 1892, Galt, Ontario. Died November 4, 1918, Boulogne, France. Evelyn graduated from the Grace Memorial Hospital Training for Nurses, Toronto. She served for a year at the Toronto Base Hospital on Gerrard St.  Evelyn enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in November 1916 in London, Ontario. She was posted to Exhibition Camp Hospital, Toronto , probability for final training, before going overseas. Overseas she arrived in London, England in December 1916 and by August 1917 she was posted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Boulogne, France. She became dangerously ill October 30, 1918 and was admitted to hospital. She died of Bronchopneumonia. She is the only Nursing Sister to appear on the Galt, Ontario War Memorial. * birth date sometimes reported as September. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters online 9accessed 2021) .

Agnes McKeague

World War 1 Nursing Sister  
3389

Born November 11, 1886, Ireland. Died August 13, 1964, Santa Monica, California, U.S.A.  Agnes graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By April 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England.  She returned to Canada in September 1919.  She relocated to California, U.S.A. where she work at the Angeles Hospital in Los Angeles. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Mary Agnes McKenzie

World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea                                3345

Born April 28, 1880*, Toronto, Ontario. Mary was a graduate in May of 1903 of the Rochester City Hospital Training School for Nurses, New York, U.S.A. She returned to work in Toronto  and later worked at the Military Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was posted overseas at the Ontario Hospital , Orpington, and the Canadian war hospital, Kent, England. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: Illuminated History, Shining a Light on the Shadows of the Past, Mary Agnes McKenzie, Lost on the Llandovery Castle. online (accessed 2021) * some record indicate 1877

Isabel McKinnon

World War 1 Nursing Sister    
3131

Born August 24, 1882, Inverness, Quebec. Died 1961, Victoria, British Columbia. Isabel graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked for several years in Calgary, Alberta, Winnipeg, and Vancouver, British Columbia as a private nurse. In 1915 she was on staff at the Firland Sanitorium, Washington, U.S.A. In July 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served in England at No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington. She returned in the spring of 1919 to Canada.  By 1922 she worked on staff at the Seattle State County Hospital Health Department before returning to Canada to settle in Dauphin, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021)

Rena Maude McLean        0075


World War 1 Nursing Sister died at sea

Born June 14, 1879, Souris, Prince Edward Island. Died June 27, 1918, at sea. Rena was mainly known by her nickname 'Bird" She studied at Mount Allison Ladies College, Sackville, New Brunswick and then at Halifax Ladies College in Nova Scotia. Wanting to study nursing she attended Newport Hospital, Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A. where she completed her training in 19008. She worked as Head Nurse at the Henry Heywood Memorial Hospital, Gardner, Massauchetts, U.S.A. With the on slot of World War l she enlisted and was appointed to the Canadian Army Corps in the fall of 1914. She served in France  converting a luxurious hotel into a field hospital. Later she served at the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England. She also served a year at the No 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital in Greece. She was serving on the ship the Llandovery Castle returning wounded to Halifax when the vessel was torpedoed and sunk off the coast of Ireland June 27, 1918. Plaques in her memory were erected at St James United Church, Souris, P.E.I,  at Mount Allison Memorial Library, and in the X-ray laboratory at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Charlottetown, P.E.I. A veterans hospital in Charlottetown was named in her honour but was closed within a couple of years.  Source D C B (2020)

Caroline Beull McLenaghan

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3353

Born November 29, 1880, Perth, Ontario. Died ???? Caroline was a member of the local militia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in 1916 in Kingston, Ontario. Overseas she was posted to Moore Barracks Hospital,  to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Faflow,  and the Kitchener War Hospital, Brighton, England. In France she England.  She also served in France but suffered Gastro Enteritis (vomiting) and was sent back to England. She returned to duty at No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, No. 11 Canadian General Hospital. Source: Beckwith Heroes, Officers of Beckwith Township. online (accessed 2021)

Clara McLeod                    0079

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born February 2, 1875, Belfast, Ireland. Died August 20, 1954, Vancouver, British Columbia. Clara graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba in 1899. In May 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 5 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Treport, France and the Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton, England. She returned to Canada April 1919. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021)

Elizabeth Jennet Wyllie      McMaster                           0076

née Wyllie. Born December 27, 1847, Toronto, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 3, 1903, Chicago, Illinois. Elizabeth married June 1, 1865 Samuel Fenton McMaster a wealthy businessman. The couple had four children. She cared for the poor and December 10, 1874 she established a fund to set up a children's hospital in Toronto. The Hospital for Sick Children opened March 23, 1875 in a rented house with eleven rooms. I was the 1st hospital of its kind in Canada. $$ child patients were cared for in the 1st year of operation. Until 1891 Elizabeth served various positions on the hospital's female management committee. In 1886 she helped found the Training School for Nurses. She even took a nursing course herself so that she would be better qualified in management. After the death of her husband in the fall of 1888 she studied at the Illinois Training School for Nurses graduating in 1891. Back in Toronto she became the 1st superintendent of the Hospital for Sick Children. She gave a course to untrained women of the Young Women's Christian Guild which is considered the 1st First Aid course given in Toronto. After the opening of the new Hospital building on May 6, 1892 Elizabeth left Toronto to live in the U.S.A. She is credited with founding the Hospital of the Good Samaritan in Los Angeles, California and a children's home in Schenectady, New York, U.S.A. Sources D C B; Sick Kid's Online. (2021)

Olive Ethelwyn McMillan-Butler

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3283

née McMillan. Born Jun 22, 1891, Minnedosa, Manitoba. Died ???? In 1913 Olive graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She went on to do post graduated studies at the Neurologic Institute, New York, U.S.A. in 1917. Returning to Winnipeg in 1918 joined the staff of the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg and enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Military Corps (CAMC).  By July 1918 she was serving overseas at the No. 15 Canadian General Hospital , the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, England.  After the war she returned to the hospital at Tuxedo Park.  She later married R. F. Butler and the couple settled in California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Beatrice McNair

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born September 9, 1887, Crawbrook, Ontario. Died ????  In 1911 Beatrice graduated from the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) School of Nursing, British Columbia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in 1917. During an enemy air raid at Etaples, France May 19, 1918, she carried on her duties throughout the night without interruptions unmindful of person safety . She was the first of only a few Canadian Nursing Sisters rewarded with the Military Medal for Bravery. In 1943, during World War ll, she became the first Matron of Hycroft Hospital  1950.  In 2018 the University Women's Club of Vancouver commemorated her at the 75th anniversary of the opening of Hycroft Hospital, Vancouver. Hycroft Veterans Hospital is now owned by the University Women's Club and us used for special gatherings. It is said to be haunted by several forms including a woman in a nurse's uniform who is thought to be Beatrice. These spirits open and close doors and cause lights to flicker. Sources: Great War Project, Nursing Sisters online (accessed 2021); Ghosts of Vancouver, online, (accessed 2021)

Elizabeth McPhail-Steele SEE - Physicians - Elizabeth Steele
Harriet Tremaine Meiklejohn

World War 1 Nursing Sister      0079

Born April 1, 1876, Quebec City, Quebec. Died April 9, 1952, Toronto, Ontario. In 1906 she graduated in nursing from the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, U.S.A. She worked as superintendent of Nurses in Montclair, New Jersey, U.S.A. During World War 1, when she was 40 years old, she traveled to England and on October 16, 1916 she enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) as a Nursing Sister. On June 3, 1919, she was awarded the Royal Red Cross for her distinguished services for showing special devotion in performing her duties. After the war she returned home to Canada where she took a course in Public Health at the University of Toronto. Relocating to St. John, New Brunswick she established the health centre, public clinics and a branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses. In 1925 she was Superintendent of Nursing at St. Catherines General Hospital in Ontario. In 1927 she took a position as Superintendent at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, a position she retained until retirement in 1943. The Canadian Nurses Association established an annual scholarship in her memory. Source: Women’s College Hospital online (Accessed March 2014) ; Canadian Nurses Association Memorial Book, Online (Accessed March 2014) (2021)

Helen Bodington Meiklejohn
World War 1 Nursing Sister

Helen graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1899. The WGH School of nursing Alumnae Honour Role lists Helen as a World War 1 Nursing Sister but she did not serve with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021)

Jane Megarry         3562

Medical Missionary
Born 1881, Ireland. Died 1958, Victoria, British Columbia In 1901 she immigrated to Canada serving as a nurse and missionary to Aboriginal communities in the Lethbridge region of Alberta.  She worked at first at St. Paul's School on the Blackfoot Reserve Hospital in Gleichen from 1914 through 1937. The hospital was aligned with the Anglican residential school program. She worked to learn the Blackfoot language to best serve the peoples on the reserve. She continued medical learning at the Sir Alexander Galt Hospital in Lethbridge and at the Royal Jubilee Hospital in Victoria, British Columbia. During the summer months she taught first aid at a camp in Waterton Lakes National Park in southern Alberta. She became an honourary member of the Blackfoot tribe and given the name On-ataki which means Good Woman. She also received the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. The Jane Megarry Chapter of the Lethbridge I O D E is named in her honour. The city of Lethbridge names a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005;
Henrietta 'Hetty' Mellett
World War 1 Nursing Sister
 
Born October 21, 1883, Galway, Ireland. Died October 10, 1918, at sea. Henrietta would immigrate to Canada to join her sister in London, Ontario.  She graduated from London's Victoria Hospital Nursing School in 1912 and worked as an assistant matron in Nanaimo, British Columbia and Weyburn, Saskatchewan.  She served with the Red Cross in France, Egypt, and England. On November 13, 1917 Henrietta enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C) as a Nursing Sister.  She served with the 15th Canadian Field Hospital, Taplow, England.  In 1918 she was granted a two week leave to visit relatives in Ireland. On October 10, 1918 she was drowned when the Royal Mail Steamer Leinster was sunk by the enemy. 500 passengers were lost on the ship when it was sunk by U Boat 123 in the Irish Sea. She is bur in Mount Jerome Cemetary, Dublin, Ireland. She is commemorated on Canadian war memorials and on a commemorative Plaque at Victoria Hospital Nursing School. Source: Library and Archives Canada (accessed 2021); Nursing Sister Henrietta Mellett Community Stories. Digital Museums Canada online (accessed 2021)
Elizabeth Matilda Melvin-Symondson

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3374

née Melvin. Born November 23, 1890, Teeswater, Ontario. Died August 30, 1967, St. Catherines, Ontario. In 1916 Elizabeth graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing and joined the staff of No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg, Manitoba. By June 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she was posted to No. 9 Canadian General Hospital, Shorncliffe, Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, all in England. After the war she worked as a special duty nurse in Dauphin, Manitoba before returning to Winnipeg to work in public health nursing.  She later relocated to St. Catherines, Ontario with her husband Sydney Symondson. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916.. online (accessed 2021);

Jessie Annie Middleton    0080

née Lee. Born December 12, 1916, Murrayville, British Columbia. Died May 22, 2019, British Columbia Jessie studied nursing at the Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster, British Columbia. After three years she graduated in September 1939 at the age of 22. She wanted to join the army to serve in the war but women could not join until they were 25 years old so she worked at the Vancouver General Hospital. She enlisted in 1942 as a Lieutenant in the Royal Canadian Army Nursing Corps. She 1st served at a military hospital in Prince Rupert, British Columbia and was sent overseas in March 1943 serving near London, England. In July 1944 she sailed to serve in Italy in field hospitals. By D-Day June 6, 1944 she was assigned to Nijmegen, Holland right on the front lines. Back in Canada after the war she attended nursing courses at McGill University. On December 26, 1947 she married Frederick Turner Middleton of British Columbia.  The couple would have 2 children settling in Abbottsford, British Columbia. In July 2012 she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to her country. Source: Eleanor Florence. Nursing Sisters Healed the Wounds of War. June 17, 2015 on Blog: Wartime Wednesdays (accessed June 2015); Obituary, The Abbotsford News May 22, 2019. (2020)

Nonie Winnifred Milburn

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3249

Born September 7, 1873, Belleville, Ontario. Died February 20, 1963, Belleville, Ontario. Nonie graduated from the Dr. John Lee Private Hospital School of Nursing, Rochester, New York, U.S.A. in 1909. After graduation she was on staff at the Dr. Lee hospital. On February 19, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served in England at Westenhanger, Brighton, Buxton and Shorncliffe. She also served at St. Claud, France.  She was treated for influenza at Kinmel Park Medical Hospital, England. Discharged in Canada in July 1919 she worked at the Belleville Hospital. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Naomi Miller SEE - Academics - Historians
Alice Muriel Mills              3487

World War 1 Nursing Sister & Influenza Volunteer

Born April 6, 1888, Truro, Nova Scotia. Died ???? Alice was a graduated of the Victoria General Hispital School of Nursing, Halifax, Nova Scotia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on February 4, 1915. It is known that she served at a Canadian General Hospital in France. In 1918 Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. was one of the hardest hit cities in America during the influenza pandemic. Boston had helped the ity of Halifax, Nova Scotia after the December 6, 1917 explosion by sending medical help to the city. In 1918, when Boston was suffering nurses from Nova Scotia volunteered to return the favour of help to Boston. Alice was one of the nurses who volunteered to tend the influenza situation in Boston. Back in Truro she continued to care for influenza patients. (2021)

Annie Fisher Mitchell

World War 1 Nursing Sister    
3294

Born November 19, 1890, Dalhousie, New Brunswick. Died September 8, 1949, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Annie graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In June 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Overseas she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, England, No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, France. After the war she returned to Canada working on staff at the WGH and later with the Psychopathic Hospital. In 1923 she became Lady Superintendent of the Brandon Mental Hospital. In 1927 she left her position and took up private duty nursing in Winnipeg.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Katherine 'Kate' Montgomery-McKay
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3330

Born August 4, 1889, Prince Albert Saskatchewan. Died March 11, 1955, British Columbia. Kate graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1918. By October that year she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to the N0. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she married Sinclair McKay and the couple settled in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1918. online (accessed 2021)

Marjorie Beatrice Moberly

World War 1 Nursing Sister 

Born 1895, Totnes District, England. Died October 26, 1918 Coquitlam, British Columbia. Marjorie Beatrice was a graduated of the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, Vernon, British Columbia. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She died at the Coquitlam Military Hospital of Influenza. She was the first military nurse to died from the influenza epidemic. Sadly even though she was a member of the military as the time of her death she is not commemorated as a casualty of war on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission nor the Canadian Book of Remembrance. Her name can be found in the 23rd Infantry Brigade Canadian Army official documents. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture                            0081

Aboriginal Nurse in World War 1

née Anderson. Born April 10, 1890, Six Nations Reserve (near Brantford), Ontario. Died April 3, 1996, Ohseweken, Ontario. At high school Edith was described as a 'gifted student' After she graduated high school Edith want to pursue studies in nursing but at that time in Canada the Indian Act did not allow aboriginals to attend post high school education. Edith went on to graduate 1st in her class from the New Rochelle Nursing School in New York State, U.S.A. In 1914 she became the 1st Indigenous Canadian woman to be a registered nurse. She worked in New York State until the United states entered World War l and then she volunteered for the United States Army Nursing Corps and served in France often working grueling 14 hour shifts. She was one of fourteen Native Canadian women to serve as a nurse during World War l. With the Canadian Military Service Act of 1917 Edith became the 1st status Indian and registered Band member to earn the right to vote in Canadian Federal elections. Returning to Canada after the war she married Clayban Monture in 1919 and the couple had four surviving children. In 1939 she was elected honourary President of the Ohseweken Red Cross. She worked as a nurse and midwife on her reserve until retirement in 1955. Edith Monture Avenue in Brantford, Ontario in named in her honour. (2020)

Edith Lena Moore 4005

World War 1 Nursing Sister

 

Born 1891, Tosoronito, Ontario. Died Toronto, Ontario? Edna trained as a nurse at the Toronto General Hospital School of Nursing. In October 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Medical Army Corps (C A M C) She was assigned to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital in France and then No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece. In 1919 as the war efforts wound down due to the peace she was in hospital herself with the flu. She was hame by July 1919. She went to New York to earn a certificate in Public Health Nursing. By 1931 she was working with the Ontario Department of Healthe. By 1944 she was the Director of Public Health Nursing in Ontario. She retired in 1957. (2022)
Lillias Adelaide Morden-Cavanah

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3325

née Morden. Born September 20, 1890, West Flamborough, Ontario. Died February 11, 1976, Flamborough, Ontario. Lillias trained at the Hamilton General Hospital School of Nursing, Ontario. Prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in July 1916 she had worked fro two years at the Toronto Base Hospital. She served overseas in Europe until the end of the War. She returned home at the end of the war and on January 20, 1927 she married  Brigadier Ormond O. V. Cavanah in Peterborough, Ontario. After the death of her husband in 1933 she returned to Flamborough. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Martha Morkin

World War 1 Nursing Sister  
   0082

Born January 7, 1886, Middlesex County, Ontario. Died 1975, California, U.S.A. Martha studies at the Saint Boniface Training school for Nurses in 1906. In 1915. With World War l raging on the European front she joined the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) as a Nursing Sister and was posted to a Canadian Casualty Station No. 3 near the front lines in Boulogne. The Station had 800 beds and was extremely busy. She watched her first patient die a horrible death from the effects of gas and she never forgot it. Another time, serving in the operating room, the surgeon was shot dead as he operated and she had to finish the operation. After the War she worked with refugees and Canadian soldiers. At home in Canada once again she became restless and relocated north to Dawson City to set up the first hospital in the Yukon Territory. She later worked at various executive positions for several tuberculosis societies in Canada and in the United States. She did not retire until she was 79 years old when she entered a retirement home in California. Susan Taylor Meehan penned an novel based on Martha’s life entitled Maggie’s Choice. Sources: Canada’s Great War Album. Canada’s History. Online (accessed July 2015); Library and Archives Canada LAC R G 150 Accession 1992-3/166 Box 6376-75. (2021)

Jessie Anne Morrice

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3250

Born September 24, 1870, Belleville, Ontario. Died June 18, 1949, Vancouver, British Columbia.  Jessie studied nursing at the Toledo Ohio General Hospital, U.S.A. in 1905.She worked as head nurse in Bernie, British Columbia and by 1911 was Lady Superintendent in Melville, Saskatchewan. June 3, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (CAMC). Overseas she was posted at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France and later at the Canadian Military hospitals in Bearwood, Taplow, Shorncliffe and Brighton, England. In March 1917 she was in hospital herself with influenza. After the war she was a specialist in treatment of Tuberculosis and served as Matron at the British Columbia Sanatorium, Tranquille in 1920. By 1923 she was Superintendent of Nurses at Chilliwack General Hospital. She retired to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Isabel Mortimer-Green

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3375

née Mortimer. Born June 9, 1888, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1974, California, U.S.A. In 1916 Isabel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By March 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to NO. 9 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, England. In France she was posted to France but became hill and had to be admitted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport. Returning home to Canada she worked at Dr. Galloway's private hospital, Winnipeg and then in 1921 joined the staff of King George Hospital, Winnipeg. By 1929 she was on staff at Cowdray Sanatorium, Mexico. In 1930 she became Lady Superintendent of the Fort Qu'Appelle Sanatorium in Saskatchewan. She married George Green and the couple settled in California, U.S.A.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916.. online (accessed 2021);

Emma Murton

World War 1 Nursing Sister    
0083

Born April 15, 1878, Guelph, Ontario. Died December 13, 1960, Manitoba. Emma graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1899. June 3, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (CAMC) in Montreal, Quebec. Overseas she served on the war front at NO. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France. In April 1916 she had to be admitted to a Paris convalescent home recovering from exhaustion and a nervous breakdown. Having recovered by April 1916 she was posted to the Moore Barracks, Shorncliffe , and Granville Canadian Special Hospital in England. Emma returned to Canada in the spring of 1919.  After the war she settled in Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021)

Helen Kathleen Mussallem
                                      
0084
 

Born Januardrhkm.P.Convention004y 7, 1915, Prince Rupert, British Columbia. Died November 9, 2012, Ottawa, Ontario. Helen graduated from the School of Nursing, Vancouver General Hospital in 1937. She served as a Lieutenant nursing officer with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps during World War ll. Her post war career began at the Vancouver Hospital and would take her on some 30 international assignments with the World Health Organization (WHO) of the United Nations and the International Council of Nurses. She was also  executive Director of the Canadian Nurse's Association and president of the Victoria Order of Nurses. She is author of numerous major publications relating to nursing and health and the library at the Canadian Nurse's Association is named in her honour. In 1969 she received the Order of Canada and in 1981 she received one of the highest awards of the International Red Cross, the Florence Nightingale Award. At that time she was referred to a "Canada's most distinguished nurse in her time and generation." (2019) Canadian Encyclopedia online; Dr. Helen K. Mussallem Biography Project online. (2020)

Olga Myers-Finlay   3834
World War 1 Nursing Sister      
Born January 1, 1889, Victoria, Prince Edward Island. Died ???? Olga graduated from the Prince Edward Island Hospital of Nursing. During the first World war she went to England and served with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service at t Queen Mary's Hospital in London. On October 11, 1917 she enlisted in England as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CMAC). Not much is known about Olga's life after 1918 but it is known that she married a man named Finlay.
Janet Hamilton Neilson 4125 Born 1873, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1953, Toronto, Ontario. Trained as a nurse, probably in Toronto, Janet was a trailblazer who took care of tuberculosis patients. She also was a visiting home nurse in her homme area in Toronto called Cabbagetown. The Neilson family home, build by her father Hugh Neilson has a Cabbagetown Historic designation. Source: Cabbagetown People. online (accessed 2022) .
Louise Newcombe

World War 1 Nursing Sister      
3126

              

Born February 5, 1882, Deloraine, Manitoba.  Died March 17, 1972, Vacaville, California, U.S.A. Louise graduated in 1911 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, She became involved with anti-tuberculosis work in Winnipeg after her graduation. By 1914 she was on staff at the WGH.  In 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at No. 10 Canadian General Hospital known as  the Kitchener Military Hospital, Brighton, England. From England she was posted to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Touquet, France. Returning to Canada she worked at the Dauphin Hospital, Manitoba for the summer of 1919. In 1920 she took a post-graduate course in the Supervision of Hospitals and Training Schools at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. after which she worked as an instructor of nurses at the Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia. By 1922 she was working on staff at Miller Memorial Hospital, St. Paul. Minnesota, U.S.A. where she became Lady Superintendent. Later she was hired as Director of Nursing at St. Luke's Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A. where she worked until her retirement in 1941. In retirement she lived in Vacaville, California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Newton                   0085

Born 1860, England. Died Alberta. Mary arrived from England in 1886 to live with her Anglican Missionary Brother William. Mary had her nursing training through St John’s House which was affiliated with the Anglican Church of England. Her training predated the formal education that was established by Florence Nightingale. In fact St John’s House provided 6 nursing sisters for Nightingale when she left to serve in the Crimean War. Mary had been a professor at Queen Charlotte’s Maternity Hospital in London, prior to immigrating. She arrived at Hermitage, near Edmonton in the summer of 1886, is considered the 1st lay nurse in Edmonton. She had suffered ill health in England and she came to Hermitage to recuperate at her brother's mission. There was already a small log hospital there and Mary recovered her health and went quickly to work. In 1891, she put an advertisement in the paper saying that she would do nursing and midwifery in private homes--for ten dollars a week. She is also credited with introducing lilacs to Alberta. Source; Kay Saunderson, 200 Remarkable Alberta Women, (Famous Five Foundation, 1999); (2020)

Margaret Neylan             3437

née Prowse. Born 1924, Brandon Hills, Manitoba. Died 2005. Margaret began her caree in Brandon, Manitoba and included work in Montreal, Quebec, White Plains, New York, U.S.A. and Vancouver, British Columbia. She married Craig Neylan and the couple had three children together. She pioneered the development of numerous nursing programs. She served as president of the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia in 1971-73 and again in 1989-91. She served as Vice president of the Canadian Nurses Association from 1992-94. When she retired she worked to improve care for seniors. Source: B C Nursing History Group, Nursing Dolls online (accessed 2021)

Elizabeth W. Odell

World War 1 Nursing Sister        
3356

Born June 29, 1888, Sherbrooke, Quebec. Died August 3, 1971, Quebec.  In 1909 Elizabeth earned a Bachelor's degree from University of Bishop's College, Lennoxville, Quebec.  She went on to teach at Westbourne School, Toronto.  By 1915 she had graduated top of her class from the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) School of Nursing, Québec. In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. She served a year in Canada prior to going overseas to serve for three years.   She continued her studies  at the School for Graduate Nurses completing her studies in 1923. Elizabeth retired in December 1951 as Director of School of Nursing, Evanston, Alberta. Sources: Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing World War 1, online (accessed 2021; Bishop's University , Bishop's Fighting Women, Nursing in the First World War, online (accessed 2021`)

Alice Theodora 'Dora' Oliver

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3295

Born June 22, 1888, Manitoba. Died November 14, 1986, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1914 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In May 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at Granville Canadian Special Hospital, the Canadian Military Hospital Basingstoke and Kirkdale, No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks, England and No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, France. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Victoria, British Columbia and then on staff at Shaughnessy Hospital and later as Matron at Hycroft Veterans Hospital in British Columbia. She retired in 1953. source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Jessie Oliver See - Religeous leaders
Katherine May Oliver
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3390
Born October 5, 1895, Carberry, Manitoba. Died ???? Katherine graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By February 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moore Barracks and No. 14 Canadian General, Eastbourne, England. After the war she relocated to Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. where she worked as a public health nurse. Later she moved to California, U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);
Dorothea Palmer              0086

née Fergusson. Born 1908, England. Died 1992. Dorothea trained as a nurse in a British hospital. In Canada she was employed by the Parents’ Information Bureau, Organized by A. R. Kaufman in Kitchener, Ontario. On September 14, 1936 she was arrested and charged with distributing birth control literature in Eastview, (now Vanier), Ontario. The Kaufman Rubber Co. paid $25,000.00 for her year long defense in the trial Rex vs Palmer, commonly known as The Eastview Birth Control Trial. Dorothea was acquitted on March 17, 1937 on the grounds that her actions were entirely in the interest of the public good. The Crown launched an appeal with the Court of Appeal for Ontario heard on June 1-2, 1937 but the appeal was dismissed. The six-month trial, the longest in Canadian history to that date,  was extremely hard on Palmer. She was vilified by members of the public, accosted, and her marriage suffered. After the trial, Dorothea Palmer severed her ties to Kaufman and Parent’s Information Bureau and faded into obscurity having been a reluctant heroine for women’s autonomy. Source: Canadian Encyclopedia Online (accessed September 2015) (2020)

Kathleen Panton 4004

World War 1 Nursing Sister
Born June 1, 1884, Milton, Ontario. Kathleen resigned her position as Supervisor of Probationers at the Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, at the Beginning of World War l (1914-1918) She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps) as one of three nurses who sailed in March 1915  for the Queen's Canadian Military Hospital at Shorncliffe, Kent, England. She served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital , France for two years and then was assigned to the Canadian Casualty Clearing Station behind the Canadian Front lines in France. Kathleen was Mentioned in Dispatches for her devotion on duty and received the Royal Red Cross second class. She was welcomed home in 1919 by an evening reception of the local Red Cross. Source: Great War Project online (accessed 2022; Milton Historical Society, Milton's Nursing Sisters online (accessed 2022)
Christina Parker

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3391

Born August 3, 1888, Lanchow, China. Died October 25, 1964, Cornwall, England. Christina graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in Manitoba. She worked as a private nurse for a short few months prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she was posted to NO. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow, England.  After the war she worked with the Manitoba Provincial Board of Health. In 1921 she moved to Salmon Arm, British Columbia and later to California, U.S.A. before finally settling in Cornwall, England. Source: Health Science: Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Ellanore Jane Parker

World War 1 Nursing Sister & inventor

                                         
    3122

Born October 21, 1883, Dublin, Ireland. Died October 10, 1965, Victoria, British Columbia. After immigrating to Canada she graduated in 1910 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and by January 1915 she was serving at no. 1 then No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospitals near Dieppe, France. During her stay near the frontl lines she suffered from exposure to gas and would suffer with health problems the rest of her life. An inventor, she did extensive work in the electronics field and designed a water cannon and a magnetic detector, a forerunner to radar both used by the British. For her war service she receive the British General Service Medal, the Victory Medal and the Mons Star.  After the war she lived in California, U.S.A. until 1948. She worked as an editorial writer for the Los Angeles Times and wrote two novels based on her nursing experiences: The Land Lay Waiting and The Flower or the land; a Tapestry of the Great War. In 1948 she settled in Victoria, British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

Emily Abalinda Parker

World War 1 Nursing Sister 3276

Born November 2, 1889, Morden, Manitoba. Died September 22, 1970, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked as a school nurse with the Winnipeg School Division. She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Service in 1916. After a year she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and by October 1917 was posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England. Returning home to Winnipeg after the war she worked again as a school nurse. In 1937 she was on staff at the WGH School of Nursing. She worked with the Public Health Department as District Supervisor a position she held until her retirement in 1959. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1913. online (accessed 2021)  

Mona Parsons             

SEE - Heroines
 

Emily Susan Patterson   3428

née  Branscombe. Born 1835, U.S.A. Died 1909. Emily and her husband John Peabody Patterson lived in Port Alberni, British Columbia where were parents of the first white child in the area. Emily moved with her husband,  and  their four children to Hastings Sawmill, Burrard Inlet, British Columbia in April 1873 and the next year settled in Moodyville Sawmill. Although not a trained nurse she gained a reputation as a healer. She was midwife for many and provided first aid to white and Aboriginals alike. She is the first known 'nurse' in the Vancouver area. Nora M. Duncan (1881-   ) wrote a poem, The Heroine of Moodyville in 1936, to commemorate this extraordinary woman. In 2004 a miniature costumed doll was displayed by the B.C. History of Nursing, B.C. Registered Nurses Association. Source: Nursing Dolls, B.C. History of Nursing Group. online (accessed 2021); Emily Susan Patterson, Vancouver's First Nurse in B.C. Historical News Summer 1993. online (accessed 2021) 

Ethel Theodora Paynter-McKay

World War 1 Nursing Sister           3125

Born October 10, 1884, Beulah, Manitoba. Died March 3,1981, Calgary Alberta.  Ethel graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1911. She worked on staff at WGH. In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, France. In 1917 she served at No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station, Ramsgate, England. She returned to Winnipeg in June 1919 and worked on staff at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. She was discharged in the early fall of 1920. She married William Abbott McKay (1892-1957) whom she had nursed when he had been wounded. the couple settled at first in Cessford area of Alberta and raised a family of three children. In 1973 she moved to Calgary, Alberta. Sources: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada. online. (accessed 2021)

Isabel Wallace Peeples
World War 1 Nursing Sister           3226

Born December 16, 1892, West Flamborough, Ontario.  Died ???? Isabel trained as a nurse in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Reserves and travelled to serve in England. On October 15, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in London, England. She was posted to Europe until the end of the war. After the war her family relocated to Oakland, California, U.S.A. where she worked at first as a private nurse and then at a Sanatorium. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Evelyn Agnes Pepper *  0088

Born March 3, 1905, Ottawa, Ontario. Died April 2, 1998, Ottawa, Ontario. Evelyn studied nursing graduating from the Ottawa Civic Hospital in 1928. She continued her studies at McGill University. During World War ll she was a Nursing Sister with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps serving in England, Italy, The Netherlands and France. She was made a Commander of the Order of St John and she received the Florence Nightingale Medal from the International Committee of the Red Cross. In 1996 she was made a Member of the Order of Canada. (2020)

Gertrude Petty-Donaldson

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3410

Born August 14, 1892, Sarnia, Ontario.  Died July 29, 1919. Gertrude enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps on February 2, 1916 in Toronto. Overseas  she was first posted with the Ontario Military Hospital, England. She also served with the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital. She was permitted to resign in December 1917, perhaps to be married to John Donaldson. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project online (accessed 2021).

Kathleen Shields Perrin-Helliwell

World War 1 Nursing Sister    3376

née Perrin. Born January 21, 1894, Medicine Hat, Alberta. Died May 17, 1980, Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1916 Kathleen graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In the late fall of 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. (CAMC).  In Canada she was in charge of the Military Wards of the WGH. In April 1917 she was posted overseas at Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Ramsgate, Canadian Officers Hospital, Broadstairs, West Cliff Canadian Eye and Ear Hospital , Folkestone, England. Transferred to France she served at No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport. After the war she returned home and married T. F. Helliwell and worked as a private nurse in British Columbia. Sources: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Lillian Margaret Perry    3722 Born March 10,1900, Wales, United Kingdom. Died November 10,1990, Lethbridge, Alberta. In 1902 cmae to Lethbridge, Alberta with her family when she was two years old. Lillian earned a nursing degree. During World War ll she served as a Nursing Sister in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. She served on the hospital ship Letitia and at the end of the war she accompanied prisoners of war from Canada back to England. Back in Lethbridge she would work at the Campbell Clinic ( later Magrath Hospital) for 32 years. In 1952 she became the firs woman to be an alderman in Lethbridge. She would served three elected terms from 1952 through 1957. She would sit on the boards of the Galt and Lethbridge Auxiliary Hospitals and was a founding member of the Lethbridge Branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N). The City of Lethbridge has named a street in her honour. Source Lethbridge Historical Society facebook page. (accessed 2022); Find a grave Canada (accessed 2022)
Bernice Anna Petch-Beatty

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3377

Born November 30, 1894, South Dakota, U.S.A. Died June 14, 1983, St. Catharines, Ontario. In 1916 Bernice graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital WGH) School of Nursing. By March 1917 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC), Overseas she served at No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, known also as Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England. Transferred to France she was posted to No. 8 Canadian Stationary Hospital, No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples and No. 3 Canadian General Hospital. She returned to Canada at the end of the war and married war veteran Dr. James** Campbell Beatty (1891-1980) in November 1919. The couple settled in Regina, Saskatchewan and later with their son in St Catherines, Ontario. *sometime reported as 1893. ** sometimes reported as John. Sources: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)

Ruby Gordon Peterkin-McKay

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3102

Born September 1, 1887, Toronto, Ontario. Died August 31, 1961, Georgetown, Ontario. Ruby was a graduate nurse who trained at the Toronto General Hospital in 1911. April 7, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served first with the o. 5 Canadian General Hospital, England prior to being posted with No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece, which had been organized by the University of Toronto. War letters and photographs sent back to her family have been preserved by the Library and Archives Canada. Ottawa. Back home after the war she married in 1920, Dr. Hugh Alexander McKay (died 1935). Source: Library and Archives Canada, Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021); University of Ottawa, Ruby Gordon Peterkin fonds, online. (accessed 2021)

Stella Johnstone Pollexfen

World War 1 Nursing Sister   3392

Born June 8, 1892, Limerick, Ireland. Died February 17, 1976, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Stella lived in London, England and then immigrated to Canada. In 1917 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  By March 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  She served in England at No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, No. 14 Canadian General Hospital, Eastbourne and No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow.  After the war she joined the staff of the Social Service Department at the WGH until 1947 when she joined the staff of the MacDonald Aircraft Company.  From 1947 through 1970 she operated the Pollexfen Nursing Home in Winnipeg. Source:: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021);

Cecily Jane Georgina Fane Pope                               0089

Nursing Matron Boer War & World War 1

Born January 1, 1862, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Died June 6, 1938, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. The daughter of William Henry Pope, one of the Fathers of Confederation, Georgina graduated from the Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing, in New York in 1885 and served in various administrative positions at hospitals in the U.S.A. She was superintendent of the Columbia Hospital for Women in Washington where founded a new school of nursing. With the Canadian involvement in the South African War, she volunteered for nursing services with the British forces in October 1899. In fact she headed the first group of herself and three other Canadian nursing sisters.  In 1901 she received the Queen's South Africa Medal. In 1902 she returned to South Africa, leading a small nursing force, the third such group, but this time they were officially the Canadian Army Nursing Service, a part of the Canadian Army Medical Corp. In 1903 she was the 1st Canadian to receive the Royal Red Cross for conspicuous service in the field of battle and earned the Royal Red Cross Class 1 Medal. By 1906 she was the 1st working Nursing Sister with the permanent forces at Halifax and in 1908 she became the 1st Matron of the Canadian Army Medical Corp. She served in World War I in in Taplow, England and then with No 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital in France. 1917 -1918. She was 55 years old in France when she suffered 'shell shock' or 'neurasthenis' (now called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, PTSD) and returned home to Canada where she retired in March 1919. She earned the British World War l Meal. and the Victory Medal. In 1983 Canada’s National Historical Sites and Monument Board declared her a National Historic Person of Canada. She is one of 14 heroes honored with a bronze bust at the Valiants Memorias at Confederation Square, Ottawa. The Canadian Mint issued a $5.00 coin bearing her image. (2020)

Georgea Powell-Bates**  0090

Born 1857, Bouctouche, New Brunswick. Died 1925. Georgea took her nursing training at the Waltham Training School for nurses in Massachusetts, graduating in 1895 In 1898 she headed a group of four nurses headed for Dawson, Yukon. Georgea was officially  the Lady Superintendant of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) for the territory of the Yukon. The women arrived in the midst of a severe outbreak of typhoid fever. Their work garnered national attention and the support of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON). Georgea remained in nursing in Dawson until 1904 when she married North West Mounted Police Staff Sergeant, George Bates (1858-1908). She remained in western Canada after the death of her husband and worked as Matron of the Children’s Shelter,  Edmonton, Alberta from 1912-1918.  Source: New Brunswick women’s History online accessed November 2012; The Canadian Association for the History of Nursing Newsletter Vol. 17 No. 2 Fall 2004) Online (accessed November 2012). (2020)

Aileen Powers-Peel        0091

Born 1894, Toronto, Ontario. Died December 31, 1918, Surry, United Kingdom. A trained nurse she worked with the Canadian Imperial Detachment during World War l. She not only worked at secretarial duties but as a trained chauffeuse she was a driver to help transfer wounded soldiers. In 1918 she took a brief break from the war to return to Canada and visit family in Ottawa. She returned to service in England where she died. Source: Finding the Forty Seven: Canadian Nurses of the 1st World War. Online (accessed August 2015). (2020)            

Helen Preston-Glass    3843 née Preston. Born October 24, 1917, Regina, Saskatchewan. Died February 14, 2015, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1939 Helen earned her Diploma in Nursing from the Royal Victoria Hospital School of Nursing, Montreal, Quebec. By 1953 she had begun a career in nursing education at the Holy Family School of Nursing, Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. Two years later she was in Winnipeg, Manitoba where she earned a certificate in teaching and supervision at the University of Manitoba.  In 1960 she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. and went on to earn a Master of Arts in 1961.  In 1970 she had earned a Master of Education and a Doctor of Education in 1971 from Columbia University. She had started teaching in 1962 at the University of Manitoba and went on to serve as Director of the School of Nursing at the University from 1971-1979. She was paramount in establishing the  graduate program in nursing and creating the Manitoba Nursing Research Institute. She would also serve as president of the Canadian Nurses Association and the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses. In 1977 she was the recipient of the Queen Elizabeth ll Silver Jubilee Medal. In 1987 she was inducted into the Manitoba Order of the Buffalo Hunt, and the following years into the Order of Canada. In 2002 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Medal and in 2012 the Diamond Jubilee Medal.  In 2008 she received the Order of Manitoba. She is also a member of the Teacher's College Nursing Hall of Fame at Columbia University. The Helen Glass Centre for Nursing at the University of Manitoba is named in her honour. Source: Memorable Manitobans (accessed 2022)
Vera Harrison Prindle-Chappell

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3251

née Prindle. Born February 16, 1891, Tweed, Ontario. Died February 24, 1967, Belleville, Ontario. In 1916 she graduated from the Nursing School at the Belleville General Hospital, Ontario. May 5, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to Canadian military hospitals in Taplow, Buxton, Westenhanger, Orpington and Granville, England. In the beginning of 1919 she herself was in hospital with influenza. Discharged back in Canada she married on December 17, 1919 to war veteran Joseph Edward Chappell. She worked as a private nurse in Thomasburg, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Eden Lyal Pringle 3885

World War 1 Nursing Sister 
Born September 4, 1893, Glasgow, Scotland. Died May 30,1918, Douillens, France. Eden was a trained nurse living in  Vancouver, British Columbia when World War l (1914-1918) broke out. On May 7, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.  While serving at No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Etaples, Frances she was killed in the operating room when the camp was bombed by enemy aircraft. Two other Nursing sisters Dorothy Mary Yardwood Baldwin (1891-1918) and Agnes MacPherson (1891-1918) were also killed during the bombing. Her name appears on the plaque at Queen's Park, Toronto dedicated to the Nursing Sisters who died in the First World War as well as in the Book of Remembrance, Ottawa and the War Memorial, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Dorothy 'Dot' Pringle       0092

Born Hamilton, Ontario. This inspirational nursing leader has followed a career that took her through nursing research, teaching nursing, being a senior nursing administrator, locally, provincially, and nationally. She earned, at various schools, her RN, BScN, MS, and finally her PhD in Nursing at the University of Illinois, U.S.A. Her honours include an outstanding teacher award form the Ontario Association of University Teachers, Honorary doctoral degrees, and the Jeanne Mance Award from the Canadian Nursing Association. As Dean of Nursing at the University of Toronto, she instrumental in launching the 1st doctoral program in Nursing in Ontario. She was appointed as an officer of the Order of Canada in 2008. (2020)

Elizabeth Rankin-Bemrose
        

née Rankin. Born 1911. Died 1990. In 1927 when she was 16 she won the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal fro a high school essay. She went on to become a teacher for several years. In 1942 she began to study nursing at the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) School of Nursing. Graduating in 1944 she soon met and married a soldier. At this time married nurses were not accepted in the workforce so Elizabeth returned to teaching primary school She retired in 1976. In 2004 her niece Sheila J. Rankin donated a miniature costumed doll to the B. C. history of Nursing Group. Source: Nursing Dolls B.C. History of Nursing Group, 2004. online (accessed 2021)

Edith Rayside          3467

World War 1 Nursing Matron

Born January 26, 1872 South Lancaster, Ontario. Died December 20, 1950, South Lancaster, Ontario. In 1896 Edith graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. By 1901 she completed nurse training at St. Luke's Hospital, Ottawa. She began her career doing private nursing duty and then this adventuresome woman nursed in a modern fully equipped hospital in a central Mexican mining town where she became a superintendent. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps when World War 1 broke out. Overseas in England she  was designated matron of a hospital unit and headed for northern France. She was responsible for overall administration as well as nursing moral. In the fall of 1916 she was transferred to Moore Barracks, England. By mid 1917 she was back in Ottawa serving as Matron-in-Chief of military nurses on the home front. She served in this position until 1920. After being decommissioned she worked as an instructor at the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing. From 1924 through 1934 she was Superintendent of Nurses as the Hamilton General Hospital. In 1927 she represented Canadian nurses at the dedication of the Memorial Chamber in the Peace Tower of the Canadian Parliament buildings where she was one of four service representatives who stood at the corners of the altar which held the Book of Remembrance.  Edith had been involved in establishing networks of World War 1 veteran nurses from her time in Montreal and in 1932 she became the national president of the Overseas Nursing Sisters' Association of Canada. She has also been and active member in the Canadian Nurses Association. In 1931 she left her work for an operation on a brain tumour in Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. She resigned form her position at the end of 1933. That year she was named as a Commander of the Order of the British Empire. Source: Edith Rayside by David Rayside, Health Sciences Library, McMaster University. online (accessed 2021)

Bernice Carnegie Redmon

Black Nurse

Born Toronto, Ontario. As a young student wanting to study nursing Bernice was refused entry to Canadian nursing institutions because she was Black. At this time it was felt that Canadian patients would not like being cared for by Black nurses. Determined, Bernice attended St Philip Hospital School in Richmond, Virginia, U.S.A. graduating in 1945. Bernice returned to work in Canada finding a position with the Department of Public Health in Nova Scotia. She became the 1st Black woman to become a nurse in Canada. She went on to become the 1st Black nurse to be hired by the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Canada. (2020)

Frances 'Fanny' Dalrymple Redmond                         3429

Sister Frances

née Byron. Born 1850, Newry, Northern Ireland. Died April 14, 1932, Vancouver, British Columbia. On December 26, 1868 Frances married Dr. William Charles Redmond (died 1930). The couple had a daughter who died in infancy and a son who died in World War 1.  The couple immigrated to Canada initially settling in Winnipeg, Manitoba. When their son returned to England for his education the couple separated. It is claimed that Frances trained as a nurse and midwife at Laval University in Quebec, but the no women were admitted to L8val un the 19th century. . She was also said to be a Deaconess with the Anglican Church, but this has not been confirmed. In 1887 she became the first district nurse in Vancouver and she assumed the title Sister as was common for nurses in England.  She was the driving force behind the establishment of St. Luke's Home which would become St. Luke's Hospital, being built in 1888 and that same year she opened the first training school for nurses in Vancouver which opened with one student. In 1893 she was matron of a church sponsored hospital for Aboriginals in Vernon, British Columbia. In the early 1900's she managed the infectious disease section of the Vancouver City Hospital. In 1898 she and nurses Margaret Clendenning helped establish the Vancouver branch of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON). She began a soup kitchen in the basement of Market Hall to serve the needy. She offered hospital beds free to those in need and provided space at St. Luke's for meetings, teas, charity events and even wedding receptions for nurses. Orphans who came to the hospital for care were kept  simply because they had no home. Sister Frances legally adopted a girl.  From 1897 through 1906 she published a column in the Church Record.  Source: D C B

Edith Rice-McKenney  4168

Nurse, Librarian, Businesswoman
Born 1877, Wyoming, Ontario. Died December 24, 1965, Wyoming, Ontario. At 18 Edith left home and went to work at the Penman Woolen Mills, Paris, Ontario. Shortly after she studied at the Clifton Springs Sanitorium and School of Nursing in New York, U.S.A. graduating in 1904. She worked as head nurse of the Christian Service Workers Home, Albany, New York providing services for the underprivileged. In 1920 she returned home to Wyoming to care for her father and managed the family bookstore. In 1922 she married William E. 'Mac' Mckenny. She was soon the librarian at the Wyoming Association Library and took summer courses in librarianship at the University of Western Ontario, London. She was also a member of the local Red Cross, the Bible Society and the Wyoming United Church. During the Second World War (1939-1945) she helped the Red Cross Society with practical nursing courses in her home. She served was secretary of the Local Red Cross until 1963. She was also a correspondent for the Advertiser-Topic newspaper. After the death of her husband in 1946 she relocated to London, Ontario to live with her sister but missing her home town she soon returned home and was once ore town librarian until retirement in 1962.Source: The Story of Edith Rice McKenney by Colleen M, The Young Canuckstorian; Canadian History for Kids by Kids! online (accessed 2022)
Mary L Richmond            0093 

Born 1920, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died November 29, 2002. She studied  the Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing in 1943 and began her career as a teacher at the school upon graduation. Beginning in  the 1950's she was the Director of Nursing at the Royal Jubilee Hospital and the Vancouver General hospital. During her tenure as Director she helped initiate programs in public health, tuberculosis nursing and psychiatric nursing. She served on committees of the Canadian Nurses Association and with a budding interest in nursing history she was a founding member of the History of Nursing Professional Practice Group. She retired from nursing in 1992 having provided several generations of professional nurses with a solid definition of what it was to be a nursing citizen. (2020)

Rosemarie Riddell            0094

née Marshall. Born November 14, 1946, Lindsay, Ontario. Died July 12, 2013, Vancouver British Columbia. Rosemarie studied at St Joseph’s School of nursing, Peterborough, Ontario. After graduating in 1967 she continued her nursing studies at the University of Alberta. One of her early work postings was in Kingston, Ontario where she met a military Cadet. In 1968 she and Craig Riddell were married. The couple had one son. Eventually the family moved for Craig’s work to British Columbia. In 1983 she began working at St Paul’s Hospital. Although she knew little of the gay lifestyle she soon became a hardworking advocate for people suffering with HIV/Aids. She worked from the early days of the advent of the virus for 30 years devoted to helping those who suffered. In 1993 her dedication was honoured by the British Columbia Persons with HIV/Aids with the AccolAids Award. In 1996 she was written up in the Globe and Mail highlighting her pragmatic approach with chaos of addicts. It was this same year that she completed her Master’s degree at the University of British Columbia having written her this on HIV/Aids patients. In 1997 she organized a special addiction team at St Paul’s Hospital caring for 30 patients a day. In 2008 she was named one of British Columbia’s outstanding nurses. In 2011 she was honoured with an advocacy award from the College of registered Nurses of British Columbia. Source: “Seeing beyond the stigma…” by Rod Mecklenburg in Globe and Mail, September 11, 2013. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon. (2020)

Margaret Jane Riddle-3327 Corrigan
World War 1 Nursing Sister         

née Riddle. Born August 19, 1879, Beverly Township, Ontario. Died 1973, Beverly Township, Ontario. Margaret  She served, probably for military training, at the Canadian Military Hospital, Kingston, Ontario for three months prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical (CAMC) on June 1, 1916.  Margaret served overseas until the end of the war.  After returning home she married Dr. Mathew Poole Corrigan. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Ethel Blanche Ridley          3252

World War 1 Nursing Matron

Born March 31, 1874, Belleville, Ontario. Died July 18, 1949, Belleville, Ontario. Ethel graduated from St. Hilda's College, University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in 1895. She followed this in 1899 by graduating from the New York Training School for Nurses in the U.S.A. She served in the Philippines during the Spanish American War with the United States Army. Later she served as a Medical Missionary in China.  Returning to the United States she worked at the Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled in New York. September 16, 1914 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served as Matron for the No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, and was posted to Le Touquet, France. Returning to England she served in Granville, Ramsgate and Buxton. In 1918 she was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire C B E. After the war she worked as Directress of Nursing at the Vancouver General Hospital, British Columbia but soon left the position due to ill health. Relocating to the United States she worked at the New York Orthopaedic Hospital as Director of Nurses until she retired in 1942 when she settled in Belleville, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Rinn
World War 1 Nursing Sister      3275

In 1912 Margaret graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She served with The Queen Alexandra's Imperial Nursing Service overseas in 1917. After the War she returned to Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Mary Ester Slee Ritchie-Mclean
World War 1 Nursing Sister      3393

née Ritchie. Born October 24, 1894, Falkirk, Scotland. Died ???? Mary graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. Right after graduation she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was first posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. By April 1918 she was overseas posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England and later to NO. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England. After the war Mary returned to Canada and married D. Mclean. The couple settled in British Columbia and later returned to Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917  online (accessed 2021)  

Eleanor Rivington-Downs

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3312

Born January 15, 1884, Ottawa, Ontario. Died July 30, 1970, Ontario.  In 1915 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. After graduation she relocated to Saskatchewan where she worked at Canora Hospital. In the fall of 1915 she retuned to Winnipeg to work on staff at the Children's Hospital. IN October 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas  she was posted to Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, No. 12 Canadian Special Hospital, Bramshott, and No. 7 Canadian General Hospital in England. She returned t Canada in July1919. She went to New York City, U.S.A. to take courses in Public Health Nursing at the Henry Street Settlement, a housing complex that offere nursing services for immigrants in 1920. Returning to Ontario she married George Downs.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)

Simone Eileen Roach       0095

Born July 20, 1922, New Waterford, Nova Scotia. Died July 2, 2016, Antigonish, Nova Scotia. After studying nursing at the St Joseph’s Hospital School of Nursing, Glace Bay, Nova Scotia  in 1945 Eileen entered the Sisters of St Martha and took the name Sister Marie Simone. She took her final vows in 1950. Simone then went on to obtain a degree in nursing from St Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia.. She also studied administration and clinical supervision at the University of Toronto and earned a Master’s in Nursing from Boston University, Massachusetts, U.S.A. In 1970 she earned her doctorate in education from the Catholic University of America, Washington D.C., U.S.A. She would also spend time as a post-doctoral scholar in ethics at Harvard Divinity School, U.S.A. She acted as a community leader and liaison between the Congregation of St Martha’s Corporation and the Corporation of St John’s Hospital in Lowell, Massachusetts, U.S.A.   From 1971 through 1979 she spent time building the nursing department at St Francis Xavier University. It was in 1971 that she established the 1st code of ethics for nurses in Canada. The code is composed of six c ’s: compassion, competence, conscience, confidence and commitment. Simone. Over the years she was a welcome lecturer internationally. In 1993 she returned to Bethany, the Sisters’ of Martha’s House in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Source: Allison Lauton, Obituary, Globe and Mail, July 15, 2016. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon Ottawa, Ontario. (2020)

Margaret Robertson

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3296

Born May 25, 1887, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Died January 9, 1958, Vancouver, British Columbia. Margaret graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked at Ninette Sanatorium for 18 months before returning to Scotland for a visit. Back in Winnipeg she worked at the Children's Hospital. In May 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  Overseas she served at Moore Barracks Hospital and at the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross hospital known as No. 15, Canadian General Hospital, England. Returning to Canada after the war she relocated for a short time to work in California, U.S.A. prior to settling in Vancouver, British Columbia.  source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Emeline Robertson 3337
World War 1 Nursing Sister      

On April 17, 1916 Emeline joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Sister Reserve (Q A) in response to the British Government's call for nurses to serve in World War 1.At least 314 Canadian nurses joined the QA Reserves to serve overseas for 40.00 pounds plus board and laundry per year. .  Within a year she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps.

Shirley M. Robinson          0096

Born Lucknow, Ontario. In 1953 she graduated in nursing having trained at Owen Sound General and Marine Hospital. In 1954 she enrolled in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as a Pilot Officer. Her career in the military would span 30 years. She graduated from the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College course. With the rank of Lieutenant Colonel she retired in 1984 as Deputy Director of Women Personnel at National Defense Headquarters in Ottawa. She spent much of her time assuring equality for women serving in the armed services. In 1985 she was a founding member of the Association for Women’s Equality in the Canadian Armed Forces (AWECF). She was also active outside of her military duties serving a President of the Nursing Sisters Association of Canada and serving as a member of the Council for Canadians, The Human Rights Institute and the Ontario College of Nurses. In October 1992 she was presented with the Governor General Award in Commemoration of the Persons Case which honours work that improves the equality of life for Canadian Women.  Source: Lt. Col. Shirley M. Robinson, CD (Retired) – Nurse. By Carolyn Gossage, November 6, 2000 Section15.ca Online (Accessed March 2014) (2020)

Marguerite Eliza Robinson 3792 née  Armitage, Born 1902? Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. Died April 17, 1975, Regina, Saskatchewan.  Marguerite relocated to Regina, Saskatchewan when she was a teenager. At first she worked as a clerk at Simpson's Department Store mail order facility. This may have been a chance to earn enough money to study as a nurse. In 1925 she graduated from the Nursing School of the Regina General Hospital. She worked mainly as a private duty nurse. In 1937 she married Louis McKenna. Robinson, a widower with five children.  Marguerite became active in the local Council of Women and the League of Women Voters. She also sat on the board of the Victoria Order of Nurses (V O N) and served on the executive board of the Regina Natural History Society. She enjoyed writing and contributed works on various topics such as local history as well as history of public health and health care in the province. She published The First Fifty Years, an account of the Saskatchewan Registered Nurses Association in 1967. Source: Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2022; Saskatchewan Cemeteries project; Regina Cemetery...(accessed 2022)
Nellie Grace Rogers
World War 1 Nursing Sister  3400

Born December 18, 1889, London, Ontario. Died October 19, 1918, Toronto, Ontario. Nellie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) November 11, 1917. Nellie served at the Central Military Convalescent Hospital College St., Toronto. She died from Influenza before she could be posted overseas. [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021).

Ada Janet Ross

World War 1 Nursing Sister  
3411

Born August 11, 1878, Toronto, Ontario. Died July 12, 1918, Buxton, England. According to her obituary she was a graduate of the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. Ada graduated Ada enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) signing her final papers in May 1915 in London, England.  She was posted to the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital and to the Ontario Military Hospital, No. 16 Canadian General Hospital,  Orpington, England. By January 1918 she was a patient at the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital, Buxton. She died from peritonitis, tuberculosis and bronchitis. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Anne E.  Ross

World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                         
  3099

Born 1890, Kingston, Ontario. Anne graduated from the Lady Stanley Institute, (later Ottawa Civic Hospital Nursing School in 1913. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was posted to No. 3 Stationary Hospital and No. 15 Canadian Stationary Hospital, also known as the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Clivedon, England. She went on to serve in Lemnos in the Greek Islands. She suffered a severe bout of dysentery and for convalescence in England before being posted to France. Some of her written accounts and photographs of her service has been preserved in the Library and Archives, Ottawa. Source: Library and Archives Canada, Nursing Sisters, online (accessed 2021); Nicholson, G. W. L. Seventy Years of Service: A history of the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps, Ottawa, Borealis Press, 1977

Elizabeth Bell Ross

World war 1 Nursing Sister & Matron                3409

Born October 30, 1878, Demerara, British Guiana, South Africa. Died March 13, 1953, Ottawa?. Ontario. At some point the family immigrated to Canada and settled in Nova Scotia. Elizabeth served with a voluntary unit of the French Red Cross in Belgium. She enlisted as Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on February 30, 1916, London, England.  She was posted to the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital in 1916. By spring of 1917 she was Acting Matron. She served at No. 10 Canadian General hospital . By January 1918 she was Matron. After the war she returned to Canada and was demobilized in October 1920. She worked at the Woman's Hospital, New York City, New York, U.S.A. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Flora Amelia Ross          3499

Métis Nurse and administrator
Born 1842, San Juan Island. Died November 2, 1897, Victoria, British Columbia. A Métis her father was chief trader with the Hudson's Bay Company and her mother Isabella Mainville Ross was Ojibwe Métis. She was raised in Fort McLoughlin, fort Nisqually and finally Fort Victoria in British Columbia. Flora married in 1859 to Paul Kinsey Hubbs Jr. collector of Revenue on San Juan Island. The Island itself was disputed between the U.S.A. and Britain. Flora was a nurse to the community. Flora and her husband settled to a farm on San Juan Island. Shortly after the birth of their son Flora divorced the unfaithful husband in the Washington Territory since Vancouver are did not have a civil divorce law. She may be the first divorced single-mother career woman in British Columbia.  She returned to Victoria supporting her son working as a nurse under her maiden name. From 1870 through 1897 she served as Matron for the women's wing of the Victoria Insane Asylum. She was the firs woman to be an administrator of a governmental medical institution in western Canada and one of the first of indigenous background. The book In Her Own Footsteps; Flora Ross and Her Struggle for Identity and Independence in the Colonial West  by D. J. Richardson, tells Flora's story. Source: Flora Ross web site (accessed 2021) Also First
Kathryn/Katherine Dorothy Ross                    3384
World War l and ll Nursing Sister

 

Born May 23, 1894, Bridgeville Nova Scotia. Died February 9, 1967 Camp Hill Military Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Kathryn graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1917. By March 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she sailed for China to assist a Dr. Williams open and hospital and training school for nurses. She became a Superintendent of a large hospital in Chingtu, China for fie years. In 1943 she was a Sister in Charge at the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps' Fort Osbourne Barracks, Winnipeg. She later served with the United Nation Relief and Rehabilitation Administration in Europe. After the Second World War she worked in charge of a new hospital in Lahore, Pakistan. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021); Canadian Great War project, Nursing Sisters. online Accessed 2021).

Margaret Morrison Ross  0097

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born May 17, 1869, Solina, Ontario. Died February 2, 1944, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Margaret Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1899.  On January 18, 1917 Margaret enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corp (CAMC). She was posted to the No 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, , Winnipeg and would become nurse in charge of the Military Wards at the WGH in 1918. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899. online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada. online accessed 2021)

Elizabeth Russell           0098

Born July 12, 1879. Hamilton, Ontario. Died ????. Elizabeth studied nursing at the Presbyterian Hospital, New York, U.S.A. In the fall of 1899 she was one of four nurses who where the 1st contingent of Canadian military Nursing Sisters to to be sent overseas. The four women, Matron Georgina Fane Pope (1862-1938), Minnie Affleck (1874-1956), and Sara Forbes (????-1902) served during the Boer War in South Africa. As Nursing Sisters the women were given a rank and pay equal to that of an army Lieutenant. The women would receive the Queen's South African War Medal for their services.  June 18, 1915 Elizabeth enlisted once again as a Nursing Sister in the Canadian Army Medical Corps. (2020)

Ethel Gertrude Ryckman
World War 1 Nursing Sister        3328

Born June 3, 1890, Flamborough Township, Ontario. Died ????  Ethel travelled to the U.S.A. to take her training as a nurse at the Roosevelt Hospital, New York City. She went home after graduation but in 1914 was back in New York City while her step-sister Agnes Annie Forbes (1887-????) trained at Roosevelt Hospital. Ethel joined the American Red Cross to serve as a nurse. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)  

Sadie Saint-Germain/St-Germain     

World War 1 Nursing Sister
0099

Born July 21, 1884, Hull, Quebec. May 3, 1923, Hull Quebec. Sadie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canada Army Medical Corps in August of 1916 in answer to the call to serve in World War 1. She was in hospital herself in January 1917 with bronchitis. Recovered, by the spring of 1917 she was serving at the Kitchener Military Hospital Brighton, England before proceeding to serve in France that fall at the No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital and then the No. 10 Canadian General Hospital. She retuned home to Canada in the spring of 1919. Her death was related to her war service but she was never issued a Memorial Plaque nor a Memorial Cross that were usually issued to those who served and whose death was related to the war. Source: A Tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts. Online (2020); [Canada] A Tribute to Some Woman and Men who Served in Armed Conflict: online. (accessed 2021).

Mary/Mae Belle Sampson

World war 1 Nursing Sister Died at Sea                            
3347

Born June 5, 1890, Nottawasaga Bay, Ontario. Mae Belle graduated from the Hamilton City Hospital School of Nursing, Ontario. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC)  Overseas she was posted to No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Le Touquet, France and later at Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Uxbridge, England. and Canadian Hospital Salonika, Greece and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England. In October 1917 she was herself in hospital for diphtheria. After her recovery she was assigned relatively "easy' duty on the Llandovery Castle. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: Finding the forty-seven: Canadian nurses of the first world war. by Debbie Marshall. online (accessed 2021)

Bertha Samson-Beck 

World war 1 Nursing Sister
3394

née Samson. Born November 19, Liberty County, North Dakota. Died October 21, 1958, North Dakota, U.S.A. Bertha graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  After graduation she joined the Provincial Nursing Staff and worked in Winnipeg. In February 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served overseas in England at No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke until July 1919. After the war she returned to Winnipeg  and worked as a private nurse. In 1923 she was employed at Sea View Hospital in Staten Island, New York, U.S.A. She married Dr. R. Beck and the couple settled in North Dakota, U.S.A Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917  online (accessed 2021)  

Gladys Irene Sare

World War 1 Nursing Sister Died at Sea                                   3348

Born June 6, 1889, Bath, England. Died June 27, 1918, at sea. Gladys Irene graduated from the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing in 1913. Gladys Irene enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on January 26, 1916 in Montreal. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing. World War 1 online (accessed 2021)

Winifred Dobson Schurman

World War 1 Nursing Sister
Born October 8, 1890, Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Died 1977, Summerside, Prince Edward Island. Winifred was a twin and graduated from the Prince Edward Island Hospital School of Nursing, Charlottetown, in 1911. February 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Medical Army Corps (CMAC). She served No. 6 Canadian General Hospital overseas serving in England, France and Belgium. As well as receiving the military medals of service she received from France the Médaille des epidemies en argent which was presented to her in 1923. Returning home after the war she went to the U.S.A where by 1921 she was nursing in Cleveland, New York and then Boston, Massauchetts. She retired from nursing in 1960 and settled in Summerside. Source: Walker - Palmer Genealogy Web site Person page 725 (accessed 2022) 
Marisse Scott-Louisy         0100


Black Nurse

Born Owen Sound, Ontario. Mariss was an honour student in high school and she had a desire to care for people. She applied to attend nursing school at her home town Owen Sound General Hospital and Marine Hospital but she was refused because she was Black. This racist event would haunt her the rest of her life, but with the support of Mayor Eddie Sergeant of Owen Sound and Rev. Allan Ferry, her plight to find a nursing school to attend made national headlines. The Rev. J. A. O'Reilly of the Church of Our Lady in Guelph, Ontario, asked the nursing sisters at the St Joseph Hospital in Guelph if they would accept Mariss as a student. She became one of their top notch and most caring students. Mariss graduated in 1950 as one of the first Black graduates in nursing in Ontario, paving the way for other Black nursing students. She worked as Head of the Nutrition Department at the St Lucia Health Ministry in the Caribbean. Here she settled, married and brought up a daughter. (2020)

Mary Elizabeth Scott-Williams       3284
World War 1 Nursing Sister        

née Scott. Born September 17, 1882, Eden, Manitoba. Died October 26, 1968, Ontario.  Mary graduated in 1913 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing and worked on staff at the WGH. In 1915 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. She served overseas until 1918. She returned home and enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to the 22nd Calvary Field Ambulance Unit and the Regina Military Hospital, Saskatchewan. After the war she married William H. Williams and the couple settled first in Quebec and then in Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Gladys Hope Sewell-Ross

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3253

née Sewell. Born September 24, 1892, Belleville, Ontario. Died February 3, 1933, Toronto, Ontario. Gladys graduated from the Nursing School at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal, Quebec. On April 22, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 3 Canadian General Hospital, Camiers, France and then to Orpington, England. August 25, 1915 she married Canadian veteran, Dr. James Wells Ross O B E (Order of the British Empire).  As a married woman she resigned her commission September 4, 1915. After the war the couple settled in Toronto. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Judith Shamian                   0087

Born May 1, 1950, Hungary. The family relocated to Jerusalem and then to Montreal, Quebec. While in Jerusalem, after caring for her ill mother, she took three years of training as a nurse. In Montreal, she found a back injury prohibited her from doing bedside nursing care and found a way to stay in the profession as an administrator. Judith earned her Bachelor of Nursing from Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec and went on to earn her Master’s in Public Health from New York University.  She earned her PhD from Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. She has served as President of the Canadian Nurse’s Association and has helped set up the office of Nursing Policy in 1999 to advise Health Canada and served for five years as Executive Director 1999-2004.  She has also served as president and C E O of the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON). On October 4, 2012, an episode of Undercover Boss, the Canadian reality TV series, aired in which Dr. Shamian worked in disguise to witness the pressures faced by nurses employed by the VON. In 2013 she became the second Canadian woman to be President of the International Council of Nurses, a federation of over 130 national nurses’ associations representing more than 16 million nurses worldwide. Her international work had caused her to travel to numerous countries including to Hungary and Botswana for research and teaching. She has also helped Poland set up their national nursing association. She is also a professor at the Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing at the University of Toronto. In 1995 she received the Ross Award for Nursing Leadership followed by the 2000 Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medial. In 2004 she received the Award of Merit from the Canadian Nurse’s Association and the Canadian Federation of Nurses Unions. She has also received the Centennial Award from the Canadian Nurse’s Association which recognizes nursing leadership of the past 100 years. She has received Canada’s Most Powerful Women: Top Ten Award from the Women’s Executive Network (2020)

Irene Louise Sharpe

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3299

Born June 14, 1890, Orono, Ontario. Died May 25, 1952, Irene graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General (WGH) Hospital School of Nursing. After graduating she worked in the WGH  on staff as an operation room nurse. In 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to Camp Hughes at the Sewell Military Hospital, Carberry, Manitoba. Joining the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Service she served in Malt for a year prior to re-enlisting with the CAMC. She was posted to No. 10 Canadian General Hospital, Brighton, England, No. 7 Canadian General Hospital and No. 6 Canadian General Hospital in France. Returning to Winnipeg after the War she worked at the Children's Hospital becoming Charge Nurse of the Operating Room. In 1924 she was working as Assistant Superintendent at St. Luke's Hospital, Duluth, Minnesota, U.S.A. source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)  

Flora Madeline Shaw  3770

Nursing Educator
Born January 15, 1864, Perth, Canada West (now Ontario). Died August 27, 1927, Liverpool, England. Flora attended Mrs. Mercer's Boarding School for Young Ladies, Montreal, Quebec. In 1894 she studied at the Training School of Nurses at the Montreal General Hospital. which was the first such school in the province of Quebec. Graduating in 1896 she worked for three years as the Second assistant of the school's founder Nora Livingston (1848-1927). Flora then headed to the Boston area of Massachusetts, U.S.A. shere she worked  as Head of Nursing at a small women's hospital. Returning to Montreal in 1900 she became First Assistant to Nora Livingston. From 1904 through 1906 she was at Columbia University's Teachers' College, New York City, U.S.A. where she also worked at the Florence Nightengale Hall of Presbyterian Hospital. Back again in Montreal she worked at the General Hospital's Training School for Nurses and  established a preliminary training instruction for probationary nursing students at the Hospital for Sick Children. In 1908 she represented the Montreal General Hospital's Alumnae Association and the founding meeting of the Canadian Association for Trained Nurses (now Canadian Nurses Association) where she was elected as secretary-treasurer.  In 1909 she was diagnosed with tuberculosis (T B) and retired. She spent five years resting and was 'cured' of T B. Too old to volunteer for either the Canadian Army Medical Corp or the Red Cross during World War l, she worked with the Canadian Patriotic Fund in Montreal. After the war she served on the executive of the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N). In 1920 she became the first director of the McGill University School for Graduate Nurses, the first such school in Canada.  She also served as the president of the Association of Registered Nurses of the Province of Quebec from 1922-1926, the president of the Association of Nursing Education from 1922-1924 and as president of the Canadian Nursing Association in 1926.  A stained glass window at St. James Anglican Church , Montreal is dedicated to her. Source: A Life Well Spent; A Work Well Done online (accessed 2022)
Mary Shaw

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3332

Born December 8, 1887, Motherwell, Scotland. Died May 8, 1965, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Mary immigrated to Canada in 1910. She graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH)  School of Nursing. After graduation she worked at the Kenora General Hospital, Ontario. She then joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. She served for a year at the Royal Victoria Hospital Netley, England prior to enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England and No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, France. She returned to Canada in March 1919. Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)  

Margaret Alexandra Shea  0101

née Rendell Born 1893, St John's, Newfoundland.  Died May 18, 1949. As a young woman of a family of means and an accomplished pianist, Margaret was in no doubt welcome in the social activities of the day in St John's. However, she wanted more. Her music teacher had attended the Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A., and this may have influenced Miss Rendell to do the same in 1895. After her studies and a short apprenticeship in the United States she returned home to an appointment as matron of the General Hospital. She was the first Newfoundland-born woman to become a professional nurse. In 1901 she resigned her position to marry George Shea. Her husband was a prominent politician in the province and she was busy providing her support for his position. She was also one of the first women (maybe even the first) woman in Newfoundland to receive her drivers license and she was notorious for the speed at which she conducted her automobile through the streets of the city sending all in her path for safety. (2020)

Ella Dora 'Sheri' Sherritt-Burley
World War 1 Nursing Sister    3439

Born February 27,, 1889, Blake, Ontario. Died January 22, 1984, Allenton, Michigan, U.S.A. In 1914 Ella graduated from the Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London, Ontario. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on April 15, 1918 in London, Ontario. Ella married Dr. David Henry Burley (1863-1959)in 1933and the couple settled in Huron, Ontario then to Almont, Ontario and on to Lapeer, Michigan, U.S.A. in 1940.Source: Victoria Hospital Training School for Nurses, London Public Library online (accessed 2021); Family Search, online (accessed 2021).Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2021)

Odessa 'Dolly' P. Shore   3432

Born Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Died Calgary, Alberta. Dolly graduated from Jackson City hospital in Michigan, U.S.A.  She married Dr.  A. E. Shore and settled Bowden, Alberta. Dolly nursed in rural Alberta from 1910-1915 and helped with her husbands medical practice and a small drug store. Evidently the both served during world war 1 but records have not been found for her. after the war the couple lived in Calgary. they had one daughter who became a nurse. Source: B C History of Nursing Society, Nursing Dolls online (accessed 2021)

Anne 'Annie' Beatrice Sheppard
World War 1 Nursing Sister   3333

Born November 23, 1892, Regina Saskatchewan. Died ???? In 1915 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By 1917 she was Assistant Matron of the Soldier's Convalescent Home, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. In 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, Bramshott, England.  She returned after the war to continue nursing in Regina, Saskatchewan.  Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)  

Agnes Christina Short    3558 Born April 20, 1916, Lethbridge, Alberta. Died October 20, 1994, Lethbridge. Alberta. Agnes studied nursing at the Calgary General Hospital, Alberta. After graduation in 1939 she returned to Lethbridge and worked as supervisor of the Galt Hospital. By 1945 she was working as head of nursing at the Lethbridge School District no. 51 before moving on to work as Director of Nursing with the Lethbridge Health Unit. Here she saw the first use of penicillin and became one of the firs to give the Salk vaccine for polio. After 42 years of nursing she retied in 1980. During her lifetime she was involved with the Order of the Eastern Star, the Horticultural Society, the Quota Club, the Lethbridge Housing Authority, the Keep-in-Touch Society and the the Lethbridge Family Services . She als served as an elder for her United Church. She was named as a Woman of Distinction by the Young Women's Christian Association (Y M C A) and received a gold award from the Canadian Red Cross. The city of Lethbridge has names a street in her honour. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)
Winnifred Marion Simpson-Lewis 
World War 1 Nursing Sister   3334

Born July 9, 1891, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died October 1, 1976, California, U.s.A. Winnifred graduated in 1915 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By November 1916 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served at the Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, England, No. 4 Canadian Stationary Hospital and No2. 2 Canadian General Hospital in France. She returned to Canada in 1919 and worked as a private nurse in Selkirk. She married Ben Lewis and the couple settled in California, U.S.A. Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)  

Isabella Sinclair-Trotter

World War 1 Nursing Sister    
3378

née Sinclair. Born February 2, 18899, Millwood, Manitoba. Died March 5, 1987, British Columbia. In 1916 Isabella graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH)( School of Nursing.  In February 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at the Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton and No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, England.  After the war she returned to Manitoba.  She relocated to British Columbia where she married Robert Trotter. Sources: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021);

Marian Lucile Skillen-Stoneham

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3379

née Skillen. Born June 20, 1890, Martins, New Brunswick. Died 1987, New Brunswick. Marian graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, England and then she served to France but became sick with appendicitis and was admitted to No. # Canadian General Hospital Le Treport. Once recovered she was posted to No. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport but hear again she suffered and attack of appendicitis and was admitted to Queen Alexandra Military Hospital. She convalesced at Canadian Convalescent Hospital, Bear Wood Park, England. After the war she worked as a private nurse in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. During the late 1930's she lived in England with her husband Norman Stoneham. Sources: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021);

Harriet 'Hallie' Jennie Todd Sloan
                                        
0102
World War 11 Nursing Sister & Matron Canadian Medical Services

Born January 21, 1917, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died January 21, 2016, on her 99th birthday. In 1940 she graduated from the Vancouver General Hospital nursing programme. Joining the military she worked with the No. 8 Canadian General Hospital, Saskatchewan Unit. She was soon posted overseas to Normandy, France, Belgium, and The Netherlands. For her services she received the 1939-1945 Star , the France and Germany Star, the NATO Medal as well as the 25th and 50th Anniversary Medals.  After World War ll she was one of 30 nurses invited to remain in the military where she was put in charge of basic training for medical assistance and later she was in charge of new nursing personnel. In 1964 she earned the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel and was appointed Matron in Chief of Canadian Medical Services, a position she maintained until she retired in 1968. Hallie also served with the Canadian Nursing Association as director of Nursing Abroad Program and the National Nursing Administration which in 1969 organized the International Council of Nursing congress in Montreal, Quebec. She was also an advocate and fund raiser for the Canadian Nurses Foundation. In 2004 Hallie was inducted into the Order of Canada for 50 years of outstanding leadership, advancing military nursing and patient care. She was a tireless volunteer at the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in Ottawa. She was a Dame in the Order of Saint John and in 2015 as a D-Day veteran she received the Legion of Honour from France. (2021)

Alice Smith                      0103

Born 1910, Cartwright, Alberta. Died 1998, White Rock, British Columbia. Source: B C History of Nursing Society. Alice was a graduated of the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in Manitoba. She continued her education earning a bachelor degree from Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. and then a Masters degree from Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.A. in 1957. For 25 years she worked with the Canadian government to improve nursing and medical services to the Indian and Inuit peoples. In 1948 she was asked by the Canadian Nurses Association to work in Great Britain to study effects on nursing of the country's new national health insurance plan. Source: B C History of Nursing Society, Nursing Dolls online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Isobel Smith
 

World War 1 Nursing Sister
                                          
        3118

Born October 17, 1885, Arthur, Ontario .Died August 20, 1958, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  In 1910 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. Her first position was on staff al Lashburn Hospital, Saskatchewan. In 1911 she was working as a private nurse in Edmonton, Alberta. In September 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Over seas she served with the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, England and then No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, France where she an some fellow WGH nursing graduated survived enemy air raids. She was hospitalized for a time with tonsillitis and exhaustion .After she recovered she was posted to the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital, Buxton, England. After the war she worked at a sanatorium in La Jolla, California, U.S.A. She would spend the remained of her nursing career in  California. She returned to Winnipeg in 1957.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Online. (accessed 2021)

Jessie Sara Smith-Cooper

World War 1 Nursing Sister      0104

née Smith. Born December 4, 1884, Bathurst, New Brunswick. Died ???? Jessie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing, Manitoba, in 1909. She joined the Victoria Order of Nurses (V O N ) for a year before working as a private duty nurse in Winnipeg. During World War 1 she served with the Harvard Unit in France. July 6, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Salonika, Greece and then to No. 4 Canadian General Hospital, Basingstoke, England. Jessie married Lieutenant Gordon Cooper in France in 1918. She returned to New Brunswick in April 1919. Settling in Saskatoon she worked for Monarch Life and then relocated to Minneapolis Minnesota, U.S.A.. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1909. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Heggie Smith

Boer War Nursing Sister, World War 1 Nursing Matron             
0105

Born May 24, 1872, Ottawa, Ontario. Died May 12, 1920, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S.A. Margaret studied nursing at the Blockley Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. She enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps and served with the 19th Canadian Stationary Hospital in Harrismith, South Africa during the Boer War. Returning hop in 1902 she enlisted once again in 1914 to serve in World War 1. By 1917 she was serving as Matron  for two years in France and then four years of the Ontario Military Hospital Orpington, England at a Canadian Field Hospital. In 1919 she earned a bar to her Royal Red Cross. She returned to Canada  with 'impaired health' from her war efforts. A memorial tablet was placed at St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Ottawa, in her honour by the Overseas C A N C Nursing Service  Source: A tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts. Online (2021)

Wilhelmina Smith

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3254

Born August 26, 1890, Lakehurst, Ontario. Died December 28, 1967, Peterborough, Ontario. Wilhelmina was a graduated of the Nursing School, Belville General Hospital in 1914. After attending the Divisional School of Military Instruction she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on January 8, 1916. Overseas she was posted to the Canadian Military Hospital , Le Treport, France. She contracted Rubella and was in the hospital in Etaples France. Transferred to England she was posted to Ramsgate, England. She reported that she often slept in the woods curled in her blanket when the hospital was bombed. After the war back in Canada she worked as operation room Supervisor at a private doctor's hospital in New York, U.S.A. She retired in 1958. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Mary Agnes Snively          0106 Born  November 12, 1847, St Catherines, Canada West (now Ontario). Died September 26, 1933, Toronto, Ontario. After graduating from high school Mary Agnes taught public school in her hometown for over two decades. Her friends convinced her to study nursing at the Bellevue Training School in New York State, U.S.A. In 1884 she was appointed as Superintendent of the Training Schools for Nurses at the Toronto General Hospital, a position she retained until her retirement in 1910. The hospital had 400 beds with only seven nurses in charge of wards and 27 nurses in training living in unfavourable conditions when she arrived. She reorganized the curriculum, introducing regular lectures by physicians and courses on subjects such as nursing ethics, and implemented a written examination at the end of the two-year training period. she convinced the hospital board to erect a nurses’ residence. By 1894 the Toronto General Hospital Training School for Nurses was the largest in the country, and graduates were employed across Ontario and abroad. That year she helped establish the hospital’s Nurses’ Alumnae Association, the 1st of its kind in Canada, and was elected chair. In 1897 she was named president of the Society of Superintendents of Training Schools for Nurses of the United States and Canada. Mary would also be the main driving force behind the formation of the Canadian National Association of Trained Nurses (CNATN) in 1908 which would become the Canadian Nurses’ Association in 1924. She was elected 1st President of the association in 1911. She also served on the executive of the International Council of Nurses founded in 1899. After her retirement in 1909 she travelled abroad for 14 months, during which time she attended the 1911 International Council of Nurses meeting in Cologne, Germany. Maintaining ties with the CNATN, she served as archivist and honorary president, and she was made a life member in 1921. She financially supported aspiring medical students and missionaries in Formosa (Taiwan), India, and China, and also funded a children’s school in China. Upon her death the Canadian Nurse magazine called her the 'Mother of Nurses in Canada'. In 2011 Mary Agnes Snively was designated and National Historic Person Source: D C B  (2020)
Verna Marie Huffman Splane                                                                          0107

Born November 23, 1914, Peterborough, Ontario. Died January 10, 2015, Vancouver, British Columbia. Verna took a School of Nursing Diploma from the University of Toronto in 1939 as one of several educational steps she would take throughout her career. She also attended Teachers College in British Columbia and the University of Michigan in the U.S.A. Between 1947-1958 she was a Senior Nursing counselor for the Department of National Health and Welfare. She worked internationally with the World Health Organization (WHO) which took her to the Caribbean, South America and Africa. In 1973 she was the Vice President of the International Council of Nurses. Among her many awards was the the University of Michigan recognition as an Outstanding Public Health Nurse, the Queen's Jubilee Medal, the Canadian Red Cross Distinguished Service Award and in 1982 the National Award from the Canadian Nurses Association. In 1995 she was awarded the Order of Canada. (2020)

Harriet 'Hattie' Olive Stacey

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3255

Born March 10, 1888, Northumberland County, Ontario. Died 1971, Trenton, Ontario. Like many young women of her era she  attended model school, Teacher's College), Picton, Ontario and taught school first in rural Ontario and then in ruddel, Saskatchewan. By 1914 she had graduated from nursing school in Belleville, Ontario in fall of that year she enlisted as a Nursing Ssister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to Etaples, France and became night supervisor for two years. In 1917 she was posted to a Casualty Clearing Station in Belgium Diagnosed with pulmonary Tuberculosis she was invalided to Canada early in 1918.  Working in Trenton, Ontario she was in charge of a temporary hospital.  She worked for a short time in Hamilton, Montana, U.S.A. returning to work at the Belleville General Hospital. In 1931 she became Superintendent of the Marcus Daly Memorial Hospital in Montana. By 1941 she was back in Canada as caregiver for her mother. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Anna Irene Stamers


World War l Nursing Sister Died at Sea                                           3349

Born January 15, 1888, Saint John, New Brunswick. Anna Irene enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France. She suffered from an infection as was herself in N0. 24 Hospital , Etaples and later was at a convalescent home in Paris Plage. She returned to service in July. 1916. In May 1917 she was posted to the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England. In March of 1918 she was posted to the Llandovery Castle. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Sources: Finding the Forty-Seven: Canadian nurses of the first world war. by Debbie Marshall. online (accessed 2021) Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters online (accessed 2021)

Alice Francis Stevenson
World War 1 Nursing Sister     3331

Born October 26, 1893, Parry Sound, Ontario. Died ???? Alice graduated in 1918 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. That October she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to the No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. After the war she worked in Winnipeg with Dr. McMillan. She later relocated to New York, U.S.A. where she worked at Miss Shillingers's private hospital until 1927 when she worked as a private nurse.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1918. online (accessed 2021)

Christina 'Tena' May Stewart

World War 1 Nursing Sister  
  
3362

Born May 25, 1881, Almonte, Ontario. Died November 7, 1927, Gravenhurst, Ontario. Tena graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By November 1916 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at the Duchess of Connaught's Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow and Granville Canadian Special Hospital, Buxton. In November she contracted bronchitis and pneumonia and was in hospital for several months. In March 1919 she returned to Canada  and worked at the Gravenhurst Sanatorium, in Ontario. She was buried November 11, 1927, Memorial Day.   Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Christine Stewart SEE - Politicians
Ethel Isobel Stewart-Morley

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3335

née Stewart. Born March 15, 1890, Almonte, Ontario. Died ???? In 1915 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing and worked a year at the WGH before working at Camp Sewell Military Hospital, Carberry, Manitoba. She joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service for a year before enlisting as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in November 1917. She was posted overseas at No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Taplow and Granville Canadian Special Hospital, England. She retuned to Canada in November 1918. After the war she married Dr. W. Morley and the couple relocated to British Columbia and later to Washington State, U.S.A. Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)  

Olive Stewart

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3297
née Ray. Born January 24, 1890, Norwood, Ontario. Died April 2, 1940, California, U.S.A. Olive graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of of Nursing in 1914. She enlisted, using her married name,  as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on April 3, 1914. Serving in Canada she supervised the Military Wards at the WGH until March 1918. She moved to New York, U.S.A. but returned to Winnipeg in 1922 where she engaged in private nursing.   source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  
Emily Alexander Stewart- Buckley

World War 1 Nursing Sister     3256

Born April 12, 1886, Belleville, Ontario. Died December 19, 1971, Belleville, Ontario. Emily immigrated to New York City in 1909 where she graduated from the Manhattan New York Hospital School of Nursing in 1912.  She returned to Canada and  in 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) while in London, England. She was posted to the Westcliffe, Eye and Ear Hospital in Folkstone, and at Shorncliffe. She was also posted to Boulogne, France. She herself was hospitalized during her service suffering from appendicitis, influenza , and bronchitis.  Working after the war in New York she married Frederick Wilson but was soon a widow. She married a second time to Rev. Louis Albert Buckley and the couple Kitchener, Ontario. After the death of her second husband she returned to Belleville. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Eliza May Stewart             0108

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born April 21,1887, Bathurst, New Brunswick. Died 1989. In May 1917 with World War l in full swing she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) with the rank of Lieutenant. Her war service would take her just behind the front lines in France where she worked at clearing stations just a few kilometers from the fighting. By March 1919 she was in England waiting to sail home. She returned to the west coast of Canada where she would continue her nursing career at the Shaughnessy Veteran’s Hospital, Vancouver, British Columbia. According to her family she never talked about her work in the European war front. Source: Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective. Herstory 2007: the Canadian Women’s Calendar (Regina: Couteau Books, 2006)  pg. 38  (2020)

Ruby Elizabeth Stewart

World War 1 Nursing Sister                                                                                  3132

Born September 2, 1885, Selkirk, Manitoba. Died 1982, British Columbia. Ruby graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1911. September 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) going overseas with the British Columbia Unit. She was posted to No. 5, Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece and was then transferred to Malta. She also served at No. 11 Canadian General Hospital which was formerly known as Moore Barracks Hospital, Shorncliffe, England. After the war she returned to Canada and married Dr. H. Burns. The couple settled in British Columbia. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1911. online (accessed 2021)

Winnifred Mary Stewart     0109

Born June 26, 1908, Fernie, British Columbia. Died October 26, 1990, Kelona, British Columbia. Her family moved to Edmonton Alberta in 1911 and it was here that she attended school. She studied nursing at Edmonton General Hospital and became a Registered Nurse (RN) in 1929. Winnifred married Duncan Stewart in 1932 and in 1934 they welcomed their son Parker. Parker was diagnosed with Down Syndrome and Winnifred refused to accept that the limits that were supposed to happen with developmentally disadvantaged children during this era. This led her on a journey to experimental research into new teaching methods. In 1953, along with other parents she formed the Winnifred Stewart Association for the Mentally Handicapped and established the 1st school of its kind to serve handicapped children. In 1954 she was the 1st woman to address the Alberta Legislature from the floor of the provincial House of Commons, The Alberta government in turn provide the 1st financial support for schools for mentally handicapped children. Between 1954 and 1970 Winnifred organized and funded 19 schools across western Canada. In 1956 her work was recognized when she became the Most Outstanding Person of the Year sponsored by the Canadian Mental Health Association. In 1966 she was named Edmonton’s Citizen of the Year. She als0 inspired the opening of the unique Western Industrial Research Training Centre in 1968. In 1972 she was presented with the Order of Canada. She was tireless in her continuing efforts and in 1979 Crewood Industries was opened as a vocational training sheltered workshop. In 1985 she was posthumously inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence. Winnifred also is known as the Edmontonian of the Century. Source: Winnifred Mary Stewart (1908-1990) Naming Committee, Honouring People and Places in Our City.  (Accessed May 2015) Submitted by Dr Kathleen L. Linaker, Centre for Life and Health Services, Mohawk Valley Community College, Utica, New York, U.S.A. (2020)

Shirley M Stinson          0110

Born 1929, Arelee, Saskatchewan. Shirley trained as a Registered Nurse, studied for a degree in education and has earned a Doctored in Science. She has been involved in nursing, research, administration and teaching. A faculty member at the University of Alberta, now Professor Emeritus, she had served as the President of the Canadian Nurses Association, 1st woman senior National Health Scientist, founding Chair of the Alberta Foundation for Nursing Research, chair of the 1986 International Nursing Research Conference and co-Chair of the 1993 First International Conference on Community Health Nursing Research. The list of the awards she has earned in long and impressive. The awards list includes; The Alberta Order of Excellence in 1999, the Order of Canada, The Jeanne Mance Award form the Canadian Nurse's Association, the Sir Frederick Haultain Prize in the Humanities, the Nursing Hall of Fame and the Ethel Johns Award for distinguished Services to Nursing Education in Canada. She is the author of over 100 publications and reports. She is an internationally sought after lecturer and consultant. She is busy in her support to raise funds for the Nursing Collection at the Museum of Civilization, promoting utilization of chronobiological research findings to prevent strokes and heart attacks in high risk populations, expanding dental services for needy adults and continuing her work on nursing history. (2020)

Winnifred Isabelle Stinson-Kedward
World War 1 Nursing Sister   3385

Born May 25, 1891, Carroll, Manitoba. Died April 17, 1937, Brighton, England. In 1917 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing.  In January 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she served at No. 15 Canadian General Hospital, Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Taplow, and No. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Liverpool, England. Returning home after the war she worked on staff at Dr. Galloway's private hospital, Winnipeg until 1922. She then worked at Deer lodge Convalescent Hospital until she married A. E. Kedward in 1924. The couple moved to England to live. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Madeleine Dion Stoat     0111


Aboriginal Nurse

Born March 25, 1946, Keheiwin First Nation, Alberta. She was given the Cree name Kéréshwew, meaning “Ancient Woman” or “Child with ancient spirit”. She decided at a young age to become a nurse. She liked nurses from the first time she met one when she was rushed to the hospital after her appendix broke when she was seven. In 1968 she had become a registered Nurse, with a Bachelor of Science in nursing from the University of Lethbridge in Alberta. She married Bob Stout and the couple had two daughters. In 1993 she had earned a masters degree in International Affairs from Carleton University in Ottawa and began working in public health. She also taught at university. She aligned herself with leadership and advisory roles on research and policy regarding health of First Nations, Inuit and Métis women and children. In 2008 she was listed as one of the top 100 nurses in Canada and was recipient of the Centennial Award from the Canadian Nurses Association. In 2012 she was honoured with the prestigious Aboriginal Achievement Foundation Award for Health. Source: Herstory 2012: The Canadian Women’s Calendar. Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective, 2011. (2021)

Freda Swedlove-Lithwick

Nursing Sister World War ll
née Swedlove. Born July 28, 1919, Stouffville, Ontario. Died March 4, 2013, Ottawa, Ontario. Freda earned her nursing credentials at the Beth Israel Hospital, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. She returned to Canada to follow additional studies in Public Health Nursing at the University of Toronto. She began her nursing career in 1943 with the Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) in Kingston, Ontario.  In March 1944 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. Like many she had hoped to serve overseas but instead was posted to work at the Ottawa Rideau Military Hospital in Ontario where she served as an operating room nurse. Two days after she was discharged on June 6, 1945 she married Hyman Lithwick. The couple settled in Ottawa and raised three children. Freda as an active volunteer in many local Jewish organizations and would also serve as president of the Ottawa Hospital's Civic Campus Auxiliary. (2022)
Mary Margaret Street      0112

Born May 30, 1907, Toronto, Ontario.  Died December 7, 1993. Mary took her original B.A. and teaching certificate in Manitoba but soon decided to enter nursing and studied at the Royal Victoria in Montreal. She also obtained a Certificate in teaching and Supervision for Graduate Nurses at McGill. During her long teaching career she would support her profession by being elected to posts in registered nurses association in several provinces where she lived and worked. She was interested in the history of nursing and published a book on pioneer nursing in western Canada called Watch fires on the mountain : life of Ethel Johns. (Toronto, 1973) She received the Order of Canada for her contributions to her country through her profession in 1982. (2020)

Margaret Tait

World War 1 Nursing Sister           3257

Born August 9, 1882, Thurso, Scotland. Died March 14, 1932, Toronto, Ontario. Margaret immigrated to Canada about 1909. By 1914 she had graduated from the Brantford General Hospital School of Nursing in Ontario. January 31, 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served as Matron at the Canadian Military Hospital, Orpington, and was night supervisor at the Canadian Military Hospital, Shorncliffe, England. In France she was posted to the No. 2 Canadian General Hospital at Le Treport. Back home in 1920 she became Superintendent of the Spadina Military Hospital, Toronto. In 1921 she was Superintendent of Nurses at the Belleville General Hospital. She was als a member of the local Committee of the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N). Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Mabel Helen Taylor-Lucas
World War 1 Nursing Sister           3258
Born August 28, 1880, Corbyville, Ontario. Died February 25, 1951, Belleville, Ontario. Mabel Helen graduated from the Hamilton City Hospital School of Nursing in Ontario in 1914.  She worked on staff of the Hamilton Military Hospital. August 7, 1916, she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to Canadian Military hospitals in Shorncliffe and London, England. In 1919 she was herself hospitalized with influenza.  Back in Canada after the war she worked as a private nurse in Toronto. June 28, 1922 she married veteran Francis Oliver Lucas (Died 1973) and the couple steeled in Belleville. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)
Margaret Frances Taylor-Aikens
World War 1 Nursing Sister  3380
née Taylor. Born December 24, 1891, Boissevain, Manitoba. Died 1983, Boissevain, Manitoba. Margaret graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1916. After graduation she joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service and served for a year and a half at the 2nd Birmingham War Hospital, England. In March 1918 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister withe the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). After the war she  returned to Winnipeg and worked as a private nurse. She married George Aikens and the couple settled in Boissevain, Manitoba. Sources: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021);
Jean Templeman

World War l Nursing Sister Died at Sea                                            
3350

Born June 16, 1885, Ottawa, Ontario. Died June 27, 1918, at sea. Jean enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on June 3, 1915 in Montreal, Quebec. Overseas she was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital and then to France at. She served at N0. 21 Casualty Clearing Station and then to the Ontario Military Hospital, Orpington, England. In June 1918 she was serving on the Llandrovry Castle. On June 27, 1918 she was aboard the Canadian Hospital Ship Llandovery Castle sailing from Halifax to Liverpool, England. The hospital ship was torpedoed an enemy U-boat (submarine) 46 and only 24 people of the 234 souls on board survived. 14 Canadian Nursing Sisters lost their lives. The U-Boat captain felt that even though the ship was well marked as a hospital ship that it carried munitions for the British. When there was no great explosion of munitions from the ship the captain of the U-Boat ordered he crew to fire on people in life boats in order to kill survivors in an attempt to cover his sinking of the ship. It was against wartime convention to fire on an hospital ship. It was the deadliest Canadian naval disaster of the First World War. In 2018 composer Stephanie Martin and playwright Paul Ciufo commemorated the nurses in an opera. Source: Great War Project, Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021); Sources: Finding the Forty-Seven: Canadian nurses of the first world war. by Debbie Marshall. online (accessed 2021)

Eleanor Jean Thompson 3883

World War 1 Nursing Sister 
Born December 2, 1888, Valleyfield, Quebec.  December 29, 1915. Eleanor was a trained nurse who during World War l (1914-1918) enisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (C A M C). She served at first at No. 6  Canadian General Hospital. While serving at No 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital near Douillens, France the camp was attacked by enemy air bombing.  Eleanor was buried beneath the rubble of an explosion but even though wounded managed to free herself. She immediately sought to help evacuate the wounded patients to safety. She worked until she herself collapsed.  She and Nuring Sister Meta Hodge with the first of nine women who would received the Military Medal for Bravery. She also received the Medaille des epidemies en bronze from France. Their story is covered in the video  by the C B C, Canada the Story of Us. and in the Historica Heritage Minute Nursing Sisters.
Roberta Lee Thompson-Bell

World War 1 Nursing Sister           3259

née Thompson. Born June 24, 1889, Strathroy, Ontario. Died January 19, 1963, London, Ontario. December 3, 1912 Robertina graduated from the Belleville General Hospital School of Nursing.  After attending the Divisional School of Military Instruction, Quebec City, she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) on May 5, 1915. Overseas she was posted to No. 1 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France.  On April 11, 1916 she married veteran Captain George Alexander James Bell in London, England. As a married woman she resigned her commission with the CAMC and returned to Canada. The couple settled and raised their family in London, Ontario. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Ethel L. M. Thorp

World War ll Nursing Sister

Ethel served as a nursing sister in World War ll and has served internationally in England, France, Iraq, India and China. While in Jamaica in the West Indies she established a training program for psychiatric nurses. Back home in Canada she is a founding member of the Canadian Tuberculosis and Respiratory Disease Association. During her career she has become a member of the Order of the British Empire and in 1981 she received the Florence Nightingale Award, one of the highest awards from the International Red Cross.

Bertha Thorsteinson

World War ll Nursing Sister 
3298

Born April 30, 1888, Isafjordur, Iceland. Died ???? Bertha graduated in 1914 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In 1916she joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. After a year of serving in England she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). After the war she returned to Winnipeg and worked on staff at WGH. In 1922 she was working at Deer Lodge Convalescent Hospital. source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1912. online (accessed 2021)  

Martha Timlick

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3386

Born January 8, 1889, Union Point, Manitoba. Died August 2, 1961, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  Martha graduated in 1917 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. By March 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served overseas in England. After the war she worked at Dauphin General Hospital Manitoba and by 1921 she was in charge of the Operating Room at the Children's Hospital, Winnipeg until 1923. She also was on staff at WGH working in Admitting. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917. online (accessed 2021);

Alice Torr

World War ll Nursing Sister  3381

Born November 30, 1881, Grantham, England. Died September 13, 1970, Orillia, Ontario. Alice graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1916.  After graduation she joined Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Service. She served a year in England and then enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She served in England and France. After the war she nursed at Christie Street Hospital, Toronto, Ontario for 24 years. She joined the staff at the Gravenhurst Sanatorium and retired to Orillia, Ontario when she was 70.  source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)  

Vivian Tremaine

World War 1 Nursing Sister & Matron
   

Born April 28,1880, Montmorency, Quebec. Died January 27, 1948, Quebec City, Quebec. Vivian graduated from the Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing in 1907. She worked after graduation as a private nurse. When World Wa1 broke out in 1914 she was one of the first volunteers to serve. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) with the 1st Canadian contingent. Overseas she served in England and France. While in France at Fort Garrison near Aire Sur Lys, France  in 1915 at No. 1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station she was summoned to nurse the King who had fallen from his horse and she served on night duty at the palace for several weeks. She was promoted to Matron in 1916. In 1917 she worked on Transport Duty and returned to England where she had multiple postings. In 1919 she was posted with Medical Services District No. 5, Quebec. She was discharged in 1920. In 1922 she was appointed Supervisor of the Canadian Red Cross Seaboard Nurseries caring for nineteen thousand children and fifteen thousand women. She was awarded the Florence Nightingale Medal of the International Red Cross, one of only three Canadian to receive this award at the time. In 1935 she was also presented with the King's Jubilee Medal. Source: Montreal School of Nursing World War 1, Vivian Tremaine. online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Turnbull-Robinson 3563 née Turnbull. Born Guelph?, Ontario. A trained nurse Jessie arrived in 1899 to work at the Sir Alexander Galt Hospital in Lethbridge, Alberta. She worked her way to the position of superintendent before leaving in 1914 to be married. In 1907 she founded and served as president of the Women's Relief Society. helping provision new settlers.  In 1913 the Society was renamed to b the Nursing Mission  to assist the ill , ensure health of school children and distribute Christmas cheer to the less fortunate. The group also provided a home for unwed mothers and administered pensions for mothers and the aged. The Nursing Mission was replaced with government aid from local, provincial and national levels of government. Jessie was also a member of the I O D E and sat on the Civic Club's Board of Directors. From 1920 she helped co-ordinate all services, including mental health and tuberculosis clinics through the local Health Unit. In the 1940's she relocated to Proctor, British Columbia. Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society 2005.
Adruenna 'Addie' Allen Tupper
World War 1 Nursing Sister 3404

Born October 13, 1859. Died December 9, 1916, Hillingdon, England. Addie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in September 1914. She was a widow at the time of her enlistment. It seems she lied about her birth date in order to be accepted as she enlisted 1870 as her birth year. Overseas in the spring of 1915 she was in hospital herself with severe leg pains. That summer she was ill again and given a month convalescence. She was posted to the Canadian Convalescent Home, Hillingdon and by December 9 1916 she was once again a patient described as dangerously ill. Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021)

Emma Mary Turner

World War 1 Nursing Sister

                                           
     3106

Born March 13, 1885, England. Died ???? Emma was a graduate of the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1908. Her first job was as a surgical ward nurse with the WGH. In 1911 she worked as Night Superintendent at the Regina General Hospital, Saskatchewan. In 1913 she became Lady Superintendent at Regina General. In 1916 she joined the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Nursing Service. The following year she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Emma was posted to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Netley, Hants, England. She returned to Saskatchewan after the war and served as Matron of the Saskatoon General Hospital. In 1923 she became Nurse Superintendent of the new  Hollywood Hospital, Los Angeles, California. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1908. online (accessed 2021)

Ethel Frances Upton

World War 1 Nursing Sister 3355

Born March 28, 1884, Montreal Quebec. Died June 29, 1949, Montreal, Quebec. Frances graduated from the Montreal General Hospital (MGH) School of Nursing in 1908. She worked as Superintendent of a private hospital and then was acting Superintendent of the Montreal Maternity Hospital until the outbreak of World War 1 in 1914. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. In 1915 overseas she was on loan to a British Hospital and then was posted to No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Wimereux. She also served on the Island of Lemnos in the Mediterranean caring for wounded during the ill-fated Gallipoli campaign. She served in Salonika, Greece for a year and a half then was recalled to England. After a six week leave to Canada she returned to to England and was summoned to meet Queen Mother Alexandra at Buckingham Palace. She worked at Hastings until the Armistice and was posted to Bramshott Camp, England. When she returned home in 1919 she suffered from a recurring bout of malaria. By 1921 she was again fit for duty and became Superintendent of Nurses at Sherbrooke Hospital, Quebec. She did post graduated studies at the School for Graduate Nurses, McGill University, Montreal receiving a certificate in administration in schools of nursing. She returned to MGH as assistant in the training school office. She went on to create a tuberculosis sanatorium in Ste. Agathe, Quebec. After the sanitarium opened she established the first tuberculosis course in Canada for graduate nurses. In 1929 she organized the International Congress of Nurses, Montreal. After the congress she worked as executive secretary for the Association of Registered Nurses of the Province of Quebec. She continued to work to raise standards of nursing and more effective educational programs.  In 1949 she was in Prince Edward Island to make a survey of nursing. Source: Montreal General Hospital School of Nursing World War 1. online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Florence Helena Upton-Corlett

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3260

Born June 20, 1884, Trenton*, Ontario. Died November 5, 1973 Pasadena, California, U.S.A. Florence and her family relocated to Saskatchewan at the turn of the century.  In 1907 she graduated from the Lady Stanley Institute for Trained Nurses, Ottawa, Ontario. She worked as nurse in charge of the operating room at the Saskatoon Hospital. On July 1, 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was originally posted to the No. 1 Field Ambulance Depot, Sewell Camp, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Going overseas she served at the Canadian Military Hospital, Shorncliffe, England and the Canadian Medical Hospital, Etaples, France. She spent 9 weeks in hospital in Etaples suffering from bronchitis. She was then invalided to the Canadian Red Cross Special Hospital, Buxton, England prior to being sent home. After the war she was one of nine Military Nurses employed at the Soldiers Civil Re-Establishment, Winnipeg.  She relocated to California, U.S.A. where she worked for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company as a nurse. She married Charles Corlett on January 11, 1945 and the couple settled in California.  * Her attestation documents state place of birth as Belleville. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Jean Urquhart-Laing

World War 1 Nursing Matron
                                               
3123

née Urquhart. Born March 5, 1885, Dingwall, Scotland. Died ???? Jean graduated form the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing with the class of 1910. She worked as assistant head nurse of the operating room at WGH. The following year she was head nurse of the operating Room at Galt Hospital, Lethbridge, Alberta. In 1912 she moved to Kamloops, British Columbia to work at the Royal Island Hospital shere shee was again in charge of the operating Room.  By 1914 she was back at Regina General Hospital. She became Matron of the Saskatchewan Unit of nurses serving overseas when she enlisted in the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in April 1916. She served as Matron at Shorncliffe Military Hospital, Hastings Military Hospital and No. 2 Canadian Stationary Hospital. Treport, France. Returning to Canada after the war she worked on staff of the School of Hygiene of the Province of Saskatchewan and also taught hygiene at the Provincial Normal School (Teacher's College), Regina. She married Dr. W. W. Laing and the couple settled in New York and then in California in the U.S.A. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

Marie Elizabeth Van Haarlem 3559 Born 1867, Alberta. Died 1945, Lethbridge, Alberta. Marie married Jacobus Roelof Van Haarlem (1864-1945) and the couple had one son. In 1909 she moved to Lethbridge to open a private nursing home. She started out with having only one patient. She soon moved to larger quarters and by 1929 she was runnin her hospital with 29 patients.  She also began a maternity facility and soon her establishment was known as a general hospital. The Alberta Nursing Association awarded her the status of Honorary Registered Nurse. In 1929 the Sisters of St. Martha bought the hospital and renamed it St. Michael's Hospital. After selling her hospital Marie worked as a nurse with the Lethbridge Public Schools until 1944. The city of Lethbridge has names a street in her honour .Source: Legacy of Lethbridge Women, Lethbridge Historical Society, 2005; Find a Grave Canada. online (accessed 2021)
Marie Beatrice Herminie Vidal

World War 1 Nursing Sister

née Taschereau. Born August 6, 1868, (some times recorded as 1874) Quebec City. Died September 15, 1923, Ottawa, Ontario.  Beatrice married as the third wife of General Beaufort Henry Vidal (1843-1908). She enlisted With the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) as a Nursing Sister in 1916 in England and was serving in France by the spring of 1917 with No. 6 Canadian General Hospital. She became ill and soon returned to England in May. Back home in Canada she was discharged the beginning of 1918 as medically unfit. She earned a British War medal,  a Victory Medal, and  a Memorial Plaque. Source: A tribute to some women and men who served in armed conflicts. Online; Find a Grave, Canada. ((2021)

Gladys 'Glady' Maude Mary Wake

World War 1 Nursing Sister Died on Duty                   3408

Born December 13, 1883, Esquimalt, British Columbia. Died May 21, 1918, Etaples, France. Glady graduated from the Royal Jubilee Hospital School of Nursing, British Columbia in 1912.  By January 2, 1916 she was in England posted to the Duchess of Connaught Hospital, Taplow. She may have gone overseas with the Queen Alexandra's Imperial Military Reserve. On January 10, 1916 she enlisted in London, England as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). She was posted to No. 1 Canadian Stationary Hospital  and served in Salonika, Greece. By the fall of 1917 she was serving at No. 11 Canadian General Hospital and the following spring was once again working at the No. 1 Canadian General Hospital. While serving at the No. 1 Canadian General  Hospital, Etaples she was wounded on May 19, 1918 during an air attack. 66 patients and staff died as a result of this air raid. In 1998 a mountain in British Columbia, Mount Wade, was named in her honour.  Source: [Canada] A Tribute to Some Women And Men Who Served in Armed Conflicts. online (accessed 2021); Canada Great War Project, Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)

Gertrude Walker

World War 1 Nursing Sister

Born December 19, 1891, Flamborough Township, Ontario. Died February 29, 1972, Burlington, Ontario. Gertrude trained as a nurse at the Roosevelt Hospital, New York City, U.S.A.  She joined the American Red Cross in 1917 prior to completing her nurse traing. Since she had not completed her courses she could not joint the Canadian Army Medical Corps. She was posted to the No. 15 American Base Hospital in France until the end of the war. After the war she returned to Canada and worked as a private nurse in Hamilton, Ontario. She was a charter member of the Canadian Nursing Sisters Association of Canada. Source: Flamborough Archives and Heritage Society. Flamborough Nursing Sisters. online (accessed 2021)  

Norma Turina Walker-Elsey

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3107

         

née Walker. Born February 1, 1879*, Angus, Ontario**. November 18, 1968, Victoria, British Columbia. Norma moved with her family to Pilot Mound, Manitoba. In 1908 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She worked as Superintendent of Nursing as Selkirk Hospital but was forced to resign short after having contracted typhoid fever. In 1910 she relocated to British Columbia and worked at first as a private nurse. In 1916 she was working as a staff nurse at Nanaimo Hospital.  Norma enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps in 1916. She was posted to the Military Annex, Vancouver General Hospital prior to going overseas at the end of 1917. After the war she worked in social services in New York, U.S.A. After marrying John Howard Elsey (1876-1966). The couple relocated to Victoria, British Columbia.   *Tombstone date reads 1877 but CMAC registration reports 1879. ** her place of birth was wrongly reported in her published obituary. Source: Heath Sciences Centre Archives., Winnipeg. Online (accessed 2021); Find a grave Canada, online (accessed 2021)

Dora Asta Walters-Truemner

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3394

Born February 22, 1894, Cavalier, North Dakota, U.S.A.  Died January 29, 1928, Melfort, Saskatchewan. Dora attended the University of North Dakota for two years before relocating to Winnipeg, Manitoba. She graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1917. By January 1918 she had enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to England. She returned to Canada after the war and settled in Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan working at the Saskatchewan Sanatorium. She married Eldon Truemner and settled in Melfort, Saskatchewan.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1917  online (accessed 2021)  

Adruenna 'Addie' Allen Tupper

World War 1 Nursing Sister  3404

Born October 13, 1859, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Died December 9, 1916, Hillingdon, England. Addie enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in September 1914.She was a widow at the time of her enlistment. It seems she lied about her age when she completed her enlistment forms when she marked her birth year as 1870. She suffered from pain in her legs and ended up in hospital herself for six weeks in spring 1915. She became ill again and was granted a one month convalescence. By November 1915 she was serving overseas at the Canadian Convalescent Home, Hillingdon, England. By December 1916 she was admitted to the Hillingdon hospital listed as dangerously ill. Source: [Canada} A Tribute to Some of the Women and Men who Served in Armed Conflict. online (accessed 2021)

Grace Brown Waters

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3261

Born June 15, 1881, Campbellford, Ontario. Died March 4, 1972, Belleville, Ontario.  Around the turn of the century the family resettled in Belleville, Ontario. Travelling to the U.S.A. In 1905 was a member of the first graduating class of the Nursing School at St. Luke's Hospital, Utica, New York. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, England and then at the No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France. In 1917 she was in hospital herself with influenza. After the war she returned to Red Cross Nursing Service in Utica, New York State, U.S.A. By 1921 she was working as a Tuberculosis Nurse with the Utica Health Department. In 1924 she travelled by horse-back to Washington D.C., U.S.A. In 1936 she and two friends attended the unveiling of the Canadian Vimy Ridge War Memorial in France Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Dorothy Webb-Cummings

World War 1 Nursing Sister      3285

Born April 29, 1887, St. Boniface, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died May 1963, Sioux Lookout, Ontario. In 1913 she graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. In November 1916 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC).  She was posted to Camp Hughes at the Sewell Military Hospital, Manitoba. Overseas she served at the No. 4 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station and the No. 2 General Hospital, Le Touquet, France. Returning to Canada after the war she worked as a provincial school nurse in Neepawa, Manitoba. She married William Cummings in June 1927 and the couple settled in Sioux Lookout, Ontario. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1913.. online (accessed 2021);

Renee Millard White
World War 1 Nursing Sister      3382
 

Born August 12, 1892, Huntsville, Ontario. Died ???? Huntsville, Ontario  Renee graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1916. After graduation she worked in the Military Wards of the WGH and then at No. 10 Manitoba Military Hospital, Tuxedo Park, Winnipeg. In March 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was posted overseas. After the war she returned to Huntsville, Ontario. source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)  

Mary White-Murdock

World War 1 Nursing Sister          3124

née White. Born September 22, 1883, Camphill, Scotland. Mary graduated in 1910 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing. She relocated to North Dakota, U.S.A. after graduation accepting a position at Westhope Hospital. By 1912 she had relocated to Fernie, British Columbia to be in charge of nurses. In 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and was posted to No. 3 Canadian Stationary Hospital, Egypt. She also served at No. 11 Canadian General Hospital, Moerr Barracks, Shorncliffe, England. After the war she returned to Canada, married Alex Murdock and settled in Saskatchewan. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021: Record of Service - Overseas Military Forces of Canada Medical Units, Department of National Defense, online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Ann Whitfield-Lough 3262

World War 1 Nursing Sister         

Born April 13, 1893, Fraserville, Ontario. Died August 3, 1986. Margaret Ann graduated from the Belleville General Hospital School, Ontario in 1916. May 7, 1917 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). Overseas she was posted to the Duchess of Connaught Canadian Red Cross Hospital, Taplow as well as Canadian Military Hospitals in Buxton, Granville, and Orpington, England. In the late fall of 1918 she contracted influenza and was hospitalized. Returning to Canada after the war she worked as a nurse in Windsor, Ontario. August 16, 1921 she married pharmacist Howard Lough and the couple settled in Brantford, Ontario. In 1960 they relocated to Calgary Alberta. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Florence  Katherine Whittick-McKeen

World War 1 Nursing Sister 3120   

Born  February 14, 1885, Niverville, Manitoba. Died December 15, 1966, Winnipeg Manitoba.  Florence graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1910. In June 1915 she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC). By December 1915 she was overseas posted to No. 15 Canadian General Hospital also called the Duchess of Connaught's Red Cross Hospital, Taplow. While it is known that she also served in France the particular hospital is not known. Returning to Winnipeg after the war in 1919 she worked as a nurse with the City Child Welfare in 1920. In 1922 she married Allan McKean and the couple settled in Winnipeg. Source: Health Sciences Centre, Archives, Winnipeg. Class of 1910. online (accessed 2021)

Agnes Wightmen Wilkie 4071

World War ll Nursing Sister killed in Action
Born September 5, 1904, Carman, Manitoba. Died October 14, 1942, at sea. Agnes graduated as a nurse at Misericordia Hospital in Winnipeg in 1927 receiving an honorary medal for the highest standing in theory. She worked in Misericordia's operating room and as a private duty nurse prior to enlisting in February 1942 with the Royal Canadian Navy for service during the war. Agnes is the only Canadian Nursing Sister to die from enemy action during World War ll (1939-1945). She was the Assistant Matron at the Avalon Hospital, Newfoundland. On the night of October 13, 1942,  the S. S. Caribou was headed to Port aux Basque, a ferry crossing from Canada to Newfoundland. It is a nine hour crossing. The Caribou was torpedoed by the German U-boat U69 and sank within minutes. 192 passengers with 118 members of the services were onboard.  Agnes was with her friend Sub-Lieutenant Margaret Brooke. The women were returning to St. John's navel hospital after having been on leave. Only two lifeboats and 12 rafts made into the icy ocean waters. The two women were thrown into the ocean and grabbed a piece of wreckage  and then clung to an overturned lifeboat. After two hours Agnes gave way to hypothermia but Margaret clung to her friend with one hand and gripped the overturned lifeboat with her other hand as long as she could before having to release her friends body to rough the ocean. Only  106 passengers and 31 crew members died at sea. The Canadian Navy immediately suspended night crossings to Newfoundland. A nursing residence was named in Agnes' honour. Manitoba's Wilkie Lake was named in her honour and a monument was erected in the Carman cemetery. Sub-Lieutenant Brooke received the Order of the British Empire (O B E) for her bravery that night. Margaret Brooke is the only naval Nursing Sister to have received the O B E. The book, Night of the Caribou by David Walker describes this tragic event. (2022)
Ann Maria Williams-Rawson
World War 1 Nursing Sister 3263   

 

Born February 18, 1888, Manchester, England. Died December 13, 1967, Belleville, Ontario.  Anne Marie graduated from the Nursing School at Salford, England in 1912.  She enlisted with the British Territorial Nursing Service in 1915. She was posted to the Western Front at the British Army Base Hospital in France. She was mentioned in dispatches for her gallant service and in 1919 she was awarded the Order of the British Empire (O B E). After the war in 1920 she immigrated to Canada and worked at the St. Andrew's Hospital in New Brunswick. Later she worked at the Tuberculosis Mountain Sanatorium , Hamilton, Ontario.  April 21, 1923, she married veteran Author Rawson and the couple settled in St. Catherines, Ontario.  At the end of the 1920's they relocated to Belleville and raised their family. She was the first woman member of the Army, Navy, and Air Force Veteran's Association. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)

Elsie Jean Wilson

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3336

Born August 10, ????, Toronto, Ontario. Died ???/ Elsie graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing in 1915 and worked at the WGH after graduation. In 1916 she was at Camp Hughes at Camp Sewell Military Hospital at Carberry, Manitoba for military training.  She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in November 1916. Elsie served in England and in France before returning to Winnipeg at the end of the war. She worked as a Public Health Nurse with the Manitoba Provincial Board of Health. In 1935 she became president of the Manitoba Association of Registered Nurses and that same year became Supervisor of the tuberculosis section of the Public Health Nursing Division with the Manitoba Government. Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg. Winnipeg General Hospital Class of 1915. online (accessed 2021)  

Frederica Wilson

World War 1 Nursing Superintendent

Born February 11, 1896, Goderich, Ontario. Died February 18, 1935, Whonnock, British Columbia. Frederica Graduated from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing , Manitoba in 1899. She worked as Superintendent of Nurses at the WGH from 1905 until 1914 when she relocated To British Columbia. In 1915 she enlisted with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and served as Matron of the fifth Overseas British Columbia Hospital Unit. She was posted to the NO. 5 Canadian General Hospital, Salonika, Greece. From there shhe served at the N0. 2 Canadian General Hospital, Le Treport, France, on the front lines. Returning to British Columbia in 1919 she became a fruit farmer at Wilmont Farm.  Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Class of 1899, online (accessed 2021)

Mary Olevia Wilson

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3264
Born January 15, 1892, Hastings County, Ontario. Died December 16, 1981, Kingston, Ontario.  Mary Olevia graduated from the Kingston 9Ontario) General Hospital (KGH) School of Nursing, in 1916. She became Head Operating Nurse at the hospital. On November 1, 1916  she enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) and originally was posted to the Ongwanda Military Hospital, Kingston, Ontario. Overseas she served in Canadian Medical Hospital in Westenhanger, Shorncliffe and Orpington, England. She also served at the No. 7 Canadian General Hospital, Etaples, France. near the end of the conflict she was admitted to hospital in Le Touquet, France with influenza.  Returning to Canada after the war she worked as a nurse in Vancouver, British Columbia and in San Francisco, California, U.S.A. In 1924 she returned to work at the Kingston General Hospital where she was in charge of wards and administrative staff.  She was Acting Director of Nursing at KGH and was Assistant to the Superintendent of the Hospital until her retirement in 1961. Source: Nurses of World War 1 by Donald Brearley, 2018 online (accessed 2021)
Mona Gordon Wilson

 

Born 1894, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1981. Mona attended Havergal Ladies College followed by St. Johns Hopkins University, School of Nursing, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. In 1918 she joined the Red Cross and served in Serbia and the Balkans. Back in Canada in 1922, she trained as a Public Health at the University of Toronto. That same year she began working as Chief Public Health Officer for the Red Cross in Prince Edward Island. In her second year she visited 110 schools and addressed 148 meetings! In 1931 when Public Health was taken over by the provincial government she became a superintendent. In 1940 she served in St. John’s , Newfoundland on loan to work with Canadian soldiers and merchant marines. She became known as the Florence Nightingale of St John’s. In 1946, back in PEI, she worked in Public Health until 1960. An outdoor enthusiast, she helped established Girl Guides in the province. She was also a founding member of the Zonta Club. There is a monument dedicated to her in PEI recognizing her as a person of National Historical Significance. Source: Herstory: The Canadian Women’s Calendar, 2008. Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective (Coteau Books, 2007) ; 100 more Canadian Heroines by Merna Forester. : Book; She answered every call: the life of Public Health Nurse Mona Gordon Wilson by Douglas Baldwin. (2020)

Helen Woolson
 

World War 1 Nursing Sister       3314

Born March 2, 1888, Ingersoll, Ontario. Died January 10, 1973, London, Ontario.  Helen graduated from the St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing, London, Ontario in 1908. In ay 1916 she enlisted as Nursing Sister with the Canadian Amy Medical Corps (CAMC). Over seas she was posted to No. 10 Canadian Stationary Hospital which had been established by University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. She also served with No. 1 Canadian General Hospital. Returning to Canada after the war she nursed at Byron Sanatorium and at Speedwell Hospital, Guelph, Ontario. She worked as an investigator with the Canadian Pension Commission for Military District No. 1, London, Ontario and was night supervisor at St. Joseph's Hospital School of Nursing from the 1940's until 1957. Some of her papers and personal records are maintained by the Archives, Western University, London Ontario. Source: University of Western Ontario Archives , Helen Woolson Fonds. online (accessed 2021)

Alice Lillian Wright       3433

Born  1894, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Died March 15, 2000, British Columbia. As a child she moved with ther family to British Columbia. She graduated in 1918 from the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) School of Nursing. She went on to earh a Bachelor of Nursing from Columbia University, Newy York City, U.S.A. in 1941. She returned to British Columbia and became Registrar and Executive Director of the Registered Nurses Association of British Columbia from 1943 through 1960. She presented a Charter of Rights for nurses in 1946 to the Association at the Annual General Meeting and after approval she proceeded to put the words into action. She helped the nurses of St. Paul's Hospital form the first bargaining unit in the province and went on to set up bargaining units to seek improved working conditions.

Helen Griffith Wylie-Watson

née McArthur Born July 11, 1911, Stettler, Alberta. Died December 15, 1974, Guelph, Ontario. Helen married Dr. William Watson in 1931. She attended the University of Alberta graduating in 1934 with a Bachelor of Science in public health nursing. She went on to earn a Master's degree from Columbia University, New York, U.S.A. She became Director of the School of Nursing at the University of Alberta.  Helen also served as the head of public health nursing for the province of Alberta for three years. She joined the Red Cross Society and worked her way to later became national director of nursing services.  She would also serve as president of the Canadian Nurses Association from 1950 through 1954. In 1957 she earned the Florence Nightingale Award for her work in Korea where she served to rebuild the infrastructure of public health. . It is the highest international nursing aware that the Red Cross bestows. She chaired a nursing advisory committee in Geneva, Switzerland and serving on an International Council of Nurses. Back in Canada, she was president of the Canadian Nurses' Association and the Ontario College of Nurses She was and officer of the Order of Canada in 1971. She married Dr. William Watson. (2020)

Dorothy Muriel Wylie

Born August 15, 1929, Toronto, Ontario. Died August 13, 2016. At 18 when she  was considered too young by most schools she enrolled in St Michael’s Hospital School of Nursing graduating in 1950. As a working nurse she was known for being blunt and practical, always to the point. She studied for her Bachelor of Nursing at New York University in the U.S.A. in 1964 and earned her Master’s degree at Cornell University in New York State, U.S.A. in 1969. She was an early proponent of patient-centered care. She favoured hand on training and projects. In the 1970’s she worked at various leadership roles at Scarborough Centenary Hospital, Sunnybrook and at the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario. In 1978 she served as Vice-president of Nursing at Toronto General, the largest Hospital in the country at that time. Hel helped to launch the Ontario Provincial Nurse Administrators Interest Group and also the Journal of Nursing Administration which eventually was renamed the Canadian Journal of Nursing. She was elected as the president of the College of Nurses of Ontario. In 1982 she became a Fellow at Ryerson University, Toronto and taught at the University of and in 1989 she was associate professor at the University of Toronto. She retired from teaching in 1994. In 1885 she earned a second master’s degree in human resources development at American University in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. In 2001 3 women she mentored founded the Dorothy Wylie Health Leaders Institute that offers leadership education for nurses. Source; Obituary Globe and Mail September 9, 2016. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa Ontario. (2020)

Clotilda Adessa Coward Douglas-Yakimchuk

Black Nurse

 

 

 

 

née Coward. Born 1932, Whitney Pier, Nova Scotia. Died April 15, 2021, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1954 Clotilda was the 1st Black woman to graduate from the Nova Scotia Hospital School of Nursing, Dartmouth. She went on to earn a post graduate diploma in midwifery, Colony Hospital, Grenada, West Indies, where she lived for more than a decade. She also earned a post graduate certificate in psychiatric nursing from the Nova Scotia Hospital and a diploma in adult education from St Frances Xavier University, Nova Scotia. Clotilda began her career as Head Nurse of theClotilda Douglas-Yakimchuk is one of six people to be invested into the Order of Nova Scotia. The 86-year-old former nurse and community activist from Sydney’s Whitney Pier community is also a member of the Order of Canada and holds an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Cape Breton University. Admission/Discharge Unit of the Nova Scotia and would spend 50 years of service in her profession. After the death of her 1st husband she moved back from the West Indies with her five children. In 1988 she became the first Black person elected president of the Registered Nursing Association of Nova Scotia. She also served on numerous national, provincial, and local committees and working groups. She was the founding president of the Black Community Development Organization, leading the movement to provide affordable housing in low-income communities. She is also committed to education for Black youth and is a determined fundraiser and mentor. In 1991 she received the National Harry Jerome Award acknowledging her cultural and community service. Clotilda retired as Director of Education Services, Cape Breton Regional Hospital, Sydney, Nova Scotia in 1994. She was a recipient of the College of Registered Nurses Association of Nova Scotia Centennial Award of Distinction. In 2003, in recognition of the significant role she played in getting a nursing program up and running at the Cape Breton University and her being a role model for youth she was inducted into the Order of Canada. November 6, 2018 she was invested with the Order of Nova Scotia.(2020)

Nursing Administrators and founders   Return to categories
Lady Elsie Elizabeth Allardyce

Born London, England June 7, 1878. Died 1962. Lady Allardyce was the wife of the Governor of Newfoundland, who served in office from 1922-1928. She was however not satisfied to serve simply as chatelaine for the province. She is the founder of the Girl Guide movement in the province and was a moving force in provincial nursing. She expanded the Outport Nursing Scheme and organized Home Industrial Centres to teach Newfoundland women patterns of knitting and weaving. The crafts were sold to raise funds to pay nurses' salaries. Because of the self-supporting nature of the program rural Newfoundland was able to retain nurses during difficult economic times. In 1924 the ONS became the Newfoundland Outport Nursing and Industrial Association.

Dorothy Macham

Nursing Sister in World War ll

Born 1910. Died July 12, 2002. Dorothy highly respected the nurse who often visited their country home to tend to herself and her brothers and sisters. In 1932 she graduated from Women’s College School of Nursing in Toronto. At the outbreak of WW ll she enlisted with the Royal Canadian Medical Corp, where by the end of the war in 1945 she had achieved the rank of Major. King George Vl presented her with the Royal Red Cross Medal for her war services. A skilled nurse, she also had proven herself to have exceptional administrative skills. In 1946 she began a 29 year appointment as Superintendent of Woman’s College Hospital. She would oversee the new construction of the school buildings and introduce a 2 year educator program. An ardent activist, she led the school to become fully accredited and part of the University of Toronto graduating program. She came out of retirement to serve as Executive Director at West Park Hospital for five years. In 1980 she was appointed to the Order of Canada. In 2001 Sunnybrook Hospital opened the Dorothy Macham Home, a 10 bed care and research Centre for veterans suffering from dementia. Source: Dorothy Macham: Nurse and war veteran by Eilis Quinn. Toronto Star July 31, 2002.

Medical Researchers        Return to categories
Judi Barbara Alimonti  4042 Born March 13, 1960, Kelowna, British Columbia. Died December 26,2017, Ottawa, Ontario. Judie was the daughter of a truck driver and a store clerk and in high school she became a top athlete and keen jazz musician. Her first career was as a massage therapist graduating from the Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy, Sutton, Ontario in 1981. She opened a clinic in Kelowna with her husband Alan Giesbrecht. While working she took a few science courses and became interested enough to attend university as a full time mature student. In 1991 Judie received a Bachelor of Science-Microbiology degree from the University of British Columbia. She went on to earn a doctorate in immunology from the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg. She worked at the Public Health Agency of Canada in 2005 where she took on the role of project leader for the Ebola Vaccine. in 2020. She worked managing the Canadian testing of a human-grade Ebola Vaccine at the National Microbiology Laboratory in Winnipeg. An immunologist, she was known for her research on the RVSV-ZEBOV Ebola vaccine. After working on the ZIKA virus. working contract to contract she left the Laboratory in 2015 and began working at the National Research Council of Canada. Her experimental vaccine was used during the deadly West Africa Ebola outbreak in 2015-2016. Judie herself did not care about any recognition but rather knowing her work was saving lives was reward enough. Source Obituary, Ottawa Citizen July 14, 2018, Canadian Encyclopedia.
Nancy N. Berg

During her career she has been part of a research team investigating the machinery in cells that defends the body against foreign agents such as viruses and tumors. She has, through her studies at the University of Alberta and the University of Toronto, published and lectured extensively on her area of expertise. Her goal is to aid in the development of immunotherapy for medical application. Among the awards she has received is the Alice Wilson Award from the Royal Society of Canada. (2020)

Susan M. Bradley

At the beginning of her scientific career she was the 1992 recipient of the Alice Wilson Award presented by the Royal Society of Canada. Her doctoral research was on the synthesis and characterization of new types of porous, inorganic crystalline polymers. At he University of Calgary she synthesized several new materials at high temperatures and pressures in aqueous solutions and characterized them using a variety of sophisticated techniques including X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance. She continued her post doctoral studies at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.  (2020)

Barbara Kathleen Buchner

Born June 1, 1927, Galt (now Cambridge), Ontario. Died October 17, 2011, Cambridge, Ontario. Barbara earned her bachelor’s degree in Sciences from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario in 1948. There were 8 women in her graduating class. She continued her studies for her Master’s degree in Virology, 1954. In the early years of her career she was often the only woman at a conference table. She had a successful career as a virologist and epidemiologist in Toronto and Ottawa retiring from the Red Cross in 1992. She authored numerous scientific papers in virology, hepatitis and radioimmunoassay. Her achievements were recognized when she received the YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in Science, 1998. She was an active volunteer in the Canadian Hearing Society of Cambridge and also served as an elder in her church for many years. Source: Lives lived: Barbara Kathleen Buchner by Ruth Manchee Kenins. The Globe and Mail December 20, 2011. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa.  (2020)

Donna Arlene Choe

Born March 9, 1940, Toronto, Ontario. Donna carried out her studies for a Bachelor of Science degree at the University of Toronto and then moved to the University of Manitoba where she earned her PhD. Her professional pursuits are in the field of immunology. She is a professor in this subject at the University of Manitoba. A published expert on immunology she was the YMCA Woman of Distinction in 1992 and was also awarded the Canada 125 Medal in recognition of her accomplishments.  (2020)

Sylvia Olga Fedoruk

Born May 5, 1927, Canora, Saskatchewan. Died September 26, 2012, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. An excellent academic achiever Sylvia established her reputation for achievement in nuclear medical research early in her career. She was instrumental in the development of the 1st cobalt radiation unit which is now in side use as a chemotherapy treatment for cancer. She was the 1st woman named to the position of Chancellor at the University of Saskatchewan. She was also the 1st woman trustee of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and in 1973 she was the 1st woman appointed to the Atomic Energy Control Board of Canada. She was Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan from 1988 to 1994. A balanced achiever she enjoys sports and is a member of Canada’s Curling Hall of Fame. She was appointed to the Order of Canada in 1986. The City of Saskatoon named a road, Fedoruk Drive in her honour. On October 3, 2012 the name of the Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation (CCNI) was changed to the Sylvia Fedoruk Canadian Centre for Nuclear Innovation in honor of the pioneering work she did. In 2009 she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. (2020)

Norma Ford-Walker

née Ford. Born September 3, 1893, St Thomas, Ontario. Died August 9, 1968, Toronto, Ontario. In 1914 Norma entered the University of Toronto and by 1923 she had earned her PhD. She was an instructor at the University of Toronto and became a full professor of Human Genetics. After her marriage in 1943 to Dr. Edmond Merton Walker she she remained dedicated to her career.  In 1947 she was the founder and Director of the Department of Genetics a the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. She forged a research tradition that served as the basis for further developments in medical genetics in Toronto and educated a generation of students, many of whom were women, who  went on to populate and then institutionalize the growing science and practice of medical genetics in Canada. She was a charter member of both the Genetics Society of Canada and  the American Society of Human Genetics. She was trustee of the Queen Elizabeth Fund for Research in Children's Diseases. In 1958 she was elected Fellow, Royal Society of Canada. online has  a biography of this great Canadian.  Source: Canadian encyclopedia online. (2020)

Elaine Gottschall

née Reichbaum. Born Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.  Died September 5, 2005, Cobourg, Ontario. A determined mother who “had” to ease her daughter’s pain she went back to school at 47 earning a bachelor’s and a masters degree in biology biochemistry, nutritional biochemistry and cellular biology. She became a hero to hundreds of thousands of people as she wrote Breaking the Vicious Cycle (1987). This book was the first to connect intestinal health with died. As a Mom, she could not allow her youngest child to suffer and through her work with diets, she healed her daughter’s intestinal problems. She then shared her findings to help others. The book ran for 10 editions and was translated into 7 different languages. (2020)

Julia Levy

née Coppens. Born May 15, 1934, Singapore. Julia's father sent the family to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1940 where he joined them after being released from a Japanese prisoner of war camp at the end of World War ll. Julia enjoyed mathematics in high schools and was inspired by her grade 11 biology teacher. Julia studied immunology and bacteriology earning a Bachelor Degree in 1955 at the University of British Columbia. By 1958 she had earned her doctorate (PhD) in experimental pathology from the University of London in England. Returning to British Columbia she took a position as an assistant professor and worked her way to become a full professor at the University of British Columbia. In 1980 she was elected a Fellow in the Royal Society of Canada.  Together with some university colleagues, she founded her own drug company, Quadra Logic Technologies (QLT), dealing with photodynamic therapy (P T D) which was used for treating cancer. It was also the 1st medical treatment of one of the leading causes of blindness, age-related macular degeneration (AMD). In 1993 the P T D drug Photofrin became a recognized treatment for bladder cancer. Julia served as Chief Scientific Officer for Q L T and from 1995 through 2001 she served as Chief Executive Officer and President. Recognized for her contributions to cancer treatments she is also investigating treatment of diseases such as arthritis, psoriasis (a skin disease) and multiple sclerosis. In 2000 she was named Pacific Canada Entrepreneur of the Year and the following year she became an Officer in the Order of Canada. She has also received the Future of Vision Award from the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Helen Keller Award for Contributions to Vision and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the British Columbia Biotechnology Association. The Chemical Institute of Canada presents the Julia Levy Award for successful commercialization of innovation in the field of biomedical science and engineering.  Julia is married to Edwin Levy and is proud of her two children and she is also very proud to have two grandchildren.  (2021)

Phyllis Jean McAlpine

Born August 29, 1941**, southern Ontario. Died October 1, 1998. She graduated with a B.Sc. from the University of Western Ontario, receiving the Gold Medal in Zoology, an M.A. in Human Genetics , University of Toronto and a Ph.D. Galton Laboratory, University College, London, England. Phyllis was appointed as Research Associate in the Section of Genetics, Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Manitoba in 1972.  In 1993 she was appointed head of the Department of Genetics. She carried out strong independent research in the mapping of human genes before the Human Genome Project existed. A successful and highly productive researcher she published 100 papers during her career. She was one of the founding members and co-chaired the Human Gene Nomenclature Committee from 1977-1991. 1992 to 1996, she chaired the committee on nomenclature for the Annual Human Gene Mapping Chromosome Coordinating Meetings. It was under her that human gene nomenclature became a single language and not a series of dialects. When she retired from the Nomenclature Committee in 1996 she was replaced with the equivalent of three full-time staff. She was particularly committed to helping women in science, where she felt it was often difficult to get recognition as a female. She served as President of the Canadian Association of Women in Science, Manitoba Chapter, 1993-94. She was presented with the Founders Award in 1998, given by the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists: Government of Manitoba. Status of Women. Women working for Healthy Communities by Ada Ducas et all October 2001. Online (accessed December 2011) **Birthrate is recorded as 1942 in some resources. (2021)

Frances Gertrude McGill

Born 1877, Minnedosa, Manitoba. Died January 21, 1959, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Frances taught school to finance her education. She started to study law but eventually decided to study medicine. She won the Isbister First Year Scholarship, and when she graduated in 1915, at the age of thirty-seven, she won the Dean's Prize, the Hutchison Gold Medal, and the Surgical Case Report Prize. After graduation, she began her career in the Manitoba Provincial Laboratory and then accepted the position of Provincial Bacteriologist in the Saskatchewan Department of Health, later becoming Provincial Pathologist for Saskatchewan and Laboratory Director. She was appointed Honorary Surgeon at the RCMP Laboratory in Regina and was a lecturer in forensic medicine at the RCMP Training Academy. She became one of Canada's best known criminologists helping to solve hundreds of murder investigations. She was respected and admired by the male members of the RCMP who thought she was a "real lady" but also considered her "one of the boys" for the way she was able to endure the hardships and fatigue of her job. In some cases they traveled thousands of miles by dog team, snowmobile, and rickety floatplane in order to reach the most remote parts of the province. The Province of Saskatchewan decided to honour her memory by officially naming McGill Lake, north of Lake Arthabaska, in her memory. She was inducted into the Science and Technology Hall of Fame. Government of Manitoba. Sources: Status of Women. Women working for Healthy Communities by Ada Ducas et all October 2001. Online (accessed December 2011); Canada Science and Technology Museum. Hall of Fame. Online (accessed December 2011)  (2021)

Maud Leonora Menten

Born March 20, 1879, Port Lambton, Ontario.  Died July 17, 1960, Leamington, Ontario.  Maud earned her Bachelor Degree in 1904, then her Master's inImage result for images Maud Menten 1907. She then attended Medical School graduating with her medical degree in 1911. A dedicated and outstanding medical scientist she was the 1st Canadian woman to receive a medical doctorate in 1916 having completed her thesis work at the University of Chicago in the U.S.A. In this era women were not allowed to do medical research in Canada so in 1912 Maud relocated to Berlin, Germany. While working in Germany, she and a colleague Leonora Michaelis, developed the Michaelis-Menten equation which is a basic biochemical concept. She continued researching and publishing and made discoveries relating to blood sugar, hemoglobin and kidney functions. Unable to find a Canadian academic position from 1923 through 1950 Maud worked first as an assistant Professor, then an Associate Professor and finally a full professor  at the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. She was also Head of Pathology at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh. During her tenure at the University of Pittsburg she managed time to play the clarinet, enjoy painting, climb mountains and even went on an Arctic expedition. She also studied several languages including Russian, French, German, Italian and at lease on Native-American Language.  From 1951-1954 she was a research fellow conducting cancer research at the British Columbia Medical Research Institute. In 1998 she was posthumously inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. The University of Pittsburgh named a chair and memorial lectures in her honour. In 2015 Port Lambton, Ontario installed a commemorative bronze plaque The Ontario Heritage Trust erected an historical plaque about Maud Menten in from of the University of Toronto's Medical Sciences Building (2020)

Mona Nemer

Born 1957, Beirut, Lebanon. Mona immigrated to Kansas, U.S.A. during the Lebanese Civil War which began in 1975. In 1977 she graduated with her Bachelor Degree from Wichita State University in Kansas. Vile visiting friends in the summer after graduation she was convinced to study in Montreal. She completed her PhD in Bio-organic chemistry in 1982 from McGill University. She has published well over scientific research articles in medical journals. Her work has contributed to the development of diagnostic tests for heart failure and the genetics of cardiac birth defects. In 1994 she received the Marcel-Piche Prize in recognition of the contribution to the growth and outreach of the Institute de recherches cliniques de Montréal where she worked as Director of the Cardiac Development Research Unit. In 2001 she became a fellow in the Royal Society of Canada. In 2003 she earned the Leo-Pariseau Prize for her research.  From 2006 through 2017 she served as Vice President of Research at the University of Ottawa. In 2009 she was named a Knight of the National Order of Merit in France. She In 2014 she became a Member of the order of Canada. September 26, 2017 she was appointed as Canada's Chief Science Advisor providing impartial scientific advice to the Prime Minister and ensures scientists can special freely. She also promotes Canadian science nationally and internationally. (2020)

Elizabeth Stern

Born September 19, 1915, Cobalt, Ontario. Died August 18, 1980, Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.. She studied medicine at the University of Toronto and graduated in 1939. She moved to the United States where her research gained international attention. While working at UCLA she published the first case report linking a specific virus to a specific cancer. In her study of birth control pills and cervical cancer she later  showed that a normal cell goes through 250 distinct stages before reaching advanced cervical cancer. One of the first specialists in cytopathology, the study of diseased cell she helped lead to earlier detection techniques to help save women’s lives. The Encyclopedia Britannica, included her in their list of “300 women who changed the world” that was released in 2006. (2020)

Ayako "Irene" Uchida

Born April 4, 1917, Vancouver, British Columbia. Died July 30, 2013, Toronto, Ontario. Her childhood piano teacher could not pronounce her given name and called her Irene. The name stuck. She began her studies at the University of British Columbia. With the onslaught of World War ll and the war against Japan, Irene was swept up with 20,000 Japanese Canadians and placed in internment camps. Here she would become the principal of a grade school with 500 students. After the release from the camp and with the help of the United Church of Canada she studied at the University of Toronto. She had to work at such jobs as dishwasher to live.  She graduated in 1946 and pursued further studies of the human chromosomes. She graduated with a PhD in Zoology in 1951. She worked at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children until 1959. After a short fellowship in Wisconsin, U.S.A. she started the 1st National Cytogenetics Lab in Canada at the Winnipeg Children’s Hospital. Here in the 1960’s she was the first person to link radiation exposure in women throughout their lives to Downs Syndrome births of the women’s children. The practice of medicine was forever changed. By 1970 she was in the international spotlight. She was awarded the Woman of the Century from the Manitoba National Council of Jewish Women and the Founder Award from the Canadian College of Medical Geneticists. She worked briefly as a visiting scientist at the University of London, England and returned to Canada in 1969 to work at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario for the next twenty years. She was awarded the Order of Canada in 1993. She retired in 1995 from Oshawa General Hospital. Sources: Canadian Encyclopedia online; Obituary by Olesia Plokhii, The Globe and Mail, September 14, 2013:  Book, Seeing the invisible: the story of Dr. Uchida by Terry Watada. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa Ontario.

Margaret 'Peggy' Ann Wilson Thompson

née Wilson. Born  January 7, 1920, Isle of Man, United Kingdom, Died November 3, 2014, Toronto, Ontario.  When Peggy was six her family immigrated to Saskatchewan. She completed Normal School (Teacher’s College) and taught in rural prairie schools prior to earning her biology degree at the University of Saskatchewan in 1943. By 1948 she had earned her PhD from the University of Toronto in zoology specializing in metabolic genetics. She Married James Jimmy’ Thompson and taught 1st at the University of Western Ontario before moving to the University of Alberta. While in Alberta she served on the Alberta Eugenics Board 1960 to 1962, a fact little known even by closest colleagues. The family with two sons relocated to Toronto in 1963 where Peggy worked at the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children. She and James wrote the 1st textbook on human genetics which would become a standard throughout North America. She was a founding member of the Genetics Society of Canada and the Canadian College of Medical Genetics where she served as President in 1983 through 1985. This society and the Canadian Society for Molecular Biosciences offer annual trainee awards in Peggy’s hour. In 1988 she was presented with the Order of Canada. She was also a member of the American Society of Human Genetics where she served on the Board of Directors in 1977-78. In 1995 the ASHG presented her with the 1st award for excellence in Human Genetics Education. Peggy had a passion for research in Muscular Dystrophy and inspired many students and researchers in this field. Sources: Ron Csillag, “Gifted Scientist Margaret Thompson had a lasting impact on Health Care’, Globe and Mail, December 14, 2014; Lou Siminovitch and Ron Worton, ‘A tribute to Margaret W. Thompson …1920-2014’, Globe and Mail November 26, 2014; The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (Accessed December 2014) (2020)

Occupational Therapist      Return to categories
Stella W. Tate

Born December 14, 1922, London, England. Died October 17,1999, Port Hope, Ontario. Stella was born in England while her parents were on leave from their Quaker Mission in Chunking, Chine.  She arrived in Canada with her mother and sister as they fled from Japanese threats in Shanghai, China. Stella studied at the local University of British Columbia for a year before switching to the University or Toronto and graduated from the University of Toronto with a diploma in occupational therapy in 1943. Hired as a typist in the Canadian Navy she was shortly promoted and commissioned as a lieutenant and became the Canadian Navy’s 1st Occupational Therapist. She served in hospitals in Halifax and St John's, Newfoundland. After the war she followed her career in the Department of Veterans Affairs In Edmonton.  In 1944 she had met a navy man, C. Ian P. Tate,  whom she would marry in 1950. The couple would have three children. In the 1960’s she established the Occupational Therapy Program at Toronto’s Hugh MacMillan Rehabilitation Center. In the 1970’s she helped develop the province of Ontario’s 1st home care programme which allowed patients to be at home while having therapy. She held the position of President of the Canadian Association of Occupational Therapists. She retired as a Special Projects Officer from the Ontario Ministry of Health in 1986. Moving to Port Hope, Ontario she became active in her new community helping with the creation of the Lakeshore Hospice.   Source: “Builders and Pioneers : Individuals who helped ideas prosper” by Steve Brearton, University of Toronto Magazine. Spring 2000; Obituary, Globe and Mail October 7, 1999.  (2020)

Pharmacists                           Return to categories
Elizabeth Adamson

Elizabeth moved to Oil springs, Ontario in the 1860's when the town was a boom town. She worked for the village Dr, Samuel Macklem. Elizabeth became interested in drugs and began to study drugs working as an assistant in the local drug store studying pharmacy under Dr Macklem. In 1866 she perched the doctor's medical stock of herbs, chemicals, and opened her own store. She became Ontario's 1st licensed woman pharmacist. That year the town of Oil Springs went bust with only a small group of residents remaining. Elizabeth retained her store by expanding the business to include groceries. When Elizabeth was in her late 50's her daughter, Annie Gale Adamson, took over the business. Source: Lambton Heritage Museum, online. (2020)

Bertha Ogilivie Archibald 3265

Born 1889, Bedford, Nova Scotia. Died 1984, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Bertha first studied as a nurse at Calgary General Hospital, Alberta. It was during this time that she became interested in pharmacy. She was a graduated of the Halifax Academy, Maritime College of Pharmacy at Dalhousie University. Bertha was the first registered pharmacist in Nova Scotia. In 1917 she began working at the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax, as Assistant Pharmacist. When the Chief pharmacist, Dr. Puttner resigned Bertha became Director of Pharmacy at the hospital. During the recovery of the Halifax explosion on December 6, 1917 she was responsible for mixing drugs and keeping supplies available. Since the lab windows had been blown out during the explosion she worked in her winter coat. In 1948 she developed a plan for the new hospital's pharmacy ordering such modern equipment as a gas oven, sterilizer. She colour coded the different drugs and solutions  She met with the Director of John and Johnson Company to order gauze and adhesive in different lengths so she would not have to do this for different departments. J&J liked this idea and distributed throughout the world on her advice. She retired after 29 years at the Victoria General. (2022)

Louise Beaulac-Baillargeon

Born  February 21, 1944, Shawinigan, Quebec. Louise studied for her Bachelor of Arts at Laval University and continued on to earn her Bachelor of Pharmacy, and her PhD. She began teaching as an assistant professor at Laval in 1974. She would go on to study and research in the estimation of milk to plasma ratios by an in vitro methodological approach and then the use of pharmacokinetics during pregnancy and post-partum and also looked at caffeine, cigarettes and drugs interaction on post natal development. She became Director m Master Degree Program in Hospital Pharmacy form 1980-1988 and in continued to be a professor and chair of the Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, Laval University. She has written numerous papers and reports in her area of expertise as well as having co-authored several books and chapters in various specific textbooks. She is author and editor of Medicaments pendant la grossesse et la lactation. (2020)

Susan Violet Groves SEE - Military
Marie McIntyre

née Negricz. Born 1900, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died 1938. Marie’s family believed all their children should have a strong education at a time when women did not always have a chance for education. After high school she worked for three years as a pharmacist’s apprentice before att4ending the University of Manitoba. When she acquired her degree she was the 1st Ukrainian-Canadian woman to become a pharmacist. She became a true role model for young immigrants. Her proud father built the Ideal Drug Store for his daughter in 1926. Shortly after the store opened Marie married Donald Matheson. Marie was busy at work but she also found time to be active in the Women’s Auxiliary in the Druggists of Manitoba organized in 1931 and served as the organizations secretary from 1935-1936. Source: Saskatoon Women’s Calendar Collective. Herstory 2007: the Canadian Women’s Calendar (Regina: Couteau  Books, 2006)  pg. 72..(2020)

Isabel Elisabeth Stauffer 4193 née Kippen. Born May 4, 1908, Souris, North Dakota, U.S.A. Died June 17, 2002, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Isabel earned her a Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from the University of Alberta. After graduation she worked in retail and hospital pharmacy in Edmonton, Alberta fr a short while. She then attended Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. graduating as the first Canadian to earn a Masters Degree in Hospital Pharmacy. She moved to Toronto and married engineer Charles Stauffer. She worked in retail and industrial pharmacy and the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. In 1951 she was asked to develop and teach hospital pharmacy administration, a first, at the University of Toronto where she was known as the 'First Lady of Hospital Pharmacy' and was also know for her publication in the field. In 1967 she was presented with a Canadian Centennial Medal and became a member of the Order of Ontario. In 1968 she earned the Ortho Distinguished Service Award. The Isabel E. Stauffer Meritorious Service Award was established in 1986 by the Canadian Society of Hospital Pharmacists to recognize prolonged services and involvement in the profession. After her initial retirement she served as 'librarian' for the Canadian Medical Association. Source: Herstory 2004; Obituary, online (accessed 2023)
Jane Christina Willey 3694 née Cooper. Born May 15, 1866, Lambeth, England. Died November 16, 1943, Yorkton, Saskatchewan. Christina was raised and educated in London England. On March 29, 1889 she married Thomas Burness Willey (1867-1943). Thomas had returned from Canada to be married and the couple returned to Canada to join other family member in the Assiniboine District of what was then the Northwest Territories. After being discouraged with being farmers the couple moved to Saltcoats, Saskatchewan where they purchased the drug stock of a doctor. In 1899 Christina became the first woman in Saskatchewan to qualify as a pharmacist and worked in the family drugstore. The couple enjoyed life in the area canoeing and swimming and skating and snowshoeing in the winter. Christina was supposedly the first woman to own a bicycle in the area. The family drug store burned down and the couple moved to Bredenbury, Saskatchewan to open a new drugstore.  In the 1918 flu epidemic Christina was front and centre helping in the community. Christina also took time tow write and many of her historical articles were published in various newspapers and periodicals including the Canadian Bookman, the Canadian Magazine and the Manitoba Free Press and Saskatoon Star Phoenix newspapers. In 1922 a volume of poetry entitled simply as The Poems of Christina Willey was published. Christina was a member of the Canadian Authors Association. Source: E C W W (2022)
Physiotherapist                 Return to categories
Constance 'Connie' Marie Beattie                             3452

Born August 24, 1924, Brockville, Ontario. Died August 21, 1949, Manitoba. Connie graduated from the University of Toronto's physiotherapy program in 1945. She served with the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps after graduation. In 1948 she joined the Toronto East General's physiotherapy department and was soon head of the department. She served as president of the Toronto Branch of the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. With an outbreak of poliomyelitis that struck during the winter of 1948-49 a physiotherapist was urgently needed to help treat Inuit victims in the Arctic settlement of Chesterfield Inlet on the west coast of Hudson Bay and Connie did not hesitate to volunteer. One sixth of the Inuit population in the immediate area were affected including many adults, leaving them with varying degrees of paralysis. A quarantine order covered more than one hundred thousand square kilometres surrounding the outpost. Connie committed to spending four months in Chesterfield Inlet working at St.Teresa Hospital. World newspapers picked up on the story reporting Connie would not live in an igloo but would live at the hospital. She spent time at first working at King George Hospital with Inuit who had been flown to Winnipeg for treatment. Her time in Winnipeg was also spent preparing to leave for the Arctic. There were no appropriate winter clothes at the Fort Osborne Barracks in Winnipeg so she shopped for her own clothing. Her luggage was somehow misplaced and she was forced to leave without it. According to colleagues she did remarkable therapeutic work among 40 polio patients working in the hospital in in igloos. When it came time to leave she was looking forward to reuniting with family and her fiancé, Dr. Guthrie Grant. The plane, carrying Connie and eight patients,  left Churchill at 6:00pm August 21 and the story of the missing 'mercy flight' being missing soon hit the North American Press. By August 23, the grim headlines reported that all 21 people on board the plane were killed in the crash. The Canadian Physiotherapy Association created the annual bursary program in her honour with preference to post graduate training and work in the treatment of Polio. In Brockville, Ontario, an arts and crafts building at Merrywood of the Rideau camp for children affected by polio was named for Connie. Source: Mercy Mission by Christopher. Rutty in Canada's History, May 2021. FIRST

Enid Finley Gordon

Born December 17, 1896, Montreal, Quebec. Died January 24, 1974, Toronto, Ontario. Enid studied, for the beginning of her medical training, Medical Gymnastics in Heidelberg, Germany. She followed this with studies in physiotherapy at the Pennsylvania Orthopedic Institute and School of Mechanotherapy. She returned to Montreal to work at the Belmont Convalescent Home for war veterans and taught massage at McGill University. When it opened in 1918 Enid worked at the Military School of Orthopedic Surgery at Hart House, University of Toronto. Shortly after it opened, the government, which saw no need for such a centre, closed it down. By February 1, 1919 Enid was working at the Dominion Orthopedic Hospital for Veterans as supervisor. In January 1918, Dr. Lawrence Bruce Robertson (1885-1924) was sent home from the European front to rest and recuperate. He began working at the same hospital as Enid. On April 17, 1940 the couple were married. They would have two children. After her marriage Enid  returned to efforts towards the formation of what would become the Canadian Physiotherapy Association. As a widow by 1924, Enid took the children to Europe, returning only when they were old enough for school. She worked to establish a two year diploma program in physiotherapy at the University of Toronto which opened in 1920. In 1930 she married Dr. Duncan Graham. At the beginning of World War ll she convinced the Canadian Military to formerly acknowledge the need for physiotherapists. 138 physiotherapists volunteered for overseas service with pay and privileges equal to male volunteers of the same rank. (2021)

Ann Collins Whitmore  3453

During the second world war Ann served with the Canadian military  and continued to practice as a physiotherapist even though she was legally blind. The Ann Collins Whitmore Memorial Scholarship is granted to a physiotherapist enrolled in either a PhD or Masters program who must also be involved in a research project as part of the academic requirements for completion of their program. Special consideration is made for blind physiotherapists. This annual Scholarship is presented annually from the Physiotherapy Foundation of Canada. (2021)

Psychiatrist                    Return to categories
Eliza Perley Brison  3731 Born November 15, 1881, West Gore, Nova Scotia. Died January 1, 1974, West Gore, Nova Scotia. After Eliza completed high school she began a career as a teacher in Rawdon Gold Mines, from there to Belnan and finally two years in MacKay Section.  She went on to attend Dalhousie Medical College in Halifax but was required to take a year off from her studies to teach and help finance her own studies. She graduated in medicine in 1911. While in her early 20's she had hip problems and was forced to use crutches for the rest of her life ending her dreams of being a medical missionary. Instead she specialized in psychiatry studying at Northampton State Hospital, Massachusetts, U.S.A. but her hip trouble prevented her from completing her studies. She returned to her home town where she cared for mentally retarded children in her own home for three years. She returned to her psychiatry studies and then registered at the Walter E. Fernald State School for the Mentally Deficient.  In the summer of 1918 she was once again at home in Nova Scotia now as superintendent of the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E) Home for Feeble Minded Girls in Halifax. She demonstrated that seriously retarded young people could be taught to work and live useful lives. Lack of funds cause closure of the institution in 1925. Dr. Brison kept in touch over time of the girls left behind due to the closure. From 1925 through 1929 she was bothered by illness but still worked as an anaesthetist at the Victoria General Hospital, Halifax where she was the first woman doctor to be on hospital staff. By 1931 she was working with the Department of Public Health as psychiatrist for the province of Nova Scotia. Traveling throughout the province testing children, counseling parents and helping welfare agencies. She would spend many of her summer vacation days in Boston, Massauchetts, and other American cities to gain more knowledge to help with her work on behalf of the province. In 1931 she was given a life membership in the Nova Scotia Society for Mental Hygiene (now the Canadian Mental Health Association). Dr. Brison retired in August 1951 when she was a consultant to the Nova Scotia Training School. Even after retirement she continued to serve when needed. In 1952 the Association presented Dr. Brison with an award for outstanding service. In 1952 she was presented with a Queen Elizabeth ll Coronation Medal. April 20, 1963 she became the first honorary life member of the Canadian Association for the Help of Retarded Children (now the Canadian Association for Mentally Retarded) In 1966 she became an honorary life member of the Canadian Psychiatric Association. She was also a honorary life member of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada.   Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Ella Pearl Hopgood  3734 Died March 8, 1957, Halifax Nova Scotia. Ella graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College in 1920.  Immediately after graduation she was on staff at the Nova Scotia Hospital where in 1928 she became the assistant superintendent. Dr. Hopgood combined the newly advanced application of psychiatry when working with patients. Leading up to the Second World War (1939-1945) she lectured and was an examiner in first aid and home nursing. She was appointed divisional surgeon with the St. John Ambulance Brigade.  By March 1948 she was provincial superintendent of nursing divisions in Nova Scotia. She became a Commander of the Order of St. John, the oldest order of chivalry in the British Commonwealth. She was also made an honorary life member in the St. John Ambulance Association. She was also an active member in the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E) serving six years as secretary to her local chapter. She served a president of the Halifax branch of the Business and Professional Women's Club and was a member of the Nova Scotia branch of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada serving as president in 1928. She also held memberships in the Medical Society of Nova Scotia and the American Psychiatric Association.  She retired in 1953 but returned to work in 1956 as temporary administrator of the Cape Breton County Hospital. May 1, 1956 she received a shield from the Canadian Mental Health association for her outstanding service.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Elizabeth Kilpatrick 3733 Born February 27, 1892, Sydney Mines, Nova Scotia. Died November 11, 1969, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1915 she graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax. By 1925 she had received an MD from Long Island College of Medicine, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.  Her 20 month internship was at the Women's Hospital, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. and the New England Hospital for Women and Children, Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.A.. During the time she was working on her MD she served at vaarious hospitals including the Boston Psychiatric Hospital in Massauchetts, U.S.A.  She was child psychiatrist at Vanderbilt Clinic at the New York Hospital and at Payne Whitney Clinic. She wa a graduate of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology, and a lecturer in mental hygiene at Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. In 1932 she was a faculty member of the American Institute for Psychoanalysis, where she served as a member of the faculty council, lecturer, tarining and supervising analyst and by 1952 she was Dean. She was a life member of the American Psychiatric Association, a charter fellow of the Academy of Psychoanalysis and of the American Association of Existential Psychology and Psychiatry, an honorary member of the Association for the Advancement of Psychoanalysis and a life member of the Dalhousie Medical Association. In 1960 she returned to Halifax to join the faculty of Medicine at Dalhousie University. She retired July 1968. IN her will she bequeathed almost $500,00.00 to Dalhousie Medical School for training of young psychiatrists and for cancer research. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990; (2022)
Arlette Marie-Laure Lefebvre

Dr Froggie

Born July 26, 1947, Montreal, Quebec. Arlette earned her Bachelor of Arts from Université de Caen, France in 1964. In 1970 Arlette graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto. In 1974 she earned a diploma in Child Psychology and the following year she joined the staff of the Hospital for Sick Children where is is known as 'Dr. Froggie'. In 1983 she became an Associate Professor in Psychiatry at the University of Toronto. She is the founding President of Ability OnLine. which she founded in 1991. She serves on the Board of Directors of the Easter Seal Society of Ontario, Star Tracks Talent Agency for Disabled Children,  and the AIDS Committee of Toronto Collection with York University. She is a member of the Joint Centre for Bioethics at the University of Toronto and  the Advisory Panel of Hasbro International. In 1993 the Toronto Sun newspaper names her as a "Woman on the Move.' and that same year she was listed as a "woman Who Make a Difference' In 1996 she was inducted into the Terry Fox Hall of Fame, received the Variety Club Diamond Award and was inducted into the Order of Ontario. She is the author or co-author of numerous articles, book chapters, reviews and manuals. Arlette is a Member of the Order of Canada. (2021)

Mary V. Seeman

In 1960 she attended McGill medical school in Montreal specializing in schizophrenia. She has written over 200 scientific articles and in 1995 she published Gender and Psychopathology. She served as Psychiatrist in Chief at Mount Sinai Hospital and Vice Chair of the University of Toronto Department of Psychiatry. She was the inaugural Tapscott Professor and was chair of Schizophrenia Studies. In 2001 she received the Gold Award for Advancement of Psychiatric Research from the Canadian Psychiatric Society. In 2002 she received the Queen Elizabeth Golden Jubilee Medal. She is Professor Emerita at the University of Toronto’s Centre for Addiction and Mental Health. In 2006 she was awarded the Order of Canada. Source: Order of Canada. Online. 9accessed 2007)

Cornelia  'Nel' Wieman

Aboriginal Psychiatrist

Born Fort William, (now Thunder Bay) Ontario, 1964. She was raised on the Little Grand Rapids Reserve in Northern Manitoba. She studied for her Bachelor in Science and Masters in Science at the University of Waterloo, Ontario. She earned her Medical Degree at McMaster University in 1993 becoming Canada’s 1st female Aboriginal psychiatrist. May 25, 2006 she married Timothy Joseph. She was previously a Co-Director of the Indigenous Health Research Development Program and Assistant Professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health at the University of Toronto. She provides psychiatric and consulting services to various mental health and social service agencies in downtown Toronto, including the new YWCA Elm Centre, a supportive housing complex for women living with mental health and addictions issues. She also serves on an advisory group to the Chief Public Health Officer of the Public Health Agency of Canada. Dr. Wieman received a National Aboriginal Achievement Award in 1998 for her work in improving the physical and mental health of Aboriginal Peoples.  Source: Canadian Who’s Who, Toronto, University of Toronto Press, 2003) (2020)

Psychologists                          Return to categories
Mary Ainsworth

née Salter. Born December 1, 1913, Glendale, Ohio, U.S.A. Died March 21, 1999, Charlottesville, Virginia, U.S.A.. Mary and her family settled in Toronto in 1918 and became Canadian citizens. In 1935 she earned her BA from the University of Toronto and continued her studies there earning both a MA and then her PhD in 1939. Originally she worked on staff at the University but from 1943-1946 she was in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps. After the war Queen’s University in Kingston Ontario wanted her to work in the Psychology Department but the university’s Senate would not ratify the position since they had a policy of not hiring women for such positions. In 1950 Mary married Leonard Ainsworth and the couple sailed to England where she worked at the Tavistock Clinic. In 1953 she was working for the East African Institute of Social Research in Kampala, Uganda. By 1955 she was back in North America working at Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore Maryland, U.S.A. She also established her own private practice devoted to working with children. Her salary at John Hopkins was not equal to male lecturers and this was not rectified for many years. She became a full professor at Hopkins in 1963. Her specialty was childhood relationships with family and care givers. At one point she recommended that babies would be healthier if they were fed when they were hungry and not according to a rigorous schedule. This recommendation would radically change advice to young families. In 1975 she moved to the University of Virginia until retirement in 1984. The American Psychological Foundation presented her with the Gold Medal for Life Achievement in the Science of Psychology. Source: Lise Held.(2010)  Mary Ainsworth . In A. Rutherford (Ed.), Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. Online (accessed August 2014) (2020)

Magda Arnold

Born December 22, 1903. Died October 2, 2002, Tucson, Arizona, U.S.A. Her parents were travelling performers and Magda was brought up in the home of family friend. She took commercial courses to help with her spoken English and became a bank clerk. In 1939 she earned her B.A. at the University of Toronto followed in 1940 by her M.A. She married Robert Arnold, a student of Slavic Languages. The couple would have 3 daughters. While Magda was working on her post graduate studies her husband left with the children. Magda had no legal recourse to get her children back so she continued her studies while suffering the loss of her family. Once she had earned her PhD she became a lecturer at the University of Toronto, an affiliation that lasted until the soldiers returning from the war took over the job market. In 1946 through 1947 she worked with Psychological Services at the Canadian Veterans Affairs. Here she developed scoring for thematic appreciation test (TAT. Her work became the basis for a book on the subject published in 1962.  In 1947 she moved to the U.S.A. working at Wellesley College and then Bryn Mawr College. By the 1950’s she was working at Barat College at Lake Forest, Illinois, U.S.A. In 1952 she earned the Helen Putnam Advances Research Fellowship and worked towards publishing her work: Emotion and Personality in 1960.  in1970 she lectured at Loyola College and then on to Spring Hill College in Chicago. From 1972 through 1975 she was in Mobile Alabama. A few years after her retirement she moved to Tucson, Arizona to be closer to one of her daughters. Source: Lisa Held. Magda Arnold (2010) in Psychology’s Feminist Voices. Online (Accessed August 2014) (2020)

Emma Sophia Baker

Born 1856, Milton, Canada West (now Ontario). Died October 26, 1943. She graduated Albert College, Belleville Ontario and worked there for three years. Moving to Williamsport Pennsylvania she worked four years at what is now Lycoming College. Returning to Canada she worked at the Presbyterian Ladies College in Toronto for 6 years. She also spent time learning the French language at the Sorbonne in Paris and then she took courses at Nottingham College at Cambridge, England.  Just at the turn of the century in 1899 she was an early female student to graduate with a B.A. from the University of Toronto. By 1903 she had earned her PhD from the university where she was the 1st woman to receive a PhD in Philosophy (Psychology was covered by Philosophy at this time.) From 1901, while still working on her PhD through to 1914 she served at Lady Principal at Mount Allison Ladies College in Sackville, New Brunswick. She did take a year off from Mount Allison in 1911 to visit the Holy lands and came back to share her knowledge with her students. In 1914 she moved to the Maryland College for Women in Lutherville, Maryland, U.S.A.. Retiring in 1928 she moved back to Toronto. Source: Connie Smirle,  Emma Sophia Baker In A. Rutherford (Ed.), Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. Online (accessed August 2014) (2020)

Katherine Banham

Born 1897, Sheffield, England. Died 1995. Katherine earned her Bachelor of Sciences at the University of Manchester, England. She was the 1st student to register for the honours programme in psychology. She attended Cambridge University in England but did not receive a degree as women were not granted degrees at Cambridge at this time. Moving to Canada she lectured at the University of Toronto in 1921. In 1924 she married J. W. Bridges and the couple settled in Montreal where she worked at McGill University. Her specialty was researching juvenile delinquency. In 1930 she moved over to the University of Montreal. In 1934 she became the 1st woman to earn a PhD from the University of Montreal. She became well published in her field including two books one of which was titled: Pre-school Child Emotional Development in Early Infancy. In 1946 she relocated to North Carolina working at Duke University. She developed several rating scales still used today to measure social and motor skills in children and adults. Source: Amanda Jenkins: Katherine Banham. Online (accessed August 2014)  (2021)

Thérèse Gouin-Décarie

née Gouin. Born September 30, 1923, Montréal Québec. In 1945 she earned her B.A. from the Université d Montréal from private instruction. She continued at the Université to earn her M.A., 1947 and her PhD, 1960. She moved to Paris in 1949 and married Vianney Décarie. In 1956 the couple moved back to Montréal where they had and raised 4 children. In the 1960’s Thérèse worked on a project that concluded children of mother’s who had taken the drug, Thalidomide, during pregnancy often experienced cognitive deficits. She continued to excel in her work on early childhood education. In 1969 she became a member of the Royal Society. In 1977 she was inducted into the Order of Canada and in 1994 the Order of Québec. She was the 1st woman to earn the Léon-Gérin Prize from Quebec for outstanding research in the Social Sciences. She is a professor Emerita at the Université de Montréal. Source: Jacy L. Young & Zahra Nakhjiri: Thérèse Gouin-Décarie. In A. Rutherford (Ed.), Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. Retrieved from  Online (accessed August 2014)  (2021)

Rayleen V. De Luca Born April 29,1942, Shawinigan, Quebec. Died March 22. 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the mid 1960's she married Vincent De Luca and the couple had two children. She graduated from the University of Winnipeg sinning a Gold Medal in 1979. Rayleen was a professor of Psychology at the University of Manitoba (U of M), Winnipeg where she specialized in the mental heal of children. She was the first woman who held the position of Director of Clinical Training at the U of M. She became one of the foremost researches in the area of Child sex abuse in the country. She also served as president of the Folks Arts Council and vice chair of the Board of Governors for St. Paul's College. She was a Canadian representative to the United Nations status of Women Committee. in 1995 the City of Winnipeg conferred on her an Appreciation Award.   In 2006 she was presented with the Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Winnipeg. In 2008 she was recognized by the U of M  with the outreach Award, one of several awards from her university. That same years she was the Y W C A's Woman of Distinction for Health.  In 2011 she was inducted into the Order of Manitoba followed in 2016 with the Order of Canada. She also received the Clifford Robson Award given by the Manitoba Psychological Society. In 2012 she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal.  In 2021 the Nellie McClung Foundation recognized her as a Woman Trailblazer. Source: Obituary (accessed 2022); Memorable Manitobans (accessed 2022)
F. Marguerite ' Peggy' Hill See - Physicians
Doreen Kimura

née Goebel. Born 1933, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Died February 27, 2013, Vancouver, British Columbia. Doreen holds a PhD in psychology from McGill University, Montreal. Her interests were in the relationship between sex and cognition and promoting academic freedom. In the early 1960s Doreen was a Fellow at the Neurochirurgische Klinik, Kantonsspital, in Zurich, Switzerland, where she set up the Human Brain Function Laboratory and a postdoctoral researcher in brain and behaviour at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, U.S.A.. Returning to Canada she worked at McMaster University, Hamilton Ontario before being offered a position as professor at the University of Western Ontario, (UWO) London, Ontario. She was one of the founders and main pillars of the field of neurophysiology in Canada. In 1993 she published Neuromotor Mechanisms in Human Communication. She retired from UWO in 1998 and held a professorship at Simon Fraser University in British Columbia. She published Sex and Cognition in 1999. She was internationally known for her research into the biological bases of human cognitive abilities such as language, complex motor function, and spatial abilities. (2020)

Brenda Milner

née Langford. Born July 15, 1918, Manchester, England.  Brenda studied at Newham College but World War ll changed the focus of her work to helping select aircrews and later in the War she worked with radar operators. In 1941 she met her husband, Peter Milner, who worked on radar research. The married in 1944 and immigrated to Canada and she began teaching at the University of Montreal from 1944 through 1951. In 1949 she earned her Master’s degree in experimental psychology and went on to McGill University to earn her PhD by1952. In 1984 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. In 2009 she was promoted to Grand Officer of the National Order of Quebec. In 2014 she was presented with the Kavli Prize in neuroscience and the Dan David Prize. In 2016 she earned the Norman A. Aderson Lifetime Achievement Award and became a Fellow in the Royal Society of London (England) as well as the Royal Society of Canada. She has received recognition from more than 20 universities in Canada, U.S.A. and Europe. (2020)

Leola Ellen Neal

Born 1911, Merlin, Ontario. Died 1995. She completed her B.A. at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario in 1933 and went on to earn her M.A. in 1935 and a PhD in 1942. During the time she worked on her post graduate studies she worked at the University. She interned at the London Mental Hospital. In 1946 she was appointed Dean of Women at the University of Western Ontario as well as holding a position of professor with the Psychology Department. In 1949 she served as the 1st female President of the Ontario Psychological Association and in 1951 she was the second woman to serve on the Board of the Canadian Psychological Association. Source: Perlin Gull & Jacy L. Young: Leola Ellen Neal. In A. Rutherford (Ed.), Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive Online (Accessed August 2014) (2020)

Mary Louise Northway

Born May 28, 1909, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1987. After starting at the University of Toronto in Ontario in 1927 she was forced to take 1 ½ years from her studies due to poor health. She returned to the University of Toronto and earned her B.A. in 1933 and her M.A. the following year. From Toronto she studied at Cambridge University in England where were allowed to study but not allowed to receive degrees at this time. She returned once again to the University of Toronto earning her PhD in 1938. From 1934 through to 1968 she worked her way up to the position of Assistant Professor and from 1951 to 1968 she was supervisor of research at the Department of Psychology. She also worked as a counselor and programme director at Glen Bernard Camp from 1931-1939 and served as Director of Research and Education for the Ontario Camping association in the 1930’s and 1940’s. She served as Directory of Northway Co., the family business founded by her father, from 1948-1960, and president from 1960-1963 when the company was dissolved. Finances from the company were used to create the Neathem Trust which financed welfare related initiatives. In 1969 she co-founded Brora Centre, a nonprofit organization for child development research. Upon her death she left the largest private contribution ever received, in her father’s name, to Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario. Source: Jacy L. Young. Mary Northway In Psychology’s Feminist Voices. 2011. Online (accessed August 2014) (2020)

Reva Potashin

Born September 13, 1921, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 15, 2013, Vancouver, British Columbia. Reva excelled at school recalling receiving two jellybeans for her reading in grade 1. She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Toronto in 1943 followed by her Master's degree in 1944 and a PhD in 1951. In 1951 she taught for a year at the University of Saskatchewan and published a book Personality and Sociometric Status while working on her PhD. From 1952 through to retirement in 1986 she taught at the University of British Columbia (UBC). She was a pioneer in the area of children’s group dynamics. She found that children with friends were more readily accepted at school than those without friends.  She was outspoken on the inequality between women and men who were professors and waited many years to see the pay become equal. Upon retirement in 1986 she became Professor Emerita at UBC. Source: Laurin Joly , Obituary Vancouver Sun, September 18, 2013. (2020)

Beatrice Enid Wickett-Nesbitt

Born 1917, Alberta.  Died September 10, 2010, Calgary, Alberta.  She studied at Acadia University with graduate studies at Brown University and a PhD at McGill University, Montreal. She married John Cameron Wickett and the couple had three children. During his service in World War ll John was thought to have been killed but was actually at a German prisoner of war camp. During the War Bea raised her family as a single mother only to have her husband home in 1945. She became executive director of the Canadian Mental Association in 1961 and 1962-63 she was chief psychologist at the Ottawa Public School Board. A pioneer woman in psychology she forged  a mentoring career path for women. She developed innovative programs for emotionally disturbed and autistic children. The models of care she established while working for the Ottawa Board of Education were emulated across Canada. She was awarded the outstanding professional achievement and the Canadian Rehabilitation Council’s most innovative program Award. A widow in 1976, she would marry a second time to H. H. J. Cameron. In 1986 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. After her retirement she helped establish the Ottawa Carleton Regional Palliative Care Association. In 2007 the Canadian Psychological Association awarder her a distinguished lifetime achievement award. Source: “A legend in her own time” by Mohammed Adam. Ottawa Citizen September 29, 2012 ; Obituary. Calgary Herald September 13, 2012. (2020)

Blossom Temkin Wigdor

née Temkin. Born June 13, 1924. In 1945 she earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). and on May 30 that same year she married Leon Wigdor. She had applied to medical school at McGill University, Montreal, but was refused entry as she was engaged to be married and there were returning soldiers needing classroom space over a women who would marry. She studied for her Master's. at the University of Toronto and then back to McGill for her PhD in 1952. From 1946 through 1979 she worked with the Canadian Department of Veterans Affairs. From 1952 through 1979 she was a professor at McGill University. From 1979 to 2010 she taught at the University of Toronto where she is now a professor Emerita. 1973-1979 she worked with the Science Council of Canada.  In 1989 she became a member of the Order of Canada. She was a founding director of the Programme in Gerontology from 1979 through 1989. In 1990 through 1993 she was Chair of the National Advisory Council on Aging and also the Chair of the Canadian Coalition on Medication use in the Elderly. She is the author of numerous article, book chapters and books on aging and gerontology. Source: A. Rutherford (Ed.), Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. Retrieved from  Online (Accessed August 2014)  ; International Who’s Who of Women 2002. Online (Accessed August 2014) (2020)

Mary Jane Wright

Born 1915, Strathroy, Ontario. Died April 23, 2014. In 1939 Mary earned her Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) from the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario. By 1949 she had receiver her PhD in Child Psychology from the University of Toronto. During World War ll she served in the United Kingdom developing care for evacuated British children. In 1946 she was a professor of Child Psychology at the University of Western Ontario, (UWO) London. In 1959 she was the 1st woman director with the Canadian Psychological Association and in 1960 at UWO she became the 1st woman in Canada to chair a major psychology Department. In 1968 she served as president of the Canadian Psychological Association and would earn the Gold Medal for Lifetime contributions to the profession. She also served as president of the Ontario Psychological Society where she earned the Award for distinguished contributions to her profession. She was one of the few distinguished international persons to be elected a fellow of the American Psychological Association. She is well published in academic psychology. The UWO named the University laboratory I her honour. She has also been presented with the Queen’s Silver Jubilee Medal. Locally she was on the Board of the London Meals on Wheels, and the United Way. In 2007 she was the London YMCA Woman of Excellence. The Town of Strathroy has named a public School in her honour when she was 98 years of age. Source: Obituaries. Globe and Mail April 26, 2014; Laura Bell,(2010)  Mary Jean Wright In A. Rutherford (Ed.), Psychology's Feminist Voices Multimedia Internet Archive. Online (Accessed August 2014)  Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa. (2020)

Physicians                                     Return to categories
Maude Elizabeth Seymour Abbott

née Babin. Born March 18, 1869, St. André East, Quebec. Died September 2, 1940, Montreal, Quebec. Her father abandoned Maude after the death of her mother and the child was legally adopted and raised by her maternal grandmother, Mrs. William Abbott. Maude was one of the 1st women to receive a BA from McGill University, Montreal, Quebec in 1890.Four years later she earned Medical Degree with honours from Bishop's University, Lennoxville, Quebec as the only woman in her class. She opened her own medical practice in Montreal where she also worked with the Royal Victoria Hospital and was elected as the 1st woman to be a member of the Montreal Medico-Chirugical Society. She went on to post graduate medical studies in Vienna, Austria. In 1906 she co-founded the International Association of Medical Museums with fellow Canadian, Dr. William Osler. In 1907 she served as the secretary and spent years editing the institution's articles. This doctor wrote a successful medical paper on heart murmurs, but a male friend had to present her paper since women were not admitted to the hall where the paper was presented! In 1910 she became a lecturer in pathology at McGill University even though the university did not accept female students. Leaving McGill she worked at the Women's Medical College of Pennsylvania, U.S.A. in 1923. In 1924 she founded the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. By 1925 she was once again at McGill working as an Assistant professor. Later she would specialize on heart disease and eventually published the “Atlas of Congenital Cardiac Disease" in 1936  for which she gained a good deal of respect. She also wrote a history of nursing, a basic text for Canadian nursing schools. She was even made an honorary member of the all-male Osler Society. In 1958 the International Academy of Pathology created the Maude Abbott Lecture. In 1993 she was declared a f National Historic Person of Canada and the following year she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. In 2000, a bronze plaque was erected in her honour on the McIntyre Medical Building at McGill University. In the same year, Canada Post issued a forty-six cent postage stamp entitled The Heart of the Matter in her honour. (2020)

Mary Louise Agar

Born November 9, 1856, Port Hope area, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 6, 1931, Chatham, Ontario. The family relocated to Toronto to allow the children to achieve a better education. Mary graduated from the Toronto Normal School (teacher's College) in 1885. She then studied at the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, where in 1890 she and her brother Samuel both graduated.  The siblings opened a joint practice as Dover Centre, Kent County, Ontario. Later they transferred their joint practice to Chatham, Ontario. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Belle Alguire           3161

née McCallum. Born May 1868, Caintown, Ontario. Died October 8, 1950, Belvidere, Illinois, U.S.A. Like many young ladies of her era she taught school as a first profession. In1895 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She opened her practice in Gananoque, Ontario. In September 1895 she married Dr. Alden Alguire and the couple opened their medical practice in Belvidere, Illinois, U.S.A. She also had a good reputation as a songwriter, poet, and inventor. She would practice medicine for 46 years in Belvidere. In 1916 she invented and patented a thimble-holder when she served as a physician for the National Sewing Machine Company. She also penned music and lyrics to war-time songs.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Jessie Matilda Allyn         3162

Medical Missionary

Born November 30, 1880, Delta, Ontario. Died August 26, 1944, Bombay, India. Jessie graduated in 1904 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She interned in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. She went as a medical missionary to Viryyuru, India with the Canadian Baptist Foreign Mission in 1906. In 1910 she was appointed to Pithapuram, India. She aided the Maharajah of the Godavarie with the birth of his children  and he donated generous gifts for the work of the Women's Hospital in 1911. In 1942 she was appointed as secretary of the Christian Medical Association of India, Burma, and Ceylon. Dr. Allyn received the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal for her devotion and dedication to her work in India. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Almira Anderson-Dickson 3734 née Gilchrist. Born October 8, 1889, Moser River, Nova Scotia. Died 1989, Nova Scotia? When Annie was just a child the family relocated to western Canada to live on a ranch, In 1911 Annie married W. Anderson the couple settled in Fort Walsh, Saskatchewan. Within a year Annie was a widow and she returned to Nova Scotia. She attended the Dalhousie Medical College graduating in 1920. After graduation she married Major Hugh A. Dickson and the couple settled Halifax, Dr. Annie went on  to work as provincial convener for health with the Women's Institute, and the Home and school Federation of Nova Scotia. She also took active role in the Victorian Order of Nurses (V O N), Truro Hospital Auxiliary and the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E). In July 1949 she became Dean of Women at Mount Allison University. She retired after ten years having counseled 100's of students.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Maria Louisa Angwin

BornImage result for Augusta stowe-Gullen images Sept 21, 1849, Blackhead, Conception Bay, Newfoundland. Died April 25, 1898, Ashland Massachusetts. Maria's family resettled in Nova Scotia in the 1850’s finally settling in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia in 1865. She attended the Mount Allison Wesleyan Academy in Sackville, New Brunswick graduating in 1866.  She knew that her family could not afford to send her to study medicine like she wanted so she earned her teacher’s certificate at Normal School in Truro, Nova Scotia. She taught in Dartmouth for five years saving to attend medical studies in the U.S.A. In June 1882 she graduated from the Women’s Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. She did one year of internship at the New England Hospital, Boston Massachusetts. She also did some post graduate courses at the Royal Free Hospital in London, England. On September 20, 1884 she became the 1st woman licensed medical doctor in Nova Scotia. She was ahead of her times in many ways not only in medical studies but in her appearance. She wore her hair cut short. She was an avid member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and lectured on the problems of alcohol and tobacco consumption. She also advocated for advanced education for women and no doubt votes for women. During a trip to the U.S.A. for ill health, she died unexpectedly from surgery.   Sources:  The Indomitable Women Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke & Irwin, 1974) ; The Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online (Accessed April 2014)  (2020)

Margaret Smith-Arkinstall

née Smith. Born February 2, 1906, Glasgow Lanarkshire, Scotland. Died 2001, Newmarket, Ontario. Margaret studied medicine at the University of Toronto while her boyfriend and later husband William Campbell Arkinstall (1899-1978) studied medicine at Queen's University, Kingston Ontario. They both graduated in 1930 with Margaret doing her internship in Moose Jaw Saskatchewan and he in  and Bill took up a practice in Hurst, Ontario and on September 24, 1931 he and Margaret were married. The couple would have four children. Margaret became one of the 1st women doctors in Northeastern Ontario. They practiced at the mission hospital called St Paul's which was maintained by the Women's Missionary Society of St Paul's United Church, Hurst. In 1936 the couple went to England to further their medical studies and she took courses in obstetrics and anesthesia. In 1945 the couple resettled in the company town of Kapuskasing in Northern Ontario in 1945. After some years in the couple became unsettled with the company run town and they moved south to settle in Newmarket, Ontario. In 1983, along with with nurse Elizabeth, Margaret co-wrote the book;  Pioneer Partners of St. Paul's. (2020)

Ida Manning Armstrong

Born 1905, Gladstone, Manitoba. Died 1982. Ida moved with her family to Winnipeg in 1915. She earned her Bachelor in Sciences from the University of Manitoba in 1926. She completed her medical degree at the University of Manitoba in 1936, studied in England in 1937-38, and entered private practice in Winnipeg as an obstetrician and gynecologist. She gave radio lectures for women on medical emergencies during World War ll. She was active in golf, curling, and bowling. Sources: Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J.M. Bumsted (University of Manitoba, 1999. : Memorable Manitobans by Gordon Goldsborough. Manitoba Historical Society Online (Accessed December 2011)  (2020)

Elaine Joy Arpin

Born 1949, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Joy received B Sc and Medical degrees from the University of Manitoba in 1969 and 1972, She did her internship in 1972-1973 and trained in Neurosurgery at the University of Manitoba from 1973-1975 and at McGill University from 1975 -1978. Joy become a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Neurosurgery in 1978 and is the 1st woman neurosurgeon in Canada. She completed a post  Fellowship year in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. and returned to the Montreal Neurological Institute as assistant professor in Neurosurgery in 1979. Joy remained on clinical staff there till 1983. She then relocated to Dallas, Texas, U.S.A. for a neurosurgical position and continued to practice in the USA till retirement in 2001. (2020)

Mira Ashby

Born 1922, Zagreb, Croatia. Died July 16, 2005, Toronto, Ontario. Mira studied medicine at the University of Zagreb. She left her home in January 1945 finally settling in Canada in 1959. She became a doctor and during World War ll she served with the Red Cross. After the War she worked with her husband, Lord Ashby, in the United Nations to establish hospitals for refugees. She spoke 8 languages fluently. Mira was the founder of Ashby House, which opened in 1978. Ashby House was the 1st transitional living program for adults with brain injuries in North America. This served as a model for Europe, Australia and Japan. She was the 1st to organize an international symposium for head injuries, under the name, “New Beginnings” which were held each year in Canada. She developed the Ashby Memory Method (AMM) focusing upon those who suffered traumatic brain injury where a portion of the brain is instantly affected and no longer functions properly. In 1978 she received the Distress Center Award. She received the Order of Canada in1984 for her work on brain injury rehabilitation. She also found time to volunteer working with young people as a counsellor and group leader at the YMCA and the Toronto General Hospital Social Services Department. At the International Institute of Metropolitan Toronto, she was busy teaching English to new immigrants, and participating in various festivals celebrating cultural diversity such as the 'Old World Bazaar', the Garden Party, Folk Festivals and concerts with exhibits of Croatian art, paintings and handworks. In 2003 she received the Queen’s Jubilee Medal. (2020)

Ella Blaylock-Atherton          3133

née Blaylock. Born January 4, 1860, Ulverston, Lancashire, England. Died September 4, 1933, Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.A. In 1861 Ella immigrated to Canada with her family. She attended McGill College, Montreal prior to graduating from the Women's Medical College, Kingston, Ontario in 1887. She was the first woman in the province of Quebec to obtain a Canadian diploma in medicine. Leaving for the U.S.A. she practiced in Newport, Vermont for two years and then to Nashua, New Hampshire as their first woman doctor. September 8, 1898 she married Henry Bridge Atherton. A suffragist she joined the New Hampshire Woman Suffrage Society, the Fortnightly Club and was active with the Young Women's Christian Association (Y M C A ). Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Minna May Austen 3734

Medical Missionary
Born Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died May 24, 1923, Halifax, Nova Scotia.  Minna was one of two women who graduated in 1903 from the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax.  This year was the firse year of examination of the Provincial Medical Board and Minna became the first registered physician by the Board.  Like many of her female medical colleagues of the era, Minna became a medical missionary sponsored by the Women's Missionary Society of the the Canadian Methodist Church. She served in Chengtu Hospital, China for a year and was then appointed to the Women's Hospital in Kiating, China. She returned to Chengtu in 1909.  Becoming ill in 1917 she was forced to return home to Halifax just in time for the call for help to help in the disastrous Halifax Explosion December 6, 1917. She joined the Halifax Dispensary staff working long hours in hospital tents and damaged hospital buildings in the dead of winter. Her efforts both in China and during the Halifax explosion left her broken down and she lived much of the remainder of her life as an invalid. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Elizabeth Catherine Bagshaw

Born October 18/19, 1881, Cannington, Ontario. Died January 5, 1982, Hamilton, Ontario. One of Canada's 1st women doctors, she had a successful 60-year practice. She attended Women’s Medical College in Toronto and graduated in 1905. She interned in Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. but gave it up for an unpaid preceptorship with a female doctor near her home and closer to her widowed mother. She settled in Hamilton Ontario in the 1920’s.For 30 years she was the medical director of the Hamilton Ontario Birth Control Clinic. Keep in mind that it was illegal to provide birth control until 1969 in Canada! She signed more birth certificates than any other doctor in the area. She became a single parent raising an adopted son, John. In 1954 mother and son had medical practices in the same building. You can just imagine the forces that this courageous woman had to face while attempting to present women of her era with information on Birth control. She reluctantly retired at the age of 95. In 1978 the National Film Board of Canada released a movie on her life: Doctor Women; The life and times of Dr. Elizabeth Bagshaw. She earned the Order of Canada and the Governor’s General Persons Award. In 1970 she Citizen of the year in Hamilton. An elementary School  was named in her honour and in 2007 she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Sources: Canadian Medical Hall of Fame: 100 more Canadian Heroines by Merna Forster Dundurn Press, 2011. (2020)

Euphemia Bessie Balcom-Davis   Born Aylesford, Nova Scotia. After graduating from the Acadia Ladies Seminary in 1907, Bessie went on to attend the Dalhousie Medical College in 1911. No doubt she was encouraged by the fact that her father and her brother were both doctors.  She practiced for awhile in Petite Rivière and in 1919 she married Dr. Frank Davis and the couple settled in Bridgewater. In practice with her husband she attended female patients and helped giving anaesthetic for surgeries. She became a widow in September 1948. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Henrietta Elizabeth Banting 4100

Lady Banting
née Ball. Born March 4, 1912, Stanstead, Quebec. Died July 26, 1976, Toronto, Ontario.  In 1932 Henrietta graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Mount Allison University, Sackville, New Brunswick in 1932. After graduation her firs job in New Brunswick was conducting clinical laboratory work in various hospitals. Relocating to Toronto she studied at the Banting Institute at the University of Toronto earning her master's degree in Medical Research in 1937. Two years later she married Sir Frederick Banting (1895-1941). In 1941 she began her medical studies at the U of T and graduated in 1945. It was during this time that she was also enlisted in the Royal Canadian Army Medical Corps. She went on  to complete post graduate training in obstetrics and gynaecology in London becoming a member of the Royal College of Obstriticians and Gynacologists. Completing her studies she lectured at the University of Hong Kong before returning to Canada in 1951. She opened her own provate practice in Toronto and was hired as a staff member of the Woman's College Hospital (W C H) in 1957. A year after she was hired she became Director of the W C H Cancer Detection Clinic. She worked with Elizabeth Forbes, Chief of the W C H's Radiology, investigating the effectiveness of mammography as a tool for early detection of breast cancer. The study, published in 1967 in the Journal of the Canadian Association of Radiologists became recognized as one of the first Canadian papers on mammography and W C H embraced mammography as a routine tool. She was a member of the Medical Women's International Association where she served as vice president.  She would also serve as the first Chair of the National Service to Patients Committee of the Canadian Cancer Society.  Dr. Henrietta retired from the Cancer Detection Clinic in 1971. The Henrietta Banting Breast Centre was created from the Henrietta Banting Memorial Fund. Source: Celebrating Women's Impact - Dr. Henrietta Banting , Women's College Hospital Foundation, Find a Grave Canada (accessed 2022)
James Miranda Stuart/Steuart Barry

née Margaret Ann Bulkley. Born November 9,1795, Cork, Ireland. Died July 25, 1865, London, England. In the day when medicine only accepted men as students one woman disguised herself as a men and entered the Edinburgh University, Scotland in 1809. As a doctor in the British army she served in the far corners of the British Empire and gained a reputation as an outstanding surgeon. In 1857 Dr. Barry was posted to Canada where s/he was well respected for his fight to provide cleaner hospital facilities and better food for the working soldiers. An odd small “man” with little or no facial hair Dr. Barry was considered an eccentric. It would not be until death, when the body was being prepared for burial that it would be discovered that the renowned doctor was indeed a woman! It must have cause a stir in the Victorian society to have had the first “woman” doctor in the British Army!!! (2020)

Sheela Bassur

Died June 2, 2008, Toronto, Ontario. In 1982 she earned her medical degree from the University of Toronto and the following year she took time off to travel the world. In 1998 she was the 1st Canadian woman of colour to be named Toronto’s Chief Medical Office of Health.  In 2001 she led the campaign called ‘DineSafe’  which was the 1st program of its kind in Canada that required restaurants to display health inspection reports in their windows. By 2004 she was Ontario’s Chief Medical Officer of Health. At 5 foot tall she was described as a ‘diminutive dynamo’. She was calm by nature and that lead Toronto to survive the SARS epidemic calmly in 2003. Source; Tanya Talaga & Prithi Yelaya. Obituary. The Toronto Star, June 3, 2008. (2020)

Elizabeth Robb Beatty

née Brown. Born January 4, 1856, Ballycanoe, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 4, 1939, Utica, New York, U.S.A. Although she married at 18 this did not deter her from seeking an education. In 1800 she was one of the women taking summer medical courses for women at Queen’s University. In the fall 1881 these courageous women joined in the men’s courses at Queen’s. Both men and women in the same classes proved to be too much for the students and the Women’s Medical College was formed. Elizabeth graduated in 1884 and sailed to India as a medical missionary for the Presbyterian Church of Canada as the 1st woman medical missionary in what would turn out to be a long list of dedicated individual women. In Indore, India she lived in a mud house that also served as a dispensary and hospital. She learned Hindi, the local language to help tend the people and even trained Indian women in nursing. She went on to build the 1st Woman’s Hospital in Central India. Ill health forced her to return to Canada by the end of the decade. She left behind the strong foundations of medical missions in India. Source: The Indomitable Women Doctors, by Carlotta Hacker. (Toronto: Clarke & Irwin, 1974); Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Jane Bell     4041 Died 1963, Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1893 Jane graduated the Women's Medical College of the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. She went on to do some post graduate work at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. She returned to Nova Scotia and took over the practice of a Dr. Angwin in Halifax. She would hold positions on the Welfare Council, the Young Women's Christian Association (Y W C A), the Community Chest , the Children's Aid Society, the Protestant Orphanage, and the Maritime School of Social Work. Source: Carlotta Hacker, The Indomitable Lady Doctors.
Florence Eleanor Bennett    3163

née Lucas. Born December4, 1880, Churchill, Ontario. Died October 22, 1959, Toronto, Ontario. Eleanor graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, in 1903. She did some post graduate work in Boston, Massacheutts, U.S.A. and then opened a practice in Toronto. On July 7, 1915 she married Dr. Alpha Clayton Bennett. Eleanor was a member of the University Women's Club in Toronto. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Anna Bhatjakin

née Afanaiyevna. Born Korsunka, Russia. Died September 4, 1999. The daughter of a once upper class Russian family she found herself in Stalin's Russian rule of the 1930's working on collective farms and in coal mines. She earned scholarships to the State University in the Ukraine where she led her graduating class at the Institute of Medicine.  Caught up in the German invasions of World War ll the family retreated across eastern Europe while Dr Bratjakin continued to provide care in refugee camps.  By 1950, she opted to bring her young family, including her wounded husband to Montreal. She worked as a domestic servant supporting her family and learning the working languages of Canada.  She became a specialist in internal medicine and would earn a reputation as a cardiologist. She had a practice at Ste-Anne's de Bellevue open late afternoons and evenings and worked at the hospital during the day. A widow, in 1988 she moved to Ottawa, working with National Defense Medical Centre and a family clinic in Gastineau. She had bee a physician of the western world. Although a disinherited Cossack heiress, she did not want to remain a coal mine worker in Communist Russia. She had determination to provide a service to humanity.

Jessie Amelia Birnie          3164

Born August 1, 1857, Collingwood, Canada West (now Ontario). Died June 17, 1935, San Rafael, California, U.S.A. Like so many young ladies of her generation she was a school teacher in her home town. In 1898 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  She practiced in Peterborough where she was a pioneer in baby health work. She retired in 1931 and relocated to San Rafael, California, U.S.A.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Agnes 'Aggie' J. Bishop 3535 Born 1938, Chipman, New Brunswick. Died May 19, 2014. Agnes took her undergraduate studies as Acadia University, Wolfeville, Nova Scotia and earned her medical degree from Dalhousie University, and completed her residency in Halifax, Nova Scotia. To help pay for her education she became a cadet with the Royal Canadian Air Force.  In 1966 she relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba to do a fellowship in hematology. She became a renowned pediatrician specializing in pediatric hematology and oncology. She served as the first woman physician-in-chief at the Children's Hospital of Winnipeg, Manitoba, the head of Pediatrics at St. Boniface General Hospital and the chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Manitoba. Recognizing that caring for children with cancer and their families required more than medical attention, a mew concept at the time, she created a collaborative team comprising of doctors, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, spiritual care advisers and others. She was a great storyteller and loved to tell obscure medical jokes and had an ability to connect with her young patients and employed often simple magic tricks to put the children at ease. A soul of generosity she often paid for patients funerals. .  From 1994 through 2001 she was president ot the Atomic Energy Control Board (A E F B) /Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (C N S C). She was the first woman selected by the Royal College of physicians and Surgeons of Canada to be president which she turned down to work with the A E C B. Source: Obituary. Globe and Mail June 19, 2014. online (accessed 2021)
Elinor Francis Elizabeth Black

Born 1905, Nelson, British Columbia. Died January 30, 1982, Winnipeg, Manitoba January 30, 1982.  At 12 years old she moved to Winnipeg with her family. She was educated at the University of Manitoba Medical School, graduating Cum Laude in 1930. After a year in Britain she set up practice in Winnipeg in 1931. In 1937 she received a six-month appointment as house surgeon at the South London Hospital for Women, following which she took the examination to become, in 1938, the 1st Canadian woman member of the British Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. In 1950, she opened  the Women’s Pavilion at the Winnipeg General Hospital  and in  1951 she was appointed professor of obstetrics and Gynecology and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Manitoba. That same year she was declared Winnipeg’s Woman of the Year. In 1961, she was elected the first woman president of the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada. She retired from the University in 1964, although she continued to teach for many years thereafter.  Her research papers are at the University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections. Sources: Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by J. M. Bumsted University of Manitoba Press, 1999: Memorable Manitobans Profile by Gordon Goldsborough. Online (accessed December 2011) :; Government of Manitoba. Status of Women. Women working for Healthy Communities by Ada Ducas et all October 2001. Online (accessed December 2011)  Further Reading: Tell the Driver: A Biography of Elinor F. E. Black, M.D. by Julie Vandervoort (1992).  Her birthrate is recorded as 1907 in some sources.

Jane 'Jennie' Stewart Bloomfield                     3165

née Shirra. Born May 10, 1861, Caledonia Mills, Canada West (now Ontario). Died November 2, 1950, Cambridge, Ohio, U.S.A. Jennie graduated in 1894 from the Ontario Medical College for Women in Toronto. She relocated to Michigan to establish her practice. On February 7, 1899 she married Edwin Bloomfield and following their marriage she practiced medicine in Michigan, U.S.A. Here she also too up the study of dentistry. Moving to Cincinnati, Ohio she suffered a mental breakdown and was diagnosed with  paranoid psychosis and was institutionalized to the Longview State Asylum and then to the Cambridge State Hospital in Ohio. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Joan M. Boggs

Born August 18, 1946. When she relaxes she goes hiking and canoeing or can be found gardening. When she goes to work she is a Senior Scientist at the hospital for Sick Children, Toronto and a professor at the University of Toronto. Dr. Boggs is the author/co-author of more than 85 papers which have appeared in various scientific journals. You will find her listed in the Canadian Who's Who at your local library.

Roberta Bond-Nichols née Bond. Born November 3, 1901, Newfoundland. Died October 29, 1966, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Roberta attended the Halifax Ladies College and then the Mount Allison Academy prior to graduating in 1925 from the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax, Nova Scotia.  After graduation she retuned to her home province working at Newfoundland outports. On August 13, 1926 she married a Dalhousie University Professor, E. W. Nichols. The couple had four children. She became a widow in 1939 and sole support for her family. She worked as an anesthesiologist at several Halifax hospitals including being Chied anaesthetist at the Children's Hospital. She became a member of the faculty of Dalhousie Medical School, the first woman to be a lecturer in anatomy in Canada. During World War ll (1939-1945) she often was called upon to serve when navel ships came Halifax with wounded service men on board. She was known to invite first year women medical students to her summer home in Jeddore. Roberta was paramount in organizing the Nova Scotia Branch of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada (F M C C) in 1943 and was president of the branch several times. She wrote a history of all women doctors in Nova Scotia up to the year 1924 which was published in the Nova Scotia Medical Bulletin in 1950. After several heart attacks she retire. The Roberta Bond-Nichols Memorial Collection is maintained in the library of the Sir Charles Tupper Medical Building. The Roberta Bond Nichols Memorial Prize in Anatomy is sponsored annually by the Nova Scotia Branch of the F M W C.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990.
Gladys Lillian Boyd  4097 Born 1873. Died October 24, 1970, Toronto, Ontario. In 1918 Gladys graduated from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Toronto (U of T) as one of four women graduates.  In 1920 she earned a fellowship in pediatrics at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children (H S C) and the next year became head of the Endocrine Services which worked on disorders that disrupt the network of glands producing and releasing hormones which help control important body functions including the ability to change calories into energy that powers cells and organs. Gladys was one of the doctors who began use of insulin injections to help diabetic children. It was at this time that she began her research in the area of childhood diabetes, nephritis (inflammation of the kidneys) and tuberculosis. It was Gladys who contacted Dr. Frederick Banting (1895-1941) in the fall of 1922 to help 11 year old Elsie Needham who was in a diabetic coma. Elsie recovered consciousness within a short time of receiving insulin. Gladys would work alongside of Dr. Banting and their collaboration saw an 50% decrease in childhood mortality from diabetes over the next ten years. Dr. Gladys Boyd is credited with having begun endocrinology at the H S C and she served as head of Endovrine Services from 1921 through 1950. In 1922 Gladys joined the staff at Women's College Hospital (W C H) as chief of paediatrics. She served as W C H's only pediatrician seeing an average of 200 children each years in the outpatient department. In June 1923 she was a speaker at the firs annual scientific meeting of the Society for the Study of Diseases of Children (now Canadian Paediatric Society). In 1924 she was awarded her Doctor of Medicine and earned a Starr medal from the Canadian Medical Association. In 1925 she published Manual for Diabetics. Over the next three decades she published numerous academic papers on childhood diseases such as diabetes and nephritis. In 1931 she became a Fellow of the Royal College of Canada and a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians the next year. Dr. Glady Boyd broke social barriers by following her medical career. In 1932 she adopted a baby girl, Nancy and was a devoted single mother. During World War ll she housed an evacuee girl from England and this girl and Nancy became friends for life.  Source: Dr. Gladys Boyd: a Pioneer in Childhood Diabetics Care. Woman's College Hospital Foundation November 2018 by Heather Gardiner. online. (accessed 2022); Dr. Gladys Boyd - Use Your Voice Online (accessed 2022)
Winnifred Brenda Braine-Reynolds née Braine, Born Grand Pré, Nova Scotia. Died October 5, 1942, Stephenville, Montana, U.S.A. Both Winnifred and her brother W. B. Braine attended Dalhousie Medical College and graduated in 1900. In 1901 Winnifred married a classmate, Dr. William P. Reynolds and the couple settled in Butte, Montana, U.S.A. where they opened a joint practice.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Caroline Sophia Brown    3166

Born January 30, 1862, Derry West, Canada West (now Ontario). Died January 11, 1936, Toronto, Ontario. Like so many of her generation she at first worked as a teacher in Halton County and then Toronto. In 1900 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She went on to do post graduate work in Dublin, Ireland and London, England. Returning home she set up her medical practice in Toronto. She was on staff at the Women's College Hospital and served as a school trustee for ten year becoming the first woman to be chair in that group. She was a founder and regent of the Imperial Order of Daughters of the Empire (I O D E) and a member of the local Council of Women. She supported the St. John Ambulance Corps, the Big Sisters movement, and the Girl Guides. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Martha Wyman Brown-Shaw 3727 née Brown. Born 1874, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Died April 6, 1948, Ashland, Oregon, U.S.A. Martha graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1897. She married fellow doctor Howard Shaw and the couple had one son. The young couple studies together in Vienna Austria and in London England. After completing their studies she settled in Ashland, Oregon, U.S.A. where they opened a medical practice together.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Sarah Amelia 'Minnie'  3134 Brown
                

Born September 3, 1863, Consecon, Canada West (now Ontario). Died August 19, 1937, Greenwich, Connecticut U.S.A. Minnie graduated from the Women's Medical College, Kingston, Ontario, and was licensed in the province in 1890.  She practiced in Manhattan, New York, U.S.A. and then  she moved to Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and finally settled in Greenwich, Connecticut, U.S.A. where she worked as a live-in private doctor to the Holmes family for 32 years. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Gamble Bryson          3167

Born January 14, 1874, Ottawa, Ontario. Died September 4, 1940, La Jolla, California, U.S.A. Mary graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Queen's University, Kingston Ontario. By 1903 she had completed studies at the Ontario Medical College for Women in Toronto. She returned to Ottawa and opened her medical practice. In 1919 she was forced to retire due to ill health. In the fall of 1919 she retired to La Jolla, California, U.S.A. accompanied by her sister and her private nurse Elizabeth Emerson. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Christina Bein Buchanan 3168
Medical Missionary
                                                     

née MacKay. Born June 1863, Riverton, Nova Scotia. Died May 15, 1935, Amkhut, India.  Mary graduated with Mistress of Liberal Arts from Mount Allison College, New Brunswick in 1883. By 1888 she had completed studies at the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. while sailing  to India as a Medical Missionary with the Bhil people of Amkhut she met Dr. John Buchanan and the couple were married in India on January 25, 1889. In 1913 her husband received the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal for his devotion and dedication to his work in India. In all she served the  people of India for 47 years. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Kathleen Buck née Loretto. Born March 1875, Lindsay, Ontario.  Died March 21, 1951, Rochester, New York, U.S.A. In 1897 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She relocated to  Rochester, New York, U.S.A. where she was head of the obstetrics department at St. Mary's Hospital for 25 years. She served as president of the Women's Medical Society of New York and was one of the first to use radiology in Rochester.  She served the city for five decades. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Mary May 'Minnie'  Campbell née Brander. Born March 1, 1873, Markham, Ontario. Died November 6, 1948, Priceville, Ontario.  In 1893 Minnie graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto  with honours. She established her medical practice in Priceville, Ontario. She retired in July 1896 to be married that fall to Re. Donald Campbell.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Eliza Cox Carter
Unlicensed Physician
Born 1821, England. Died February 26, 1899, New Brunswick. Eliza had evidently studied medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland. Since women were allowed to study but not allowed to write their medical exams she was unlicensed when she practiced medicine. She married a Ship Captain, John W. Carter (d 1883) and the couple had six children. By 1854 the family was living in New Brunswick, Canada where here medical services were much appreciated. Her husband became a farmer and lumberman who also operated a 3-storey Inn on the fiver on the Kingston Peninsula. Two of Eliza's diaries and a book of remedies and recopies have been published. The diaries document her work as a physician and the originals are preserved in the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick. Whelpley House at Carter's Point on the Kingston Peninsula has bee declared an historic building by the province of New Brunswick. Source: Provincial Archives of New Brunswick; Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2022)
Jennie Carson

Born July 9, 1865, Amaranth, Canada West (now Ontario). Died February 28, 1933, Vancouver, British Columbia. Like many young women of her generation she was a teacher. she served as principal  and later as an inspector of schools. By 1889 she had followed her dream and graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto just a year after her sister Susanna 'Susie' Carson (1868-1908). The two sister opened a practice and later Jennie was in practice with Dr. James Henry Duncan in Chatham, Ontario. The family relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia where she worked with the Vancouver Young Womens Christian Association (Y W C A). Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Susanna 'Susie' Carson-Moyes

Medical Missionary

née Carson. Born February 1868, Amaranth, Ontario. Died February 7, 1908, Chatham, Ontario. Susie graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Ontario in 1888. Her sister Jennie Carson (1865-1933) would graduate from medical college just a year later. The two sisters opened a practice together in Penceville, Ontario. She married a former missionary Petrus Rijnhard on September 15, 1894 and the couple left for Lhasa, Tibet travelling by boat, and mule cart the couple were attacked by robbers, encountered a Muslim Rebellion, and their guides deserted them. Petrus disappeared and Susie's baby died returning home within four years. She wrote of their efforts in Tibet in the book, Tibetans in Tent and Temple. In 1902  returned to Tibet and founded the Disciples of Christ Mission, IN 1905 she married a second time to James Moyes and the couple worked in Chengdu, China. Susie returned home to Canada in 1907 in poor health and was cared for by her sister.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Mabel Aileen Cassidy-Mortimore  3733
Medical Missionary
née Cassidy. Born September 8, 1880, Toronto, Ontario. Died December 4, 1966, Toronto, Ontario.  Mabel graduated with a medical degree from Trinity College, University of Toronto in 1902. Upon Graduation, she and Dr. Martha Agnes Philip, a graduate doctor from Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax, Nova Scotia, travelled to Chengtu, China as medical missionaries. The ladies endured a six month voyage of primitive travel in China to reach the hospital where they were to would serve. The two were sponsored by the Canadian Women's issionary Society. When in China Mabel met Rev. William John Mortimore (1876-1972) and in 1905/1906 the couple were married. The would have three children during their years of service together in China.   Source: Petticoat Doctors by by Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown, N. S. Pottersfield Press, 1990 under Martha Agnes Philip; Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2022)
Anne 'Annie' Sutherland Cavers

 

Born 1888, Dutton, Ontario. Died November 1971, When Annie was teenager relocated to Calgary, Alberta to attend high school. By the time she was 18 she had graduated from Calgary Normal School (Teacher's college). After graduation she joined her family who now lived in the Okanagan in British Columbia and began teaching in Armstrong from 1910 through 1918 becoming principal in 1917. The family tells that Annie was heartbroken at this time with the death of her fiancée. By 1920 she was teaching in Vernon, British Columbia. At 36 Annie enrolled at the Vancouver General Hospital (VGH) School of Nursing where she earned the Alison Cummings medal for highest standing. In 1927 she became Instructress of Nursing at VGH. She retired in 1947. She wrote a book in retirement, Our School of Nursing 1899 to 1949.  Source: Anne Sutherland Cavers (1888-1971) from School Teacher to Nurse Teacher. Vancouver General Hospital School of Nursing Alumnae Association. online (accessed 20210)

Helen Chan

Born June 19, 1947. Helen graduated from the University of Hong Kong in 1971. Dr. Chan had a general practice in Hong Kong prior to immigrating to Canada in the mid 1970's.  This physician has been a main stay as pediatric oncologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto from 1979. She also serves as a professor of pediatrics at the University of Toronto. She is renowned internationally for her treatment of retinoblastoma, a rare eye cancer. Because of her research more than 90% of diagnosed children can be cured with chemotherapy.   In 2018 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario. (2018)

Lillian Alice Chase

Born 1894, Cornwallis, Nova Scotia. Died August 28, 1987, Ottawa, Ontario. Lillian attended Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, where she established herself as a capable athlete from 1912-1916. She was active in student government and in literary societies and was editor of the Aftenaeum, the student newsletter. She attempted to teach at Port William, Nova Scotia but said she would rather scrub floors than teach! Her mother encouraged her to study medicine and she graduated the University of Toronto after which she worked at the Banting Institute for Insulin Research. From 1924 through 1942, Dr. Chase practiced medicine in Regina, Saskatchewan and was known for her expertise with Diabetics. During World War ll (1939-1945), she served in the Royal Canadian Medical Corps. After the war she practiced medicine in Toronto and became affiliated with Women’s College Hospital. She founded the Canadian Diabetic Association and in 1967 she became a “senior member” of the Canadian Medical Association. After she retired she moved to Ottawa to be closer to her family. Sources: Turn out and Cheer! Sports in Wolfville 1970-1950 Acadia University website (accessed April 2013): Herstory: The Canadian Women’s Calendar 2006. Saskatoon: Coteau Books, 2005.

Margaret Rebecca Chase-Collins 3737 née Chase. Born 1896, Port Williams, Nova Scotia. Died November 11, 1977. Margaret attended Acadia University, Wolfville, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1918 and then entered Dalhousie Medical College. Internships were still difficult for women to find in Canada so Margaret went to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. and later she became a staff member of a medical institute in upper New York State, U.S.A. In September 1927 she married Dr. Ross Collins and by 1930 the couple had settled in Edmonton, Alberta. The couple had three children.  During the Second World War (1939-1945) she and Dr. Mary Hunter managed the Red Cross Blood Donor Clinic. She also assisted in the administration of anaesthesia at the University Hospital in Edmonton.  After the war she conducted a well-baby clinc for the city health department and worked in a practice with Dr. Mildred Newell. She retired in 1963. The Canadian Red Cross honored her work with an honorary life membership in the Edmonton Branch. She served as well as a member of the Red Cross Society's council and executive. She was also a member of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada and the Women's University Club. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Nancy Ann Rodger Chenoweth

née Rodger. May 31, 1873, Belwood, Ontario. Died February 15, 1954, Peterborough, Ontario. Nancy earned her medical degree at Trinity College in Toronto, Ontario in 1892. She moved with her Methodist minister husband to the Canadian North-West Territory (Now Alberta) and practiced medicine where ever they settled. She was for awhile in Walsh, near Medicine Hat, then Pincher Creek and finally they moved further west to Michel, British Columbia. After she was widowed in 1911 she studies X-ray technology at the University of Chicago in the U.S.A.. She settled in Michigan, in the U.S.A. and it is said the patients were sent to her from miles around to have special benefits of her machine. Source :The indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke Irwin, 1974), Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Phebe Kirsten Christianson-Thompson 3738 Born September 5, 1897, Glace Bay, Nova scotia. Died ???? The family followed their father who had a job in Edmonton and later in the foothills of the Rockies. She was able to complete her high school in Alberta. After graduation her family moved back to Nors Scotia settling in North Sydney. After taking a business course in Sydney she became a stenographer with the Nova Scotial Steel and Coal Company. Inspired by other woman doctors, she quickly studied in areas required and enrolled in the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax. In 1920 she took some time to be with family and upon return she lived with the family of Rev. S. S. Thompson. On June 21, 1923 she married one of the sons of the family, Dr. Williard Own Thompson. She became a member of the Delta Gamma Club, a society for Dalhousie women. She was also a member of the Student Christian Movement. After her medical studies she took her internship with the Children's Hospital, Halifax. She then attended the Harvard Medical School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She and her husband both worked at the metabolism laboratory in the thyroid  clinic at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. In 1929 they relocated  to work at the Rush Medical College at the University of Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. where they worked for 16 years. The couple opened a private practice in Chicago from 1947 through 1954 when she became a widow and single parent to four children. She became editor of the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (J C E M) and the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (J A J S). She remained editor at J A G S until 1982 when she was 84 years old. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Victoria Chung

Medical Missionary

Born 1897, Victoria, British Columbia. Died South Guangzhou Province, China, May 1966. As a child growing up she taught Sunday School at her Church , joined girls groups and took music lessons in Chinatown. Her mother was a working nurse with irregular hours so Victoria boarded at the school where she proclaimed that she wanted to be a missionary in China. In 1917 the Women’s Missionary Society (W M S) offered Victoria a university scholarship. Since British Columbia prohibited Chinese people from entering any profession, Victoria studied medicine at the University or Toronto, the only Canadian school to accept female medical students in Canada, at that time. Graduating in 1922, she was the first woman of Chinese descent to become a doctor in Canada. The W M S sent her to Marion Barclay Hospital for Women and Children in China, fulfilling her childhood dream of becoming a missionary. Her family would also join her in China. Not only was she a doctor making house calls for the sick but she also taught at the local nursing school She modernized medical facilities and even bought an ambulance in 1932. In all she would work 43 years in China. She remained during the Japanese invasion in the 1930 and later when Communism was introduced into China she again remained to serve the sick. Her funeral was attended by some 2000 people. There is a three meter high statue of Victoria in the lobby of Jiangnen Central Hospital in South Guangzhou Province where she served. On December 8, 2012 the City of Victoria, British Columbia declared Victoria Chung Day while in China, her accomplishments were recognized on the 100th anniversary of the Jiangnen Central Hospital. Sources: From the pages of three ladies: Canadian women missionaries in Republican China. By Deborah Shulman (MA Thesis, Concordia University, 1996) ; Victoria Chung: a Legacy of unselfish service by Xiao Kaigang. Womenofchina.cn accessed January 2012 ; 100 more Canadian Heroines by Merna Forester (Dundurn, 2011)

Pearl Chute

Medical Missionary

née Smith. Born January 25, 1871*, St. Catherines, Ontario. Died January 12, 1948, Toronto, Ontario. In 1895 she graduated in medical studies at the Women’s Hospital, University of Toronto. She became the 1st woman doctor to intern in Canada when she was at St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto. In 1896 she left to begin a career to join her brother, Everette Chute, and her finance in India. She married a medical doctor, the Rev. Jesse Chute (1861-????) in India where they would raise the five children. Jesse built his wife the Akidu’s Star of Hope Hospital in 1898. It consisted of three rooms, one room for women, a room for men, and an office and dispensary in the middle. Pearl sent promising students to Vellore to stud medicine and she soon had qualified Indian staff working with her. She served as the 1st woman doctor in the Baptist Mission, in a career that covered 40 years of service. Her small hospital was replaced by a sturdy stone building staffed by qualified Indian staff. She was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind medal for outstanding service to India.* her birth is sometime reported as 1872.  Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker, Clarke Irwin, 1974; Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021) .

Harriet Faxton Clarke

née Faxton. Born Brockville, Ontario. She began her medical studies at the Ontario  Women’s Medical College, Toronto, but after two years she relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1892 she was the 1st woman to graduate from the Manitoba Medical College. After graduation she married Dr Andrew Clarke of Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. In June 1899 she was advertising her medical practice in Billings, Montana, U.S.A. Sources: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker, Clark Irwin, 1974. (2021)

Annie MacKenzie Cleland

née Chambers. Born December 25, 1859, Port Elgin, Canada West (now Ontario). Died August 25,1919, Vancouver, British Columbia. Annie graduated medical studies from Trinity College, Toronto in 1892. She did her post graduate work in London, England, Edinburgh, Scotland and Vienna, Austria. She settled in British Columbia in 1898 where in1899 she married a lawyer, Hugh Mackenzie Cleland (1859-1903). She was one of the 1st women doctors to be licensed in British Columbia. In 1906 she travelled around the world and took a position at Lady Kinnaird’s Memorial Hospital, Lucknow, India. Back in Canada she settled in Victoria. British Columbia where she opened her own practice. Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker. (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin Co. Ltd, 1974) : Obituary, Medical Association Journal Vol. 61 December 1919;Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Harriet Macmillan Cockburn 3172

Born September 3, 1873, Toronto, Ontario. Died December 16, 1948, Toronto, Ontario. In 1897 Annie graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  She worked at the Cobourg Asylum for the Insane, Ontario. In 1906 she relocated to Regina Saskatchewan. At the outbreak of the first World War she  became a part of the foreign medical and humanitarian aid arriving in Serbia. She was posted to the Stobart Unit and helped with the 'Great Escape' with the Serbian people trekking through the mountain is winter fighting snow, hunger, frostbite, and typhus. 40,000 people perished in this 'Escape'. She adopted a Serbian orphan after the war. She became a medical inspector for schools in the Toronto, Area.  Some of her papers are maintained in the Cockburn Family Fonds at the Archives of the University of Toronto. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021); Great Women in the Great War by Slavica Popovic Filipovic (2020). (2021)

May Cohen

Born 1931, Montreal, Quebec.  She relocated with her family to grow up in Toronto. In 1955 May earned her medical degree from the University of Toronto where she earned a gold medal for academic excellence. May 1st practiced family medicine in Toronto and then in 1977 joined McMaster University's Faculty of Health Sciences, Hamilton, Ontario. May Married Dr. Gary Cohen and the couple had 3 children.  May co-founded the Women's Health Office at McMaster, the 1st of its kind in Canada and also the Women's Health InterSchool Curriculum Committee for Ontario's medical schools. From 1991 to 1996 she served the Faculty of Health Sciences as associate dean of Health Services. Her work has garnered her numerous awards including: the Federation of Medical Women of Canada Ortho Award for the Promotion of Women's Health, the Governor General's Award in Commemoration of the Person's Case, the Leadership Development Award from the American Association of Medical Colleges, the Hamilton Academy of Medicine Distinguished Service Award and the Hamilton Woman of the Year award in the field of health, sports and fitness. She has also had a research chair named after her at the Faculty of Health Sciences. McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. The May Cohen Award for Women Mentors is presented to a woman physician who had demonstrated outstanding mentoring. The Federation of Medical Women of Canada offers the May Cohen Award annually to the full member who best personifies the legacy of Dr. May Cohen. In 2014 she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame.

Alice Constantineau          3173 née McLaughlin. Born May 18, 1859, Mono Mills, Canada West (now Ontario). Died October 12, 1933, Ottawa, Ontario.  In 1887 Alice graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  As well as opening her own practice in the city she was a demonstrator of anatomy at the medical college. June 8, 1891 she married a lawyer, Albert Constantineau and the couple settled in L'Orignal, Ontario. Alice left the profession. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.
Margaret Amelia Corlis      3135 née Walker. Born Villa Nova, Norfolk, Ontario. Died January 6, 1925, Grafton, Australia. On September 22, 1862 she married a future doctor, Josiah Corlis (died 1922). Margaret herself attended the Women's Medical College, Kingston, Ontario and graduated in 1885. The couple immigrated to Bellingen, New South Wales, Australia and then to Menzies a booming gold mine town where Margaret was the first woman doctor in Western Australian goldfield. She travelled by camel to many of her patients. The couple returned to New South Wales in 1903. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Agnes Douglas Craine      3136

Born October 9, 1861, Smith's Falls, Canada West (now Ontario). Died February 26, 1937, Smith's Falls, Ontario. After high school Agnes taught school for a few years. In 188 she graduated from the Women's Medical College, Kingston, Ontario.  She left for England to do some graduate studies and acquired medial licentiates from Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland. With her studies complete she returned to Smith's Falls. In 1936 she made a donation of $350,000.00 as a tribute to George Monroe Grant, Principal of Queen's University, who had opened courses for women to study medicine. The Money funded the Crain Biochemistry building and the Crain chair in Biochemistry. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Georgina Lillian Crawford  3174

née Urquhart. Born March 28, 1882, Dunvegan, Ontario. Died February 2, 1959, New York State, U.S.A.  In 1890 the family relocated to Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1905 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, Ontario. She then did post graduate studies in New York, U.S.A. Returning to Vancouver she was appointed as the first medical inspector of schools in 1907. August 18, 1909 she married Gustavus Crawford and the couple settled at East Orange, New Jersey, U.S.A. She worked for 21 years as physician for the Essex County Vocational and Technical School for Girls and 23 years with the Bell Telephone Company. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.

Mary Elizabeth Crawford

Born June 2, 1876, Lancashire, England. Died June 6, 1953, Invermere, British Columbia. After the death of her father she emigrated to Ottawa with her mother who at one time was the principal of the Presbyterian Ladies College. Mary originally followed her mother’s footsteps and the accepted career path of the day and attended the Ottawa Normal School (teacher’s college). She attended the University of Toronto and taught school in Ottawa. After the death of her mother Mary followed her desire to attend medical school in Toronto. She did her post graduate medical studies in the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women and Children in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. She relocated to Winnipeg, Manitoba and practiced medicine for eight years privately. She was appointed Chief Medical Inspector for the public schools of Winnipeg in 1909. The position of  Medical inspector for schools was one of the few medical positions deemed acceptable for women at this time. Mary was the only doctor giving medical examinations to school children, a job she did until she was 75 years old retiring only in 1941.  Through her interest in mental retardation she introduced metal testing into the schools and organized special classes for the mentally handicapped. She was a member of the Manitoba Medical Association, Alpine Club of Canada, and Women’s Canadian Club; a founding member and first president of the University Women’s Club, and President of the International Association Women Physicians. In 1930-31 she was President of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. She took an active part in the interest of women’s suffrage, and was president of Women’s Equality League. Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker. (Toronto: Clark Irwin, 1974)

Jean Flatt Davey

SEE - Military

Isabella Mary Davidson        3175
Medical Missionary
née Thomson. Born May 8, 1874, Scarborough, Ontario .Died January 15, 1970, Scarborough, Ontario. Granddaughter to the first settlers in Scarborough Isabella graduated in 1902 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She was the first woman in Scarborough to become a doctor.  October 21, 1903 she married Rev. and Dr. David Davidson. The couple became missionaries to India where they served for forty years. The retired home to Scarborough. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.
Mary Eleanor Davidson        3176 née Allen. Born November 13, 1862, Fordwich, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 3, 1914, Spokane, Washington, U.S.A.  Mary graduated in 1895 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. March 15, 1899 she married James Davidson, a Winnipeg businessman. later in life the couple relocated to Spokane, Washington, U.S. A. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.
Annie Davis                          3177

Born May 4, 1874, Jarvis, Ontario. Died March 5, 1919, Hamilton, Ontario. Like so many women of her era she became a teacher and helped put her younger siblings through high school. In 1902 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She practiced for a time in Brigden, Ontario and about 1907 relocated to Hamilton, Ontario where she once again opened her practice. Her sister ran a pharmacy on the main floor of their building and Annie had her medical offices on the second floor. The Hamilton Public Library holds some of her medical equipment. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.

Harriet 'Hattie' Amelia Davis  3137 née Walker. Born December 25, 1858, Wolfe Island, Ontario. Died May 12, 1901, Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.A. Hattie married Adoniram Walker on January 4, 1876. She studied at the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario graduating in 1890. During her studies she suffered the death of her son. Relocating to Toledo, Ohio she obtained her Licentiate from the State Medical Society. She had her own practice and held operating privileges at St. Vincent Hospital. She returned to Kingston for five years and then went back to Kent, Ohio, U.S.A. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Clara Jane Demorest            3138

Born March 7, 1862, Empey Hill, Lennox And Addington County, Ontario, Canada West (now Ontario). Died January 20, 1912, Toronto, Ontario. Like many  young ladies of her era Clara was a teacher. She taught Tyendinaga Mohawk students in the Bay of Quinte area of Ontario. Leaving teaching she attended the Women's Medical College at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario graduating in 1890. She opened her medical practice in Napanee, Ontario. In 1905 she relocated to Calgary, Alberta. She returned to Ontario as  a patient of the Toronto Asylum where she dies of dementia. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Evelyn Dickson          3139

Born April 1851, Kingston, Canada West (now Ontario). Died August 15, 1896, Kingston, Ontario. Annie's father, Dr. John Robinson Dickson (1818-1892) was one of the founders of the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston. Annie herself graduated  graduated in 1886 and then took post graduate studies in New York, U.S.A. She set up her practice at first in Brockville, Ontario but then returned to Kingston. She was a member of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society where she served as treasurer. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Anna Marion Dougall  4167 née Brown. Born September 3, 1904, Eddy's Mills, Ontario. Died August 26, 1987, Petrolia, Ontario. Graduating from school in Oil Springs, Ontario she went on to study medicine at the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, graduating in 1927. She married Dr. Roswell Douglas and in 1930 the coup settled in Petrolia. With the onslaught of World War ll (1939-1945) Roswell served overseas in the Canadian services and after the war he remained in Europe as director of missing persons until 1953. Marion wh was by then the mother of three children took over the medical practice in Petrolia. Marion was also a world traveler and as stated in her memorial she felt she had traveled around the globe twice. She served the community of Patrolia caring for her clients for over 40 years. Source:Doc Dougall by MickeyMaple, The young Canuckstorian; Canadian History for Kids by Kids. online (accessed 2022)
Margaret Ellen Douglass

Born January 12, 1878, Stanley,  New Brunswick  Died July 11, 1950, Winnipeg, Manitoba.  She studied medicine at the University of Toronto, and some postgraduate training in England and the U.S.A. She practiced medicine in Saint John, N.B. prior to moving to Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1909. In 1914 she organized the Winnipeg Women's Volunteer Reserve. During WW l she became an officer in the Royal Army Medical Corps (R A M C) and served with the Women's Auxiliary Army Corps, holding the rank of major.  She was awarded the Allies Medal and the British War Medal for her service. In 1927, she travelled around the world visiting medical centers in India and China to teach better methods for caring for women. During her lifetime, she held a number of executive positions in women's organizations including being president of both the Canadian Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs and the Winnipeg Women's Canadian Club. She received a life membership in the University Women's Club in 1950, and was elected Honorary President of the Federation of Medical Women in 1946. In 1948, she was given the title of Commander Sister of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem by the St. John's Ambulance Brigade in recognition of her services. Sources :Government of Manitoba. Status of Women. Women working for Healthy Communities by Ada Ducas et all October 2001. Online (accessed December 2011) ; Memorable Manitobans. Online (accessed December 2011).

Jean/Jean 'Jennie' Isabelle Dow

Medical Missionary

(Baptized Jane Dow) Born June 25, 1870, Fergus, Ontario. Died January 16, 1927, Peking, China (now Beijing). By 15 she had earned her teaching certificate. By 1895 she had graduated in medical studies from Trinity College, University of Toronto. She became a medical missionary with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission in chine. She quickly learned the local Chinese language and in 1897 she opened the 1st women’s hospital in Honan, China treating 400 patients in her 1st month of service. In 1900 she was forced to take furlough during the Boxer Rebellion and used her time away from China to take updating medical courses in New York City in the U.S.A. She was back in China in April 1902 opening a women’s hospital in Changte. She was the only woman doctor practicing medicine in the area for almost 20 years. In 1918 she was joined by Dr. Isabelle McTavish (1881-1953)  and both women worked through the 1920-21 famine. The Chinese government honoured Jean with a medal for her work during the famine. Jeannie was among the 1st to isolate the organism which caused a local disease Kola Azar. In 1925 she took another force furlough during civil unrest but by 1926 she was back in China to open her hospital. Sources: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Clarke Irwin, 1974) : D C B Vol. XV (1921-1930. Online (Accessed April 2014) (2020)

Bertha Dymond             3178

Born August 7, 1866, London, England. Died August 1931, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. In 1869 the Dymond family immigrated to Canada settling in Toronto, Ontario. Bertha graduated from the Ontario Medical School for Women, Toronto, in 1892. She worked as an instructor in physiology and hygiene at St. Margaret's College and ran a rooming house. She practiced medicine for several years in Toronto. In the 1910's she  moved to Black River First Nations, Lac du Bonnet Manitoba and then worked at the Public Health Department , Regina, Saskatchewan.  By 1923 she was living in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. as a U.S. citizen. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.

Ruth Easser  3620 Born March 23, 1922, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1975. Ruth graduated in 1945 as one of the few Jewish women medical students from the University of Toronto. Many medical students served during World War ll and the university accelerated their medical training. Shortly after completion of her officer training in the Canadian Women's Army Corps (C W A C) she left the military Ruth was a pioneer who specialized in psychoanalysis contributing to her field as a teacher and researcher at Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. developing the Centre of Psychoanalytic Training and Research and the Toronto Psychoanalytic Society and Institute where she taught the last five years of her life. Her life story was written in the book; The Unsung Psychoanalyst; The Quiet Influence of Ruth Easser by Mary Kay O'Neil in 2004. (2022)
Elizabeth Cordelia 'Corrie' Eaton

Born 1910, South Wales, United Kingdom. Died January 31, 2015, Moncton, New Brunswick. Corrie studied medicine at London University at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine for Women in 1934. In 1938 she married Dr. Robert Burnell Eaton. Shortly after their marriage the couple immigrated to Canada opening their medical practice in Amherst, Nova Scotia. The couple would have six children. After WW ll they relocated to Sackville, New Brunswick, and then finally settled in Moncton. Corrie served with the St. John Ambulance and with the St. John Cadets for many years. She was honoured as a Serving Sister in the Order of St. John in 1963, followed in 1974 with becoming an Officer in the Order and was awarded the Victoria Medal and Bar. She also served on the Board for the Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) in Moncton. In 1970 she wrote licensing exams for the Medical Council of Canada and at the age of 60 she and her husband shut up their practice once again. She ran the 1st Well Woman Clinic at Moncton City Hospital. The couple retired in 1978. An active member of the Canadian Federation of University Women, Elizabeth was made her Club's Honorary President for life. In 2006 Elizabeth donated funds to the Atlantic Baptist University for a new entrance scholarship.

Mary Lee Edward

Born September 14, 1885, Petrolia, Ontario. Died September 1980 , New York U.S.A. In 1902 Mary entered medical school at the University of Toronto (U of T). She was the only woman in her class and was pelted with chalk and assaulted with cat calls. She persevered graduating in 1908. Although she was offered a study position at U of T she soon found her mentor had no interest in her work. Mary set out to work at the New York Infirmary for Women and Children. Here she was granted a $1,000.00 study program in Vienna, Austria. Unpin her return to New York she became the chief resident doctor. When the American male doctors signed up for service in World War l in 1917 Mary became a surgeon at New York’s Hospital for Ruptured and Crippled. Shortly after she had gain some surgical experience she also joined an American Medical Unit overseas. She was in the 1st unit to go overseas. In France many of the unit returned home when offered to serve with a French unit at the front lines. Mary and an American colleague Caroline Finley served on the front lines often accepting patients by the 100’s at a time and often working 60 hour stretches. The two women were awarded the Croix de Guerre by the Government of France right on the front lines for their services. Back at the University of Toronto her name was added to the Role of Service, a rare honour for someone enrolled in an American Unit and serving on front lines with a French Unit. Although Mary served at the level of a Lieutenant, women doctors in WW1 were not accorded any rank. Mary returned to New York after the war and continued to practiced medicine until she was 85 years old! She retired to Sudbury, Ontario to be close to family. She is buried in Petrolia, Ontario. Sources: Carlotta Hacker; The Indomitable Lady Doctors (Toronto: Clark Irwin Co., 1974); Suggestion submitted by Mary’s great niece Brenda Edington.

Elizabeth Embury             3140

Born July 25, 1866, Napanee, Canada West (now Ontario). Died February 4, 1945, Kingston, Ontario. Like many young ladies of her era she took up teaching as a profession. Wanting more out of life, she graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, graduating in 1888. She established a practice in Belleville, Ontario as a specialist in diseases of women and children. In 1906 she relocated to Ottawa and practiced medicine there for 37 years. While attending the 1906 Canadian Medical Association Convention she became a founder of the the Federation of Medical Women in Canada. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Octavia Grace England née Ritchie.  Born January 16, 1868, Montreal, Quebec. Died February 1, 1948, Montreal, Quebec. .  Octavia originally attended Kingston Women's Medical College in Ontario but transferred to Bishop's College in Sherbrooke, Quebec to complete her studies in 1891. She would be the 1st woman to be valedictorian  at McGill University even though she was originally refused entry because she was a woman. She was the 1st woman to graduate from a medical school in Quebec. While a student she an Maude Abbot formed the Association for the Professional Education of Women to advocate for other women wishing to attend universities for advanced degrees. She was appointed as a demonstrator in Anatomy at Bishop's and also was an assistant gynecologist at Western Hospital.  In 1897 Octavia married Dr. Frank Richardson England. From 1911 through 1917 she was president of the local Council of Women. In 1914 she represented Canada at the 1914 International Council of Women in Rome, Italy. By 1921 she was president of the Montreal Women's Liberal Club and went on to become vice-president of the National Council of Women of Canada. In 1922 she represented Canada once more at the Pan-American Conference of Women in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A.  She was also active in La Ligue des Droits de la Femme seeking the vote for women in Quebec. In 1930 she ran for a seat in the Canadian House of Commons as the Liberal Candidate from Mount Royal. Some of her personal papers are preserved at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine, McGill University. In 1979 the Octavia Grace Ritchie England Scholarship was created by the McGill Alumnae. (2021)
Angela Enright

Born 1887, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died July 21, Saint John, New Brunswick. It was not common for all girls to graduate from high school let along a Black girl. After High School, Anna attended Norman School in Halifax to earn her teaching certificate. She was only allowed to teach in the Black community. She returned to school to study at business College. She then tried the Civil Service examinations and placed third over all those writing the exam. In 1912 she became the 1st Black Canadian appointed the permanent federal civil Service. She began with working at the Dominion Lands Branch of the Department of the Interior. In 1938 she was the principal clerk in the Immigration Branch of the Department of Mines and Resources. She enjoyed writing poetry in her time off work. She had her verse published in various Canadian magazines and she also  had an occasional column in the Ottawa Journal called Citadel which was dedicated to poetry. She retired from the federal Civil Service in 1945 and returned from Ottawa to Saint John, New Brunswick where she worked as a stenographer in a law firm and for awhile worked in Washington D.C. In 1967 she published a chapbook of her Citadel Columns from the newspaper and this may indeed be the 1st collection of poems published by an Afro-Canadian woman. She continued her formal learning after her retirement by taking creative writing courses at the University of New Brunswick.  Source: Herstory: The Canadian Women's calendar. 2008  (Saskatoon Women's Calendar Collective / Coteau Books, 2007)

Victoria Sarah Ernst 3730 Born 1856, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Died  October 4, 1940, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia. Victoria taught school and tried to safe foe a medical education. She twice helped her father when he left impoverished after fires. Delayed in seeking her desired education she was forty when she entered Dalhousie Medical College in Halifax. Graduating in 1900 her entire class stood when she received her degree in respect for their class 'Queen'. She opened her medical practice in Bridgewater. Although not married she was known to have adopted several boys, often the most unwanted individuals from the orphanage. Always thrifty she invested in several properties in her home town and upon her death left many of the properties to her tenants. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Eva Jeannett Fisher

née Ryan. Born June 11, 1862, Halton, Canada West (now Ontario). Died December 24, 1958, Bracebridge, Ontario. Originally Eva taught school but this was just a means to earn funds to attend and in 1893 graduate from the Toronto Women’s Medical College. She married Arthur William Fisher. The couple settled in Arthur, Ontario where Eva maintained a medical practice for 35 years. She was in charge of the Red Cross Hospital in Tobermory, Ontario for four years. Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Co Ltd, 1974); Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)

Margaret Amanda Flemming
                                 
3179

Born August 28, 1863, Cheltenham, Canada West (now Ontario). Died May 17, 1941, Sipe Springs, Texas, U.S.A. Margaret graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto in 1894. She began her medical practice at the Massachusetts Lunatic Hospital in Worchester, U.S.A. Later she was employed by the Detroit Free Dispensary for Women in Michigan, U.S.A. prior to moving to Belen, New Mexico and Florence City, Colorado, U.S.A. By 1915 she was serving at the Cherokee State Hospital for the Insane, Iowa, U.S.A. She retired to Sipe Springs, Texas, U.S.A. with her sister. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)

Margaret Lillian Foster   3180

née MacMillan. Born July 19, 1867, Tilsonburg, Ontario. Died June 14, 1941, Sarnia, Ontario. Margaret graduated from the Ontario Medical School for Women, Toronto, in 1895. On February 14, 1896 she married Rev. John Cooper Foster in British Columbia. The couple moved to various charges where John was posted as Pastor. In 1907 they were back in Ontario at various postings. The couple retired to Sarnia, Ontario in 1932. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)

Elizabeth 'Beth' Margaret Forbes Born March 25, 1917, Blenheim, Ontario. Died September 20, 1999, Toronto, Ontario. After completing high school  she took courses at the Canadian Business College in 1934 and then worked as a secretary for a year prior to deciding to study medicine. In 1942 she graduated from the University of Western Ontario (now Western University) , London Ontario. She began her medical career in family medicine and finished her internship at St. Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton, Ontario where she would work from 1943 to 1951. In 1952 she became a resident in radiology at the Clevland Clinic in Ohio, U.S.A. and the Strong Memorial Hospital in New York, U.S.A. in 1954.  She became certified in Diagnostic Radiology with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeouns in Canada and a diplomate in Diagnostic Radiology of the American Board of Radiology. Back in Canada she became a staff member at the Woman's College Hospital (W C H) in Toronto as Chief of Radiology in 1955. Working with Dr. Henrietta Banting (1912-1976) she co-authored a study on the use of mammography as a diagnostic tool. As a result of their work the W C H became the first hospital in the country to used mammography to help detect breast cancer.  In 1966 she became an associate Professor at the University of Toronto's Faculty of Medicine. In 1974 she became the first Canadian Woman to become a Fellow of the American College of Radiology. She retired from W C H in January 1975. (2022)
Margaret Ethel Victoria Fraser 3181

Born October 5, 1871, Quebec City, Quebec. Died March 3, 1962, Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.  Margaret earned a Bachelor of Arts from Morrin College in 1894 and went on to earn a medical degree from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, in 1899. She relocated to work at the New England Hospital of Women, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A.  and moved to Denver, Colorado, U.S.A. in 1905 to work at the Denver County Hospital and for the state board of health.  During World War 1 she directed the American Women's Hospital in La Ferte-Milon, France. In 1919 she was presented with the Médaille de la Reconnaissance Française for her service. Returning to Colorado she supported women's rights and environmental protection. She was a member of the International Federation of University Women and was co-founder of the Colorado Mountain Club which helped establish Rocky Mountain National Park. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)

Jean Chamberlain Froese

Born March 27, 1965, St. Thomas, Ontario. Jean received a BSc in biochemistry and her Medical degree in 1991 from the University of Toronto. In 1992 she had a Rotating internship at Toronto East General Hospital. She completed a Royal College Fellowship in Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Western Ontario, London in 1996. In 2000 she worked with neglected mothers and children in Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Pakistan for five years. Since 2005, Dr. Jean became the founding director of Save the Mothers, a Canadian-based charity in Uganda that trains East African leaders to improve maternal and child health across that region. An obstetrician and professor at McMaster University, she is also the founder of McMaster’s International Women’s Health Program. Dr. Jean married journalist Thomas Froese and they have 3 children of their own and an adopted an Ugandan daughter. Together, family lives for 8 months a year in Uganda and from May to August they return to Hamilton, Ontario. In 2009 she was awarded the Teasdale-Corti Humanitarian Award from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada for her work in improving maternal health around the world. In 2012 she was awarded the Prix d’excellence for going beyond the call of duty again from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada. In 2012 Dr. Jean also joined Serving in MissionCanada, a Christian mission, as a medical missionary and that same year she was presented with the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. She was inducted into the Hamilton Gallery of Distinction in 2013 and has received the Order of Canada in 2014. She was an invited panellist at the Canadian government’s Summit on Maternal, Newborn and Child Health in 2014 (Toronto, ON). Her book Where have All The Mother’s Gone? was updated in a 4th printing in 2016. (2020)

Mary Fulkerson

née MacNeill/McNeil. Born 1859? Arran Township, Canada West (now Ontario). Died ???? After the death of her father in 1884 Mary may have received an inheritance which allowed her to attend the Chicago Illinois Women's Medical College in the U.S.A. in 1887/1888. There were no Canadian medical colleges for women at this time. She did attend the newly available Toronto Women's College for a time in 1888 but returned to Chicago, graduating  in 1891. She was the 1st woman to register with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of British Columbia and was acknowledged to work in Victoria. She became a member of the Victoria Medico Chirurgical Society. In 1907 she returned to Ontario to care for her widowed brother and his daughter in South Hampton but  she did not practice medicine About 1908 she married D. E. Fulkerson never  to practice medicine again. Source: D C B

Ada Alfaretta Funnell          3141

Born December 4, 1864 Portsmouth, Canada West (now Ontario). Died December 21, 1904, Trenton, Ontario. Ada attended Queen's University, Kingston in 1882 with her Bachelor of Arts degree.  By 1887 she had graduated from the Women's Medical College at Queen's. She followed this last degree with a year of post graduate studies in New York. U.S.A.  Returning To Canada she set up a practice in Hamilton, Ontario. Two years later she was a physician at the Woodlawn Home, Trenton, Ontario where she cared for her parents. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Rozelle Victoria Myers Funnell née Myers. Born September 4, 1852, Martville, New York, U.S.A. Died December 13, 1913, Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.A.  Like many women of her generation Rozelle worked as a teacher She taught in Portland, Oregon, U.S.A. on on June 2, 1877 she married Robert Funnell, a brother to Dr. Ada Funnell (1864-1904) in Harrowsmith, Ontario. She graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, in 1890. For two years she taught electro-therapeutics at Queen's. She became resident physician with the Deer Park Sanatorium, Ottawa, making scientific application of electric treatments.  She published a booklet of verses, A Jubilee Offering in 1897 and wrote words to a song about Sir John A. Macdonald (1815-1891), the first Prime Minister of Canada. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Ruth Galbraith

née Witrofsky. Born January 15, 1932, Lethbridge, Alberta. Died October 23, 2013, Kingston, Ontario. As a young child she went with her mother to live in Austria. The returned to Canada after a few years and eventually the family settled in Ottawa after Worlds War ll. Ruth attended Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario, on scholarship to study medicine. She was one of 6 women in her class which would graduate in 1957. In 1954 she married medical student Peter Galbraith and the couple had 3 children. During her internship she gave birth but unlike most women of her era who would stay home to care for her family, Ruth was asked to return to work. The baby would sleep in the linen closet while she did her medical rounds. In the 1960’s she and other medical women set up their own rotational babysitting system so that each would spend one day a week babysitting children and therefore be able to work 4 days a week. Since the women were married they were paid less than the men doing the same medical research. It was felt that they were married, after all, and their husbands were bringing money into the home. The women worked for less and the university saved on its budget. When her children where in school Ruth started a special infant clinic at Hotel Dieu Hospital in Kingston and as well she worked at various medical jobs in research and teaching. She was mentor to many women when she pioneered the possibility of working with a family. She never considered herself a pioneer, rather Ruth felt privileged to be able to work within her profession even though she had a family. After retirement Ruth continued to use her energies for her growing family, loving grandchildren, golfing and gardening. At one point, upon a dare, she wrote a murder mystery which became published. Source: “Fumbling toward equity” by Sarah Leonard, Queen’s Medical Review. 1/17/2 Online (Accessed April 2014) ; Obituary Online (Accessed April 2014) (2020)

Marion Gillen              3143

née Livingston. Born March 1861, Kingston, Canada West (now Ontario). Died July 11, 1900, Belleville, Ontario. Marion graduated from the Women's Medical College, (WMC) Queen's University, Kingston in 1887. After graduation for a short time she worked at the WMC as a demonstrator of Anatomy. She became an assistant physician at the Blackwell Island Asylum, New York City, U.S.A. in 1889. She relocated to Mt. Morris, New York in 1895. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Blair Gordon

née Young. Born January 14, 1861, London, Canada West (now Ontario) Died September 22, 1928, London, Ontario. Margaret  was an active supporter of the suffrage movement and worked with Dr. Emily Howard Stowe (1831-1903) and her daughter Dr. Ann Augusta Stowe-Gullen (1857-1943) to further the movement. She served as vice president of the Canadian Suffrage Association and President of the Toronto Suffrage Association. She was also a member of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU). On September 30, 1885 she married George A. Gordon. In 1889 she became a member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons and finished her medical training at Trinity College, Toronto in 1898. She was an executive member of the Peace and Arbitration Society and in 1912 served as Treasurer of the Local Council of Women.  Source: Men and Women of the Time: A handbook of Canadian Biography…by Henry James Morgan. (Toronto: Briggs, 1912.) ; The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Co Ltd, 1974);  Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Ann Gould    3182

Born July 25, 1869, Coleraine, Ontario. Died October 30, 1947, Youngstown, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. The family relocated to Hanover, Ontario where after high school Margaret Ann taught public school. She left teaching and graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, in 1898. She interned at the Women's College Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. after which she remained on staff for two years.  Relocating to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania she practiced medicine for over 30 years. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)

Lucinda Graham

Medical Missionary  3183

Born December 16, 1862, Dundalk, Canada West (now Ontario). Died October 13, 1894 Tientsin, China. After attending Normal School (teacher's college) she taught for only one year. By 1891 she had graduated from the Ontario Medical School for Women, Toronto. She became in charge of a public dispensary in Toronto. In the fall of 1892 she sailed as a medical missionary to Honan, China. Learning the language she served at mission stations in Shanghai, Arima, Japan. In the fall of 1894 she was helping with a cholera breakout when she contracted the disease and died within one day. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)

Susannah 'Susan' Grant 3184
Medical Missionary
née McCalla. Born March 14, 1871, St. Catharines, Ontario. Died November 30, 1970, China. In 1900 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. August 5, 1902 she married Dr. William Harvey Grant while the missionary couple were in India. They continued their journey to  a mission in North Chin and spent over 50 years in missionary service. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)
Elizabeth Rebecca Gray 3185

Born February 4, 1857, Dundas, Canada West (now Ontario) Died March 16, 1925, Toronto, Ontario. Elizabeth graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto along with her two siblings. She graduated in 1890. She worked at the Women's College Hospital, Toronto. She was an active member in the Medical Alumnae Association at the University of Toronto. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)

Jessie Catherine Gray

Born August 26, 1910, Augusta, Georgia, U.S.A. Died October 16, 1978. A distinguished and internationally recognized surgeon, lecturer and researcher, Dr. Gray has so many “1sts” that “The Canadian Encyclopedia” calls her Canada’s 1st lady of surgery. From 1941 until retirement in 1965 she worked with the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto, as associate and as surgeon-in-chief. Here is the list of 1sts: 1934, 1st woman gold medalist in medicine at the University of Toronto; 1939 first woman to hold a master of surgery degree; 1941 first woman resident surgeon a the Toronto General Hospital; 1941 first Canadian woman to become a “fellow” in the Royal College of Surgeons; first woman member of the Central Surgical Society of North America; 1966 1st woman elected to the Science Council of Canada.

Minnie Grace Green

née Levett. Born October 22, 1866, Harley Stanstead County, Canada East (now Quebec). Died December 30, 1933, Tampa, Florida. In 1893 Minnie graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.  A Methodist she was committed to the temperance movement and was a well known lecturer and organizer in Canada. Her lectures referred to the scientific aspects of temperance and had numerous charts giving effects of alcohol and tobacco on health.  January 10, 1898 she married Dr. Edward Mountain in St. Johnsbury, Vermont, U.S.A. but soon divorced. She married a second time to Charles Green on September 3, 1915, Fitchburg, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Minerva Margaret Greenaway

Born June 23, 1873, Tottenham, Ontario. Died September 26, 1906, Toronto. Ontario. After she schooling, Minerva taught school in Tecumseh Township. In her early 20's she became interested in following a career in medicine as schools of medicine became opened to accommodate female medical students. She studied at the Toronto Medical College for Women earning her medical degree on May 31, 1899. She followed up with another year of medical studies at the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women in the U.S.A.. She opened her medical practice in Toronto in 1901 and joined at the faculty of the Ontario Medical College for Women where she lectured until 1906. She lectured to nurses at the Toronto Orthopedic Hospital  for a year and was also a staff member at an out patient clinic run by women She served as president of the student association while at the Ontario Women's Medical College and served on the executive of the school's alumnae association until her death. She was an active supporter of the idea of more women attending medical school and women doctors appointed to hospital positions. Frustrated in her endeavors she saw the founding in 1911 of the Women's College Hospital, the only hospital in Canada to be staffed entirely by women. After nursing family members with typhoid she herself died of the disease. Sources: D C B; Find a Grave Canada.

Mabel Greene

Born September 22, 1945, Fogo Island, Newfoundland. The family relocated to St John's, Newfoundland when Mabel was still a child. In 1970 Mabel completed her medical studies at the Dalhousie School of Medicine in Nova Scotia. Unable to find any male doctors who would hire a woman doctor Dr. Greene opened her own general practice becoming the 1st woman in Newfoundland to do so.  Although not an OB-GYN, Dr. Greene has delivered more than 2,000 babies in Newfoundland . She married James Thomas Cavanaugh (originally of London, Ontario) on August 15, 1970 and the couple has three children. By 2018 Dr. Greene is no longer delivering babies but still sees patients, many of whom were babies she delivered who are now parents, and their parents and grandparents. Suggestion received with thanks from Dr. Greene’s granddaughter, Tessa Green.

Janet Hall Born May 20, 1872, Blenheim Township, Ontario. Died June 25, 1950, Woodstock, Ontario. In 1899 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She went overseas to do graduated studies in Dublin, Ireland, Edinburgh, Scotland, London, England, and Paris, France. Returning to  Woodstock, Ontario she received her medical license December 1900. She set up a practice with Dr. William Tiffany Parke and later with De. Thomas Richmond. She retired in the mid 1940's. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021)
Annie Isabella Hamilton

Medical Missionary

Born 1866, Brookfield, Nova Scotia. Died December 21, 1941, Shanghai, China. Annie took training at the Truro Normal School (teachers' college) to receive her teacher's certificate and then studied at Pictou Academy graduating with a gold medal in 1884. Working as a teacher she saved to enter studies as a doctor. Annie applied to Halifax Medical College (later Dalhousie Medical College) in 1888, seven years after the College had advertised that it would accept female students. Both her parents died just weeks apart during her second year of studies and she took a two year relief from her medical studies to earn monies to continue her medical studies. She graduated in 1894 as the first woman graduate from Dalhousie Medical College. Annie was also a social activist supporting temperance and anti-smoking campaigns at the university and during her medical career. She was unique in her personal appearance and did not succumb to modern fashion such as the bustle. Annie made house calls riding a bicycle wearing a divided skirt. In 1903, after learning Chinese, she sailed to serve as a medical missionary in Shanghai China working with poor and abused women. In 1985 the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E) opened a Brookfield, Nova Scotia chapter in her name and in 1990 they established the Dr Annie Hamilton Scholarship. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990. (2022)

Susanna Hamilton  3187

née Peel Boyle. Born August 17, 1868, Elora, Ontario. Died January 21, 1947, U.S.A. Susanna graduated from the Ontario Medical School for Women, Toronto in 1890. For several years she taught at the medical college. She also wrote literary and scientific papers for various medical journals. She became assistant physician at the Independence State Hospital for the Insane, Des Moines, Iowa, U.S.A. in charge of acute cases in the women's wards. She taught Materia Medical and Therapeutics in the training school and directed the theatrical entertainment for patients. In December 1903 she married Dr. Arthur Stephen Hamilton, and the couple settled in Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. 

Mabel Louise Hanington

Born April 19,1875, Saint John, New Brunswick. Died April 18,1966, New Brunswick. In 1900 she completed her medical studies at the Ontario Medical College for Women, University of Toronto. In 1904 she was serving as a medical missionary in China under the Missionary Society of London, England. Back in New Brunswick by 1919 she  served through to 1935 as medical inspector of Schools. In 1920 alone she had 8,000 children under her supervision. In 1927 she organized and served as the corresponding secretary for the Mental Hygiene Council of New Brunswick. In 1933-1934 she was the President of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. Source: The indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker. Clark Irwin, 1974. (2020);: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021) :

Maria Daria Haust

Born August 18, 1921, Poland. Died January 11, 2022, Toronto, Ontario. Maria earned her first medical degree at the university of Heidelberg, Germany, 1951. Since it was not acceptable for foreigners to practice medicine in Germany, Daria and her new husband Heinz L. Haust emigrated to Canada and she began the process of earning the right to practice in Canada. In the early 1950’s she enjoyed being at home with her tow sons born in 1953 and 1955, while working part time towards her goals of practicing medicine. In 1959-1960 she worked as a post doctoral Fellow in Cincinnati, returning to Kingston in 1960 to become the first woman on the Medical Faculty at Queen’s University, Kingston Ontario. In 1965 the family moved to the University of Western Ontario , London, Ontario. She became a welcome lecturer internationally and as well as a multitude of medical committees she was soon on the boards of five prestigious medical journals. Of all her positions she enjoyed working with her students and is perhaps proudest of her award as best teacher at UWO. Her list of awards is impressive and long: The Canada Council Killam prize in Medicine; the Gold Medal Award from the International Atherosclerosis Society; the Andreas Versalis award, University of Padua; Distinguished Pathologist Award, US/Canadian Academy of Pathology(2004) to name a few. In 2007 she received the Order of Canada. She is still involved with teaching as Professor emeritus at UWO.

Elizabeth Mabel Henderson

Born March 22, 1864, Brockville, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 26, 1911, Hamilton, Ontario.. Elizabeth graduated from Queen's University, Kingston with a Bachelor of Arts with honours.  In 1892 she graduated from the Queen's Women's Medical College. She set up a successful practice in Hamilton, Ontario. She was a founding member of the Hamilton Medical Society and was a mentor to other women doctors. Sadly she never really recovered from an accident when her buggy collided with a street car in the late fall of 1909. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Norman Hennigar-Sanford 3730 née Hennigar. Born July 9, 1873, Noel, Nova Scotia. Died August 9, 1950, Noel, Nova Scotia. After graduating from the local village school Annie became a teacher. She saved enough finances to attend the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax graduating in 1906.  For a few years she practiced in rural Burlington, Nova Scotia. She also served as the local dentist. In 1920 she returned to her hometown of Noel to continue her medical practice. Here she married Frank Northup Sanford (1877-1955) on March 10, 1920. She took up painting hoping to depict some of the unusual barriers she encountered in delivering medical assistance to rural patients. At one point she put a blindfold on her Spooked horse and let him past a pair of bears on  the side of the road. She was made a member of the American Physicians' Art Association. For her beauty was all around. She loved to garden, hook rugs, and make quits.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Anna Jane Henry

Medical Missionary  3188

Born 1863, Albion Township, Ontario. Died January 13, 1942, Toronto, Ontario. In 1898 Anna graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She became a medical missionary with the Methodist Women's Missionary Society After being sidetracked to India during the Boxer Rebellion she served in C hina working with female opium addicts. She also helped to train local women as nurses. After 25 years in China she returned to Canada and worked in Chinatown in Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017.   (2021) :

Annie Ella Higbee

née Carveth. Born October 11,1864 Port Hope, Canada West) (now Ontario).  Died April 26*,1965. Graduating in 1893 from the Ontario Women’s Medical College, Toronto, she practiced in Windsor Ontario for a short time. On January 19, 1897 she married a teacher, Charles E. Higbee and the couple had one son. They moved to California, U.S.A. but in 1912 they were back in Canada in the Peace River District of Alberta. Annie had a shack that served as an office in Grande Prairie but more often than not she was on the trail to serve her clients. In summer she rode on horseback and in winter covered the vast area where clients lived in a one horse sleigh driven by her son. In 1919 the family moved to Toronto. Her brother, George Carveth (1858-   ?) was one of the founders of Toronto Western Hospital where she served as an anesthetist on staff for 10 years. At 65 she retired from the Hospital and opened her own practice in Newcastle, Ontario until 1939. * Her death has been reported with different dates.  Sources: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin Co. Ltd., 1974) ; “Annie Higbee: Pioneer doctor “ by Dorthea Calverley, History is where we stand: A history of the Peace Online (accessed March 2014) ; “Founding Family supports 100 years of Women’s health” in Heart and Soul, Fall 2011 Online (accessed March 2014);  Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

F. Marguerite ' Peggy' Hill

Born May 24, 1919, Toronto, Ontario Died January 15, 2012, Toronto Ontario. While still in high school she declared that she wanted to be a medical doctor. Her family however, did not feel that medicine was a profession for a woman. She attended the University of Toronto and obtained a Masters Degree in Psychology. 1941-1946 she served in the Canadian Women’s Army Corps as a Captain and as one of the few women in the field of psychology. She returned to university to earn her medical degree in 1952, standing at the top of her class. In 1957 she became the first female chief medical resident at the Toronto General Hospital. She joined the Department of Medicine at Women’s College Hospital and for 26 years she practiced as a teacher, clinician and researcher becoming Physician-in-chief of Medicine, the second woman to achieve this distinction. She was a founding member of the Canadian Society for Nephrologists and member of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada. In 1968 she was promoted to full professor at the University of Toronto and became the first woman ever to be appointed to the Board of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce. On July 1, 1994 she became a Member of the Order of Canada. Upon her retirement in 1984 an endowment was established at Women’s hospital in her name. Source: Obituary Globe and Mail January 18, 2012. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario. (2021)

Jennie Hill-Mitchell  4045
Medical Missionary
née Hill. Born January 21, 1869, Bond Head, Ontario. Died October 24,1956, Toronto, Ontario. Jennie studied medicine at Trinity College, University of Toronto.  She became a medical missionary in Honan Province, China working with the American Presbyterian Church. While in China she married Robert Alexander Mitchell (1868-1956) and the couple had three children. She served as a medical missionary for more than 40 years. Source: Carlotta Hacker, The Indomitable Lady Doctors; Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2022)
Anna Marion Hilliard

Born June 17, 1902, Morrisburg, Ontario. Died July 15, 1958 Toronto, Ontario. Marion studied for her Bachelor and Master degrees at the University of Toronto. She completed her post graduate studied in Great Britain and returned to Toronto to work at Women's College Hospital in 1928. In 1947 this medical doctor helped develop a simplified Pap test, which is used to detect cancer in adult women. She specialized in a commonsense approach to childbirth problems and authored a book A Woman Doctor Looks at Love and Life in 1957. After her death a second book “Women and Fatique” was published in 1960. In 1964 her biography, Give my Heart; the Dr. Marion Hilliard Story by Marion O. Robinson was published. (2018)

Gertrude Winifred Hulet

Medical Missionary      
3189

Born April 19, 1871, Norwich, Ontario. Died May 22, 1933, Vuyyuru, India. Gertrude Winnifred graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, in 1894.  She served as a medical missionary with the Women's Society of Western Ontario. Arriving in India and after learning the language in 1900 she served the mission in Ramachandrapuram. By 1904 she was in Vuyyuru where she opened a dispensary and a clinic which developed into a large hospital. She served for 33 years devoting her life to helping the peoples of the area. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Rowena Grace Douglas Hume

Born January 14, 1877, Galt, Ontario. Died October 2, 1966. Rowena studied medicine at Trinity College in Toronto. She did her postgraduate studies in the U.S.A. and in England. She returned to Canada to work at the Ontario Medical College from 1902-1906.  She  became the 1st woman Chief of Obstetrics at Women’s College Hospital. She held this position for 20 years. After retiring from the hospital she opened a private practice. She was a pioneer of planned parenthood programs and opened Canada’s 1st birth control clinic in Hamilton, Ontario on March 3, 1932. She was an ardent supporter of the works of the Salvation Army, Harbour Light Centre and the Fred Victor Mission in Toronto. At 89 she was murdered by a transient worker. These were just the people she would take in to do odd jobs about her home. A small historic plaque dedicated to her is located at her form home 226 Carleton St. in Cabbagetown, an inner neighborhood of the city of Toronto. Source: Cabbagetown People: the social history of a Canadian inner city neighborhood. Online (accessed March 2014)  The indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke Irwin, 1974)

Elizabeth Hurdon       3190

Born January 28, 1868, Bodmin, England. Died January 29, 1941, England. While she was quite young the family immigrated to Canada. Elizabeth attended the Wesleyan Ladies College, Hamilton, Ontario and then graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto in 1895. She worked at John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. with she studied under Canadian Dr. William Osler (1849-1919) specializing in gynaecological pathology. She became the first woman Professor of John Hopkins. She established a private practice in Baltimore. With the outbreak of World War 1 she joined the Royal Academy Medical Corps in 1915. Captain Hurdon served in Malta, Salonika, Greece and later at hospitals in England. After the war she studied the effects of radium therapy in carcinoma of the uterus and was appointed as the first Director of the Marie Curie Hospital, London, England. She received the Order of Commander of the British Empire. After retiring in 1939 she wrote a book on the treatment of uterine Cancer. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Helen Isabel Huston

Medical Missionary

Born September 20, 1927, Innisfail, Alberta. Helen was part of a family of 4 with a father who was a United Church Minister. At 12 she decided to become a medical doctor and be a missionary in China. At a Canadian Girls in Training (C G I T) summer camp in 1945 she was captivated by the stories of Korea from a visiting missionary Elda Daniels.  By 1953 she had completed medical studies at the University of Alberta and sailed to India where she spent 5 years working through the United Church of Canada. She took her 1st year at language school and then was posted to a 35 bed hospital in Dhar as the only doctor. She also worked at a larger medical center in Indore. In 1955 she found herself in Kathmandu, Nepal. From 1960 through 1992, the year of her retirement, she worked for the people of remote villages of Nepal. In 1969, thanks to her efforts the small dispensary was replaced with a hospital. Helen is the 1st foreign doctor to receive an honorary life membership in the Nepal Medical Association. In 1978 the University of Alberta Medical Alumnae Association honored her with the Outstanding Achievement Award and in 1984 an Honorary Doctorate. In 1991 she was the 1st recipient of the Hillary Foundation’s Award for Humanitarian Service. In 1992 Dr Gerald Hankins wrote Helen’s story in A Heart for Nepal: the Dr Helen Huston Story (Windflower Communications). In 1994 Helen was inducted into the Alberta Order of Excellence and the Order of Canada. Source: Lisa Wejna, Great Canadian Women: Nineteen Portraits of Extraordinary Women. (Folklore Publications, 2005)

Mary Evangeline Jackson

née Percy. Born December 27,1904, Dudley England. Died May 6, 2000, Keg River, Alberta.  From the time she was eleven Mary had wanted to study medicine. Graduating from Birmingham University in 1927, as best all round student, she answered a Canadian advertisement for women doctors for the Prairies becoming in 1929 one of the first woman doctors in the province of Alberta. Her practice would cover 560 square kilometers and patients would be reached on horseback. In spring 1929 her trip to settle in Battle River required a 24 hour train trip,18 hours by boat and an eleven hour 28 kilometers wagon ride to work in a small cabin with no electricity and no phone. March 10, 1931, she would marry a persistent suitor, Frank Jackson, and move north to Keg River. Here she settled into home life with two step sons and opened a medical practice for the local Métis, unsupported financially by the government. She and Frank would add two children to the family farm. In 1953 the family was given the Master Farm Award by the province. In 1965 a school was named in Mary’s honour. More acknowledgements of her work would come in the form of the Centennial Medal in 1967, The Woman of the year Award from the Voce of Native Women in 1975.In 1983 she received the Alberta Order of Excellence followed in 1990 with an Order of Canada. Mary always found her work to be a gift not a chore and this was felt by her appreciative clients. Source  Rebel Women: Achievements beyond the ordinary by Linda Kupecek. (Canmore, AB : Altitude Publishing, 2003) pg 83-94. (2021)

June Marion James

Black physician

Born Trinidad. June immigrated to Canada in 1960. She attended the University of Manitoba where she earned her Bachelor in Medicine in 1963 and in 1967 her Medical Degree. In 1976 she was a consultant with the Department of Allergy and Immunology at the Winnipeg Clinic. In 1981 she received the YWCA Woman of the Year Award. In 1993 she earned a Citation for Citizenship from the government of Canada. She is an Assistant Professor with the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba and a consultant with the Children's Centre at the Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg. In 2002 June received the Queen Elizabeth ll Golden Jubilee Award. In 2003-2004 she served as president of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba. She has been named a Fellow of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma, and Immunology. She has served on numerous boards including, the Board of the Canadian Scholarship Trust Foundation, the Board of the Winnipeg Foundation, the Board of the Congress of Black Women's Federation, and The Harambee Housing Coop, an affordable housing project. From 1998 to 2000 she was president of the Manitoba Museum and 2000 to 2002 she was president of the Manitoba Museum Foundation. June 15, 2004 she was invested with the Order of Manitoba. (2022)

Alison Jamieson             3146 Born October 15, 1870, Wicklow, Ontario. Died March 26, 1911, Wicklow, Ontario. In 1892 she graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. She established practice in London, Ontario. After several decades she returned to Wicklow to continue her profession. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Enid Johnson-Macleod   3875 née Johnson. Born 1909, Jacksonville, New Brunswick. Died May 17, 2001. Enid graduated for the Dalhousie University School of Medicine in 1937. She went on to become a specialist anaesthetist. Along with Dr. Harold Griffith (1894-1995) she pioneered the use of curare as a muscle relaxant first used January 23, 1942 at the Montreal Homeopathic Hospital.  It was in 1942 that she married a lawyer, Innis Gordon Macleod, and the couple settled to work in Sydney, Nova Scotia for the next six years.  In 1960 she joined the Dalhousie University Faculty of medicine and retired in 1978 as a professor emeritus.  She was an active member of the Federation of Medical Women of Canada where she served as president 1969/1970. The Federation offers the annual Enid Johnson MacLeod Award for outstanding commitment to women's health research or women's health education. Source: Petticoat Doctors: The first Forty Years in Dalhousie University 1990.
Margaret Johnston         3191

née McCallum. Born August 14, 1868, Kingston, Ontario. Died September 12, 1947, Toronto, Ontario.  In 1900 Margaret graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She worked for a few years with the Women's Medical Collage before her marriage on April 19, 1904 to Dr. Samuel Johnston. In 1914 she was appointed as Chief of Anaesthesia at the Women's College Hospital where she remained until her retirement in 1926. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Annie Jones                   3192

née Verth. Born November 30, 1867, Osprey Township, Grey County, Canada West (now Ontario). Died January 2, 1933, Cayuga, Ontario. After finishing high school she, like many young women of her era, attended Normal school (Teacher's College) in Toronto and worked as a teacher for a few years. By 1896 she had graduated from the Ontario Medical School for Women, Toronto. July 18, 1898 she married a west coast newspaper publisher, William Jones and the couple settled in Rossland, British Columbia. Margaret practiced medicine in the Kootenay region of the province moving in 1905 to Nelson, British Columbia. She became the first woman elected elected to public office as a school trustee in 1911. In 1905 she retired and in the mid 1920's she moved to Cayuga, Ontario. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Sophie Bethena Jones 3695
Black Physician
Born 1857, Chatham, Ontario. Died September 8, 1932, Monrovia, California, U.S.A. Sophie took her medical education at the University of Michigan, U.S.A. where she graduated in 1885 as the first Black woman doctor. She was also the first Black person to be a faculty member at Spelman College, a Black Women's liberal arts college, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. Here she established a nursing training course. She went on to practice medicine in St. Louis and then Kansas City, U.S.A. By 1913 she had published the book, Fifty Years a Negro in Public Health. She retired to live with her sister in Monrovia, California, U.S.A. The University of Michigan offers a lectureship in infectious diseases named for Sophia. There is also a conference room named in her honour. (2022)
Faustina Adelaide Kelly-Cook

Born September 1895, Sudbury, Ontario. Died May 1979. In 1916 she attended Queens University, Kingston, Ontario to earn her Bachelor of Arts and then went on to the University of Toronto School of Medicine to earn her Medical Degree in 1920. She interned at Hamilton General Hospital prior to opening her own general practice and working at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Sudbury. In the 20’s being a doctor meant long days and nights and visits to patients travelling by horse and buggy. In July 1935 she married Dr. William John Cook, a pioneer surgeon in Sudbury. After her husband’s death she became the 1st president of the Business and Professional Women’s Club and was also a regent in the Elizabeth Fry Chapter of the Independent Order of the Daughters of the Empire. She also was President of the St Joseph’s Hospital Women’s Auxiliary. In 1951 she was elected for a term on Sudbury City Council along with Grace Hartman>She served on the Board of Governors of the Laurentian University from 1960-1969 and also earned a Honourary Life Membership with the University Women’s Club. Working with the board of the District Red Cross she was recipient of the Distinguished Services Award. Her personal Canada Centennial Project was to serve as Chair of the Beautification Section of the Sudbury Centennial Committee. She s served on the Library Board and was a member of La Federation des femmes Canadiennes française. Source Business and Professional Women of Greater Sudbury (accessed January 2012).(2021)

Frances Kathleen Oldman Kelsey

née  Oldman. Born July 24, 1914, Cobble Hill, British Columbia. Died August 7, 2015, London, Ontario. Frances attended Victoria College (Now Victoria University) in British Columbia for a year prior to attending McGill University, Montreal where she earned her Bachelor and Master's Degrees in pharmacology in 1935. In 1936 she was hired by the University of Chicago who thought that Frances was a man's name when they first hired her. In 1937 she worked with the Federal Drug Administration of the United states researching unusual deaths. In 1938, the year she earned her Doctorate in pharmacology from the University of Chicago the US government used part of her research to pass the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act concerned with the use of drugs using diethylene glycol as a solvent. In 1943 Frances married Dr. Fremont Ellis Kelsey and the couple had two daughters. By 1950 Frances had earned her medical doctor's degree from the University of Chicago. She took out dual citizenship in order to practice medicine in the U.S.A. In 1954 she was teaching pharmacology at the university of South Dakota. By 1960 th family had relocated to Washington D.C. and Frances was working with the Federal Drug Administration. She wanted to investigate a drug, Tradename Kevadon and asked the company for more information and tested followed. The drug, better known as Thalidomide, was found to cause deformities in new born babies. From this point on drug companies were forced to test drugs prior to having approval from the F D A in the U.S.A. Frances received the Presidential Award for Distinguished Federal Civilian Service. She was only the second woman to have received this award. Frances was hailed as a hero. She continued working at the F D A until 2005 when she was 90 years old. In 2010 the FDA presented Frances with the 1st annual Kelsey Award. In 2014 Frances returned to Canada to live in London, Ontario. She was presenting with the Order of Canada in her home a few weeks prior to her death. (2021)

Janet R. McClure Kilborn 4031 née McClure. Born October 6, 1894, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. . Died May 5, 1945, Toronto, Ontario. In 1921 Janet married Leslie Gifford Kilborn (1895-   ). Janet was the daughter of pioneer missionaries of the Canadian Presbyterian Mission in North China. After their marriage the couple sailed to West China to spend their their first few months learning Chinese in Penghsien. In 1923 they began career with West China Union University (W C U U). A medical doctor, Janet oversaw the W C U U eye hospital and taught pediatric medicine. The couple had four children born in China. The Janet McClure Kilborn Prize is offered annually to women medical students by West China Union University. Source; Carlotta Hacker, The Indomitable Lady Doctors; Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2022)
Jean E. Millar Kilborn 4032 Born 1906, Ontario. Died 1982. In 1947 Jean became the second wife of Leslie Gifford Kilborn (1895-1967). Jean was a medical doctor who specialized in anaesthesia. She worked with the Womens Missionary Society of the Canadian Presbyterian Church. The couple returned to China shortly to China for Leslie to continue his position as Director of the College of Medicine of Medicine and Dentistry at West China Union University (W C U U). From 1949 through 1952 the couple lived under the Chinese Communist government. In 1952 the couple relocated to Hong Kong where worked at the University of Hong Kong. In 1963 the couple returned to Canada in retirement. (2022)
Mary Alfretta 'Retta'  Kilborn

Medical Missionary

née Gifford. Born May 11, 1864, Meford, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died December 1, 1942, Toronto, Ontario. Retta studied medicine at the Women’s Medical College, Toronto, Ontario, graduating in 1891. She opened a private practice in Owen Sound Ontario but soon was called by the Methodist Women’s Missionary Society to go to China as a medical missionary. She was the 1st medical woman to serve in the West China Mission. On May 24, 1894 she became the second wife of Dr. Omar Kilborn. She opened and run a hospital for women and children in Chingtu, China. She served on the staff of the West China Union University founded by her husband. She campaigned openly again the Chinese tradition of binding the feet of infant daughters. And she also campaigned to have women become medical students as the West China Union University. She retired back to Canada in 1933. Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors, by Carlotta Hacker ,Clarke Irwin, 1974;  Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  (2021)

Lillian Langstaff            3193

née Carroll. Born January 21, 1883, Hendersonville, North Carolina, U.S.A. Died January 31, 1978, Richmond Hill, Ontario. Sometime before her high school years the family relocated to the Toronto Area. July 15, 1903 she married Dr. Rolph Langstaff. By 1905 she had graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She served as physician to the Municipal Prison Farm, Langstaff, Ontario. During World War 11 19114-1949 she served as president of the local Red Cross. She would help organize the first local Girl Guides. May 1980 the Dr. Lillian Langstaff Park was opened. in Richmond hill. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  (2021)

Annie Lapp                  3194

née Topliffe. Born June 6, 1865,Glenvale, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 25, 1933, Williamson, New York, U.S.A. Like so many young women of her era Annie became a teacher. On September 25, 1894 she married Ellwood Lapp who graduated as a physician in 1896 from the University of Toronto.  The couple settled in Williamson, New York, U.S.A. after Ellwood's graduation. Annie graduated from the Ontario Medical School for Women, Toronto, in 1901. She practiced medicine in Williamson where she also served as a member of the board of education. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  (2021)

Edith Anne Liddy

née Beatty. Born June 8, 1882, Fergus, Ontario. Died June 5, 1961, London, Ontario  Edith Anne graduated from the Toronto College of Music and then from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto in 1905. She worked as medical superintendent of the Grace Hospital, Toronto . October 24, 1914 she married Roy Liddy, and the couple settled in Sackville, New Brunswick and then London, Ontario where Roy was a professor at the University of Western Ontario.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  (2021)

Lenora King            

Born Farmersville (Athens), Upper Canada (now Ontario).  In order to study medicine she had to leave Canada to study at the University of Michigan Women's Medical College. With the support of the Women's Foreign Missionary Society she sailed to Shanghai in 1877, the first Canadian doctor to practice medicine in China. She was 60 years ahead of Dr. Norman Bethune. Dr King obtained the patronage of Lady Li, wife of the viceroy of Chilhli province in Tientsin. It was after she had attended Lady Li that she opened the first Chinese hospital for women and children. In 1884 she married a widowed Scottish missionary, the Reverend Alexander King. As a married woman she was expected to support the work of her husband, not work on her own. Lady Li opened a new hospital for Dr King in 1885, a hospital totally funded by the Chinese. In 1889 the Government of China recognized the distinguished doctor with the Imperial Chinese Order of the Double Dragon making her a Mandarin which is a similar to being a knight in England. In 1909 she organized the Government Medical School for Women so that Chinese doctors and nurses could be trained.  She is a member of the Canadian Medicine Hall of Fame.

Elizabeth Joan Latimer

Born January 25, 1945. Died April 28, 2012, Hamilton, Ontario. Elizabeth trained and worked as a nurse prior to becoming a medical doctor. She began her medical career at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, in 1975 and retired in March 2011 as professor emeritus of the Department of Family Medicine of the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine. In her 39 years as a palliative care physician, Latimer published extensively on control of chronic cancer pain, delivery of health care to the terminally ill, and the ethical basis of practice and decision-making while caring for thousands of patients at Hamilton Health Sciences. She was also a consultant and lecturer in several countries in South America, Africa, Europe and Australia. In 1999, Latimer received Canada's highest palliative care award, the Award of Excellence in Palliative Care from the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. The Dr. Elizabeth J. Latimer Prize is Palliative Care is awarded annually in recognition of excellence and innovation in palliative care in Hamilton and surrounding area. She was married to Willem Kamphorst. (2021)

Irma LeVasseur

 

 

Born January 18, 1878, Saint-Roch, Quebec City, Quebec. Died January 22, 1964, Quebec City, Quebec. Young Irma wanted to study medicine but no schools in Canada would accept women, so Irma headed to New York in the U.S.A. to earn her medical education. She returned to Quebec in 1900 but it would take three years before a private members bill would pass the legislature allowing her to join the College of Physicians and Surgeons of the Province of Quebec as the first woman doctor. She found a lack of knowledge about childhood medical practices and traveled to Europe to gain more knowledge in 1908. She and Mme De Gaspé-Beaubien founded Hôpital Sainte-Justine for the care of children. In 1915 she responded to the request of doctors to serve in World War l returning to New York to work for the Red Cross in the USA. In 1922, using her won savings, she founded Hôpital de L’Enfant-Jésus. By 1927 she had her own clinic for handicapped children and also opened a school for disabled youth. In order to relax from the rigueur of medicine and hospital administration she worked with her other passion of painting and took classes at Ecole des Beaux-Arts in the 1920’s becoming an accomplished artist. In the 1950’s she was celebrated for her 50 years of medical service by the Circle des femmes universitaires, however, she would die in poverty largely and unknown pioneer in paediatric medical care. Sources: Irma LeVasseur (accessed June 30, 2008) ; Celebrating women’s achievements: Canadian women in science: Irma LeVasseur  (accessed June 30, 2008)  This entry suggested by Pat Land.

Sarah Ann Lawyer           3147

September 20, 1854, Morrisburgh, Canada West (now Ontario). Died November 19, 1938, London, Ontario. Sarah Ann graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario in 1888. Relocating to Ottawa  where she was the first woman in Canada to attend the Medical Council. She took graduated courses in hospital and schools in New York, U.S.A.. She would go on to practice in Victoria, British Columbia and Nassau Bahamas. In 1899 she went on the Transvaal Campaign of the Boer War in South Africa.  In 1916 in England she signed on with the War Office for medical duty in Malta. She returned home to Canada in 1917. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Ida Elizabeth Lynd

nee Cross. Born April 17, 1857, Bondhead, Canada West (now Ontario).  Died February 18, 1943, Toronto, Ontario. Ida attended Hamilton Ladies College and on March 8, 1882 she married William Lynd (died 1907). In 1890 graduating the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto becoming the 2nd woman to practice medicine in Toronto.  She worked at the Women’s Medical College and became one of the 1st staff members of the Women’s College Hospital serving for 50 years. In 1920 she was appointed as the first chief of medicine. In 1938 she became confined to bed after falling and fracturing her hip. Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Co Ltd, 1974);  Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Emily Macarow

née Bermingham. Born Port Hope, Canada West. (now Ontario). Died October 4, 1942, Kingston, Ontario. Mary Emily and her family moved to Ottawa and finally settled in Kingston, Ontario. She graduated in 1892 from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University. On June 27, 1892 she married Philip Henry Macaro (d1912). The couple had one son. She practice in Ottawa for three decades and then returned to Kingston.  Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Ann C. Macaulay

Ann graduated medical school in Scotland at the age of 22. From 1993 through to 2008 she was an Associate Professor for the Department of Family Medicine at McGill University. In 1995 she joined as a fellow, the College of Family Physicians. In 2008 the College named Macaulay Family Medicine Researcher of the Year. She has made significant contributions to the study of prevention of type 2 diabetes in the aboriginal population in Canada as well as being an Advisory Board Member for the Institute of Aboriginal People’s Health. She also served 35 years as a family physician in the Mohawk Community of Kahnawake. In 2006 she was awarded the Order of Canada. Source: Order of Canada Online (accessed June 2011)

Jessie Ann MacBean  4044
 
Born December 14, 1877, Toronto, Ontario. Died January 1945, Toronto, Ontario. Jessie studied medicine at the University of  Toronto and graduated in 190 5 She served for 26 years as a medical missionary in South China sponsored by the Women's Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church of Canada as their first woman medical missionary. She was in charge of training Chinese nurses in the hospital in Canton and won distinction in her work among woman and children in China. She retired in 1933  as head of obstetrics at the Hackett Medical College for Women, Canton. Source: Carlotta Hacker, The Indomitable Lady Doctors;
Eva Waddell Mader-Macdonald  3741 née Mader. Born October 7, 1902, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died April 27, 1997, Toronto, Ontario. Eva's early education was at the Halifax Academy and the Acadia Seminary.  Eva became an X-ray technician with her father, Dr. A. Ivan Mader's private hospital. Her father was the first doctor in Nova Scotia, perhaps even Canada, to offer radium treatment for cancer patients. She attended and graduated from the Dalhousie Medical School in 1927 and went on to the University of Toronto (U of T) to earn a Diploma in Public Health in 1929. After a short time working at the Nova Scotia Sanitorium she began working at the Woman's College Hospital in Toronto. It was during these early years in Ontario that she embarked on personally working with the immunization of five thousand children each year from 1929 through 1934 to protect them from diphtheria. Within this five year period the number of cases was reduced from 500 annually to zero cases. She also worked as a medical professor in hygiene at the U of T until 1933. She was the Hospital Bacteriologist at Women's College Hospital during World War ll 1939-1945. It was during the war years that she grew penicillin for the Canadian Armed Forces in whisky bottles, ran a school of technicians and operated a blood bank. She then became Director of Laboratories through to 1953 when she became Director of Hospital Health until 1968. In 1952 she also opened her own private practice until 1962. In 1963 she enticed former women doctors to return to their careers with Operation Recall. In 1974 she was appointed Chancellor of the University of Toronto. That same year she was named alumna of the year at Dalhousie University Faculty of Medicine. She held a senior membership in the Canadian Medical Association, an honorary life membership in the Federation of Medical Women of Canada (F M W C) where she had served as president, and was paramount in the encouragement to Carlotta Hacker in the publishing of her book The Indomitable Lady Doctors. She was also active in the Canadian Red Cross, The Children's Aid Society, The Family Planning Association, University Women's Club, The Canadian Welfare Council, The Young Women's Christian Association (Y W C A), as well as the alumni associations for Dalhousie University and U of T. She retired in 1978. Eva was married and had two children.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Jane Flett-Mackay/McKay

Métis Pioneer Nurse & Acting Surgeon   3536
née Flett. Born, December 28, 1857, LaPierre House, Yukon. Died August 8, 1947, Edmonton, Alberta. After the death of her mother in 1865 she lived with an Anglican minister and his family until she became engaged. In 1874 she married Dr. William Morrison MacKay (1836-1917) a pioneer physician practicing medicine with the Hudson's Bay Company. Jane was acted as her husband's nurse and sometimes as a surgeon on her own. The family served various H B C posts in northern Alberta for 34 years. By 1882 he was  the only doctor covering a 200 mile area of the Peace River in 1898, Jane sadly hid her Aboriginal ancestry when the couple retired to Edmonton, Alberta, to prevent discrimination against herself. The family said she was a descendent of a 'Siberian Princess'  and William would take one of his older daughters to balls and events instead of Jane. The couple had 13 children. Retired from the H B C William  opened a successful medical practice. William was offered an appointment to the Senate of Canada by Prime Minister Sir Wilfrid Laurier but turned it down. The Mckay house was was the first home in Edmonton with electric lights. When Jane fell hill after the death of her husband a doctor refused to attend to her because she Indigenous. in December 1937 her 80th birthday celebration received a large description in the Edmonton Journal newspaper touting her as a true pioneer of the province. The McKay school, now a museum, in Edmonton was named for William but many feel that the recognition extended to Jane as well. A memorial scholarship at the University of Alberta was established for Aboriginal students in honour of Dr. and Mrs. McKay.
Katherine 'Kate' Joanne Mackay-Mackenzie 3724 née Mackay. Born 1870?, Plainfield, Nova Scotia. Died 1925, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia. Kate attended Pictou Academy in Nova Scotia prior to attending the School of Nursing that had been founded by the first woman doctor in North America Elizabeth Blackwell (1821-1910) in Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A.  Returning home to Nova Scotia once she had completed her nursing studies, Kate became the second woman to graduated from Dalhousie Medical College in 1895. She had been encouraged in her studies by two of her brothers, one of whom himself was a doctor. Katherine would be the first woman doctor to practice medicine in Nova Scotia. She had a practice with her brother in New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. After a short time she took work in a government post in Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A. To get to Hawaii at this time meant the Kate had to take the perilous voyage around Cape Horn in South America. In 1902 she returned home to Nora Scotia and married John R. MacKenzie and the couple settled in Edmonton, Alberta where Kate practiced medicine. They relocated to Port Coquitlam, British Columbia, where she again opened her medical practiceSource: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990; Obituary, Nova Scotia Medical Bulletin, June 1925. online (accessed 2022) .
Margaret MacKeller

Born October 23, 1861, Mull, Scotland. Died August 24, 1941, Toronto, Ontario. While still a toddler Margaret immigrated with her family to Canada, settling in western Ontario. Her father had been a sea faring man and beguiled his children with stories of far off lands such as India. In Canada he sailed the great lakes. She worked as a skilled milliner in Hamilton, Paris, London and Ingersoll Ontario. However she could not settle and desired to serve as a missionary. At 22 she realized she need to be educated and returned to grade school to learn. She worked her way through high school and by 1886 she took exams to enter Queen’s University. In 1890 she graduated from the Women’s Medical Collage at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. She left Canada to be a missionary doctor in India. She worked first at Indore and later at Neemuch in Central India. Here this pioneer doctor set up the 1st area hospital. When the Christian Medical College for Women was established in Ludhiana in the Punjab Margaret served as secretary then as Chairman. During World War l she was with the Royal Army Medical Corps at the Freeman Thomas Hospital, Bombay . She was honoured with the Kaiser-i-hind medal for her years of service in India. Sources: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke & Irwin, 1974) ; Dr Margaret MacKellar: the story of her early years by Belle Choné Oliver. (Women’s Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church of Canada, 1920) Online (accessed April 2014)

Elizabeth 'Eliza' Margaret MacKenzie

Born July 10, 1879, Flat River, Prince Edward Island. Died February 17, 1937 Flat River, Prince Edward Island. In 1875 she graduated from Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown, P.E.I. The following year she began teaching in Surry, P.E.I. and four the next few years she taught in small towns in the province. In 1900 she entered Dalhousie Medical School. By spring 1904 she had become the 1st P.E.I. woman to graduate from Dalhousie College Medicine. She opened her practice in the fall of 1904 advertising to serve women and children. Competition was fierce and acceptance was not always welcoming. In 1906 she received her license from the provincial medical board.  By 1911 she had moved back to Flat River. She was soon beginning studies in nursing as St Luke's Hospital Training School for Nurses in New York City, U.S.A. graduating in 1913.  She joined the call to serve as a nursing sister during World War l and worked in England and France. She transferred to the Canadian Army Medical Corp February 25, 1918 and served in England. By 1919 she had sailed back to Halifax, Nova Scotia in Ill health with Tuberculoses. After convalescing she returned to work on staff of St Luke's in New York City for a short time. Ill health forced her to return to Flat River. Source: D C B (2019)

Jemima MacKenzie

Medical Missionary
Born August 18, 1872, Waterside, Nova Scotia. Died January 27, 1957, Pictou, Nova Scotia. Jemima took a break from her schooling in grade eleven and taught school in Scotch Hill, Pictou County. Each weekend she walked 12 miles home to care for her family. She eventually completed grade 12 at the Pictou Academy and followed this up, using savings from her teaching, she graduated in 1904 from the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax. Shortly after her graduation her mother died and she left for Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. to earn funds to help her sister Dr. Mollie Mackenzie-Smith (1867-1955) complete her medical studies at Dalhousie. In the fall of 1904 she was sponsored by the Women's Union Missionary Society of America in New York to become a medical missionary in Cawnpore, India. Here she took charge of an orphanage and a girls school. She was soon in the Allehabad-Fatewphur district living in a tent and providing medical services. Learning the local language, she opened a hospital in a rented house. She went to see patients riding on elephants and camels in the countryside. She faced wild animals and bandits and shot deadly snakes during her travels. By 1907, with financial aid from the U.S.A., she managed clinics and often taught Bible studies. Soon, with aid from Britain, a sixty bed hospital was opened and named for her mother Ann Murray. She still traveled long distances to provide medical aid. It was not until 1926 she was provided with an automobile. She had also opened a training school of nurses. After furlough of two years she was back in India in 1923 in charge of several hospitals for the Presbyterian Church of Canada. During her years in India she adopted 44 abandoned babies. Ten of her babies were adopted legally and she started many of them to do missionary work and to become nurses. She retired in 1939 and returned to Canada with two of her adopted sons. In 1940 she became an honourary member of the Canadian Medical Association. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Mary 'Mollie' MacKenzie-Smith     3729

Medical Missionary & Civil Servant
née MacKenzie. Born September 12, 1867, Waterside, Nova Scotia. Died April 30, 1955, New Glasgow, Nova Scotia  After graduating from the acclaimed Pictou Academy and with the help of her sister, Jemima MacKenzie (1872-1957), she graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College in 1905. After graduation she served abroad as a missionary appointed to Cawnpore, India where she worked providing medical aid and teaching the Bible for five years. Going to London, England, she did post-graduate studied in eye, ear, nose, and throat diseases. In 1911 she returned to Canada where she married to Rev. Alonzo Alexander Smith (1872-1929) of New Glasgow, in 1912  The couple settled in Verchoyle, Ontario, where she became the first doctor to do medical inspections in schools in the province on behalf of the Women's Institutes. She would later be hired as a medical inspector by the provincial Department of Education for the areas of Gravenhurst, Granton, and Colborne. She retired in 1935. In 1935 she began a world tour that finally landed her in Vancouver where she began the overland return to Nova Scotia. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990; Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2022)
Daisy Mary Moore Macklin    3196
Medical Missionary

Born May 8, 1873, Stratford, Ontario. Died March 2, 1925, Stratford, Ontario.  In 1895 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She spend four years as a medical missionary in Nankin, China with her brother who had founded the the Naijing Christian Hospital. Becoming ill she returned home to Stratford in 1900. The Macklin Medical Mission is the oldest medical Foundation in Canada. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Catherine 'Kate' MacMillan    4043
Medical Missionary

Born 1867, Jacquet River, New Brunswick. Died 1922, Korea. Kate graduated from Women's Medical College, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. She practiced for a short time in her home town of Jacquet River before becoming the firs medical missionary to Korea from New Brunswick in 1901.  She worked in a two room mud house in Korea. She cared for Korean school for girls during a typhus epidemic and succumbed to the disease. During her career in Korea she would build a hospital and supervise medical services.  Source: Carlotta Hacker, The Indomitable Lady Doctors. (2022)

Helen MacMurchy

Born January 7, 1862. Died October 8, 1953. In 1901 Helen graduated with a medical degree from the University of Toronto and interned as the 1st woman doctor with the Toronto General Hospital. She went on to be the 1st woman doctor to do post graduate studies at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. In 1909 she conducted a survey of the high infant death rated experienced in cities at the turn of the century.  In 1914 she wrote a popular book, A little Talk About Baby. In 1915 she was appointed the inspector of the feeble minded in Ontario. Sadly her actions to persuade the government that eugenics was the answer to preventing degenerate babies led to the wrongful sterilization of many immigrants. Helen was the 1st editor of the Canadian Nurses Journal. In 1920 she was placed in charge of the federal government’s new Division of Child Welfare and was responsible for the contents of some of the government published Blue Books with advice on caring for children. These little books were published in multiple languages including Cree. It was in the 1920’s that she made a special study of medical inspection of schools, child welfare and public health in England and the United States.  In 1934 she was inducted as Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE). In 1949 she was named one of the leading women doctors in the western world. In 1997 she was declared a Person of National Historic Significance.

Annie Campbell MacRae 3197

Born July 30, 1867, Ponds, Prince Edward Island. Died Fall River Massachusetts, U.S.A. Like so many young women of her era she was a teacher in her home town.  She studied to become a nurse at the John Hopkins Hospital, Baltimore, Mary, U.S.A. and went on to graduate in 1899 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, Ontario. She did post graduate studies in Dublin, Ireland, Edinburgh, Scotland, London, England and Paris, France.  She established her medical practice in Fall River, Massacheutts, U.S.A. One of her patients was Lizzie Borden of 'forty whacks' fame.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Elizabeth 'Betty' MacRae

1st Woman Neurosurgeon in Canada

Born 1941, Montreal, Quebec. Betty spent time in hospital as a child and announced that she wanted to be a doctor! She originally did her undergraduate studies in physical education and then switched to continue her studies in medicine at the University of Toronto In 1982 the young medical doctor moved to Calgary to practice as Canada’s first woman neurosurgeon. She is known for being straightforward and “tells it like it is” with all her patients. She is also an examiner with the Royal College of Physicians. She married Dr. David Kunio Miyauchi (1934-2018) and become stepmother to two stepchildren. and enjoys  of being a grandmother. She worked with the Canadian National Ski Team and enjoys mountain climbing. Retirement with her husband, filled her days days with reading, golfing, skiing, travel, and photography. Source: Herstory: the Canadian Women’s Calendar 2007.

Edith Mankiewicz     3532 Born May 16, 1910. Leipzig, Germany. Died September 21, 2006, Montreal, Quebec. Edith earned a doctor of science degree from the University of Leipzig. In 1933 she married Harald 'Rene' Mankiewicz (d 1993) who at the time was a judge in Germany. The couple had converted from Judaism to Catholicism but still fled anti-Semitic Germany for France Where Edith earned her medical degree from Université de Lyon. She worked as physician-in-chief at the Children's Hospital, Tulins, France. In 1941 they fled France and went to Shanghai where she taught medicine at the French University of Shanghai. Here she established a gynaecology clinic for women who had be raped during the war and an adoption service for abandoned children. She also set up a laboratory for Jewish physicians. At the end of the war the couple emigrated to settle in Montreal, Quebec. She took her medical degree all over again to become a licensed Canadian doctor. From 1962 through 1979 she served as a guest lecturer at McGill University. She worked as Director of Laboratories at the Montreal Chest Hospital from 1976 until retirement in 1991. She then established the Circle for Children Foundation, a non-profit that works with children in foster care. She had received the Cross of Lorraine for her work with children during the war. Source: Obituary, Montreal Star, 2006. (accessed 2021)
Jane Sproule Manson

Born August 29, 1878, Britton, Ontario. She graduated from the University of Toronto and did post graduate studies in London, Vienna and Berlin. She was the first Canadian woman to sit for primary examinations for the Royal College of Physicians in London England. In 1911 she became a licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians, London England and by 1912 she was appointed to the staff at the University of Toronto. Dr. Manson was appointed Chief, Nose, Throat and Ear Department, Women's College Hospital in Toronto in 1924.

Mathilde Massée   4012 Born July 7, 1871, Saint-Parcome-de-Kamouraska, Quebec. Died 1950, Boston, Massauchetts, U.S.A. Mathilde taught French with her sister in the U.S.A. and then left to study at the Sorbonne, Paris, France. In 1897 she returned to Boston and studied medicine graduating in 1902. She was the second French Canadian woman to become a doctor from Quebec. She practiced medicine in the U.S.A.. During World War l (1914-1918) she served with the American army in Europe where she received a medal from Belgium to for courage at the front lines. Returning to the U.S.A. she took out her American citizenship in 1923. The town of Saint Parcome named the town library in her honour. (2022)
Elizabeth Matheson

née Becket-Scott. Born January 6, 1866, Burnbrae Canada West (now Ontario) Died January 15,1958, San Antonio, Texas, U.S.A.  In 1878 The Family moved to a farm in Morris, Manitoba  She took teacher's training in Winnipeg and taught school in Cook's Creek until 1886. In 1887, she volunteered to assist at the Marchmont home for orphans in Belleville, Ontario. Ellen Bilbrough of Marchmont, sponsored Elizabeth for a year of studies at the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston in 1887-88. She returned to teaching in Manitoba in order to finance her studies. But found herself  on a trip to India as a missionary from 1888 until 1891when she became ill with malaria. She returned to Manitoba after contracting malaria and  married the Anglican Reverend John Richard Matheson. The couple settled in Onion Lake, a remote Cree reserve. They built a school for their nine children, their adopted Aboriginal and Métis children, and the eighty other children. At her husband's insistence Elizabeth began her second year at the Manitoba Medical College in September 1895, and she graduated from the Toronto Women's College in 1898. Dr. Matheson practiced at Onion Lake until 1903 when she applied to the University of Manitoba Medical School to take her last year as a refresher course before attempting the licensure examination. In 1904 and became the 1st registered woman doctor in Saskatchewan. In 1908, her husband built a three-story log hospital , including four wards and an operating room. There were also trips to aboriginal homes over muskeg; winter camping or in the summer heat; She dealt with accident cases, murders and suicides, handling epidemics, and delivering babies in remote locations. Unlicensed she was never prosecuted because she practiced in an area outside the mainstream where deeds were more important than credentials. In 1918, a year after her husband died,  she moved to Winnipeg  working as a Public School  medical inspector until retirement in 1948. In 1948, she received a honourary medical degree from the University of Toronto where they acknowledged her fifty years of practice since her 1st degree. Government of Manitoba. Status of Women. Women working for Healthy Communities by Ada Ducas et all October 2001. Sources: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker, 1974: The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan Online (accessed May 2014)  (2021)

Margaret May McAlpine   3198

Born November 28, 1878, Mount Forest, Ontario. Died May 27, 1955, Toronto, Ontario.  Like so many of her generation Margaret was a teacher before she attended and graduated in 1905 from the Ontario Medical School for Women, Toronto, Ontario. She interned at the Women's Hospital of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. Returning to Toronto she served on staff of the Toronto Department of Health for 35 years. She als supported financially the Central Neighbourhood Clinic where she served as a medical advisor.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Bernadette McCarthy 3199

née Callaghan. Born September 18, 1881, Penetanguishene, Ontario. Died February 8, 1955, Toronto, Ontario. Mary graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, in 1905. During her time of studies she served as secretary and vice president of the Medico-Literary Society and was assistant editor of Torontonensis, the University of Toronto year book. On October 16, 1912 she married Daniel McCarthy and the couple settled in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to raise their family. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Florence Spaulding Hardy McConney  4099 Born September 20, 1894, Lindsay, Ontario. Died June 23, 1981. Florence and her family relocated to Toronto when she was just nine years old. She earned her her Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto (U of T) in 1917 and immediately married. While her husband served during World War l she attended medical school and graduated in 1920 and interned at St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto. Florence, like many early women in medical studies faced discrimination because she was a woman. She joined the staff of Women's College Hospital (W C H) in Toronto in 1922.In 1944 she became a certifies specialist in internal medicine. In 1947 she became interested in the idea of cancer detection clinics for women. The W H C supported her interest and even found financial support from the Ontario Cancer treatment and Research Foundation. Florence and Dr. Marion Hilliard championed for the medical and research needs of women and the Cancer Detection Clinic for Women was opened at W C H. with Florence as the first director serving from 1948 to 1958.  She became Chief of Medicine at W C H from 1935 through 1950. It was in 1950 that she became a Fellow in the American College of Physicians. (2022)
Isabel McConville

Born January 22, 1863, Kingston, Canada West (now Ontario).  Died January 3, 1947, Kingston, Ontario. Like many young women of her era she began her work career as a teacher. She went on to graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario in 1889. She became the physician to the Sisters of Notre Dame Convent and Hotel Dieu Hospital, Kingston. She served her community for 57 years.  Her will left $40,000.00 to Queen's University to encourage medical study and research.

Minnie Alice McDonald   3200

Born January 23, 1878, Hagersville, Ontario. Died September 26, 1954, Hagersville. Died January 12, 1946, Hensall, Ontario. Minnie Graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto in 1901. She practiced medicine with her father Dr. Robert McDonald in Hagersville. She continued the medical practice after the death of her father in 1915 and specialized in treatment of children and women's diseases. In 1953 she retired due to ill health. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Jane McDonnell      3201 née Hutton. Born October 30, 1869, Forest, Ontario. Died January 12, 1946, Hensall, Ontario. In 1890 Mary Jane graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  She practiced with her father, Dr. James Hutton,  in Forest specializing in diseases of women and children. She was the first woman from her home town and the first woman in Lambton County, Ontario to practice medicine. January 1, 1896 she married hardware merchant Charles McDonnell, and the couple settled in Hensall, Ontario to raise their family. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Anna Marie McFee   3202

Born April 3, 1855, Chrysostome, Canada East (now Quebec). Died December 20, 1947, Montreal, Quebec. Anna Marie graduated in 1897 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, Ontario. She travelled to Edinburgh, Scotland and received her Licentiate from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. She served at the Infants Hospital on Randall's Island in New York, U.S.A. and was the first woman physician to be appointed in any New York City Hospital. After practicing medicine in New York for 20 years she retired to Montreal. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Alice Skimmen McGillivray

Born September 21, 1861, St. George, Canada West (now Ontario). Died 1912, Hamilton, Ontario. She was one of the original women students who took summer medical courses at Queen’s University. In October 1881 the women were allowed to take courses in the regular stream with the men. This did not work out to well . There was a lot of discrimination towards the women so the Women’s Medical College was established at Queen’s Upon graduation Alice, a gold medal student, was immediately appointed to College staff in 1884She earned a promotion to professor of Obstetrics and Diseases of Women and Children. In 1889 she and her husband moved to Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. While in the U.S. her husband studied medicine. By 1899 the couple were back in Canada, settling in the Hamilton area where they opened a joint practice. Their relationship deteriorated and Alice moved into a home of her own but the two still maintained their joint medical practice. Source: The Indomitable Women Doctors, by Carlotta Hacker, Clarke & Irwin, 1974: Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Elizabeth McMaster

Medical Missionary           
3203

Born August 19, 1871, St. Marys, Ontario. Died January 10, 1956, Stratford, Ontario.  Elizabeth graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women in 1902.  She interned at the West Philadelphia Hospital for Women, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. . She became a medical missionary with the Canadian Presbyterian Church served for 40 years in Central India. She taught Indian nurses, pharmacists and midwives and also championed the welfare of women. She received the Kaiser-i-hind Medal from the government of India for her services. She also received the King George V Jubilee Medal. In 1943 she retired home to St. Marys, Ontario. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Isabelle/Isabel "Belle" McTavish

Born December 19, 1881, Minnedosa, Manitoba. Died January 26, 1953, Winnipeg, Manitoba. In 1915 she graduated from the Manitoba Medical College and left for China as a medical missionary with the Presbyterian Church of Canada. She worked at the Presbyterian mission in Honan working with Dr. Jean Dow (1870-1927) She returned home to Canada on furlough during a civil war and lectured to raise funds to return to China in 1931. During World War ll she was interred as a prisoner of war until a prisoner of war exchange in 1942. Back in Canada from 1942-1946 she worked in Alberta at the Bonnyville General Hospital. After the war she went back to China to re-open the hospital at Changte. Sources: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker, Clarke Irwin, 1974 ; Isabelle McTavish Canadian Missionary Doctor 1881-1953 by M. Diane Rogers on Canadian Genealogy and Women’s History Accessed April 2014) (2020)

Maud Leonora Menten

Born march 20, 1879, Port Lambton, Ontario. Died July 20,1960 Leamington, Ontario. She earned her B.A. in 1904 and a master’s degree in 1907. It was in 1907 that she was appointed a fellow at the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research in New York City, U.S.A. In 1908 she worked as an intern at the New York Infirmary for women and Children before returning to Canada.  A dedicated and outstanding medical scientist was the 1st Canadian woman to receive a medical doctorate in 1911 at the University of Toronto. In 1913, while working in Germany, she and a colleague Leonora Michaelis developed the Michaelis-Menten equation which is a basic biochemical concept. In 1918 she joined the School of Medicine at the University of Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. as an instructor and remained there until she retired in 1950. She had only become a full professor in 1948. After her retirement she returned to Canada where she continued working on cancer research at the British Columbia Medical Research institute for five years until ill health forced her to retire once again. She continued researching and publishing and made discoveries relating to blood sugar, hemoglobin and kidney functions. From 1951-1954 she conducted cancer research in British Columbia. During her life she enjoyed learning foreign languages and mastered several languages including Russian, French, German, Italian and one Native-American language. She also enjoyed music and was an accomplished artist. An Ontario Historical plaque stands near the Medical Sciences Building at the University of Toronto. Sources: Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Online. (accessed 2008)

Stella Messenger-Pearson 3728 Born August 10, 1879, Bridgetown, Nova Scotia. Died December 29, 1932, Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. In 1904 Stella graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College.  She practiced for awhile in Lunenburg prior to sailing to England for post-graduate studies.  While in England she met and married Phillip Pearson.  The couple returned to live in Canada. During World War l she had a country practice in Guysborough County. Later she relocated to Lawrencetown in the Annapolis Valley to practice medicine for ten years. Sadly her only daughter who was studying medicine at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec was killed in a coasting accident. Stella relocated to Yarmouth establishing a busy practice. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Helen Bell Milburn 4098 née Bell. Born October 18, 1892, London, Ontario. Died  September 21, 1986, Toronto, Ontario. . Helen earned a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Toronto in 1911 and continued her studies graduating from the Medical Faculty at U of T in 1919. After graduation she went on to study the relatively new field of radiation at Bellevue Hospital, in New York City, U.S.A. Returning to Toronto in 1922 she joined the staff at the Toronto General Hospital to continue her study in radiation therapy for a year. In 1923 she began to work at the Women's College Hospital (W C H) and stayed through to 1954. In 1924 she married Clement Milburn and they had one son. In 1939 she helped established the W C H's Breast Cancer Research Committee where she served as chair. In 1945 she and her team launched one of Canada's earliest long-term breast cancer studies which over several decades had over 4,000 participants to develop a profile of women who are most likely to develop breast cancer. In 1947 she became a fellow with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. (2022)
Brenda Langford Milner

née Langford. Born July 15,1918, Manchester, England. She took her undergraduate studies at the famous Cambridge University, 1939 in England. By 1952 she had completed her PhD at McGill University, Montreal. She had immigrated to Canada in 1944 to join the Institut de Psychologie at the Université de Montréal. She continued her work at the Montreal Neurological Institute where she became one of the pioneers in neurophysiology. Her published studies, particularly in epilepsy cases, have added substantially to the specific understanding of the structure and functioning of the brain. She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1984  and was promoted to Companion in 2004. As well she is a member of Canada's Medical Hall of Fame. In 1985 she became an Officer in the National Order of Quebec and was promoted to Grand Officer in 2009.  in 2005 she was presented with the prestigious Gairdner Award. She is also a member of the Royal Society, the Royal Society of Canada and the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S.A. She was elected a Foreign Honorary Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2007. She was awarded the Balzan Prize for her contributions to Cognitive Neurosciences in a ceremony held in the Swiss Parliament in 2009.

Elizabeth Mitchell             3150

née Simpson. Born May 28, 1864, Montreal, Canada East (now Quebec). Died November 30, 1912, Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.A. Elizabeth it seems had always had an interest in medicine. She graduated in 1888 from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. She went on to study at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Edinburgh, and Glasgow, Scotland as well as in London, England. Returning to Canada she opened her practice in Montreal as the first woman doctor in the province. She persisted in her practice against all odds of being a woman ahead of her time.  At the turn of the Century she visited India. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Mary Jane 'Jennie' Mitchell

Medical Missionary                 3204

née Hill. Born January 21, 1869, Bond Head, Ontario. Died October 22, 1956, Toronto, Ontario. In 1895 Jennie graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. Jennie became a medical missionary in china where she met Rev. Robert Mitchell. The couple were married on May 11, 1900 but were forced to flee when trouble broke out in Honan, China.  They worked as a team in Northern China for over 40 years. They retired to Canada in 1937 settling in Toronto. The couple died within days of each other. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Lucetta Martha Morden    3205

Born November 2, 1872, West Hambro, Ontario. Died June 2, 1956, Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A.  In 1904 Lucetta graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She relocated to Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. to live with her doctor sister, Millicent Morden. Lucetta worked with the poor mothers of the east side of Brooklyn. The sisters did charitable work in borough hospitals and agencies. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Helen Morley 4042 née Briggs. Born 1918, Leeds, England. Died January 19, 2014, Toronto, Ontario. Helen studied medicine at Oxford University in England. She was part of the clinical trials where penicillin was first successfully given to children. She requested to join her husband in India but the British Military declined her request. Helen simply boarded a steamer and left to find her husband. In Canada in 1953 with her family, including three children, Helen was tolt by the medical qualifying examiner that Canada had no need for women doctors! Undeterred she passed her Canadian medical exams and became a public health doctor.  She went on to train and practice as a psychotherapist until she was 88 years old. Her love of music lead her to join the Mendelssohn Choir, the Orpheus Choir and the Uxbridge Chamber Choir. In the 1970's she served as president of the Board of St. Christopher House. She was in the inaugural winner of the Young Women's Christian Association (Y W C A) Woman of Distinction Award. Source: Obituary. The Globe and Mail, January 22, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa.
Mabel Aileen Mortimore

Medical Missionary          3206

née Cassidy. Born September 28, 1880, Toronto, Ontario. Died December 4, 1966, Toronto, Ontario. Mabel Aileen grew up in China where her parents were missionaries. In 1902 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. By 1904 she was back in China for the Women's Missionary Society. She married Rev. William Mortimore in China in 1905. The couple served in China returning home in 1924 settling in Auburn then Oakland, Ontario. They retired to Toronto in 1939. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Blanche Margaret Munro-Crawford  3727
Medical Missionary
In 1904 Blanche graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Like so many of the young women doctors of her generation, after her graduation she went to India to serve as a Medical Missionary. Returning home to Canada on furlough she married the Rev. J. A. Crawford whom she had met when she was a medical student. The couple settled in Edinburgh, Scotland, the home town of J. A. Crawford. The couple had two children  During the Firs World War she opened her home to many Indian Troops who were delighted when she spoke to them in their own language. In later years she lived in Aberystwyth, Wales. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Janet Murray              3151

Born July 22, 1856, Peebles, Scotland. Died February 20, 1940, Schenectady, New Yprk, U.S.A. She immigrated with her family to Canada when she was ten years old. The family lived in various towns as they followed work for the mining engineer father before landing in Rossmore, Ontario. Janet graduated in 1891 from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.  She relocated to Schenectady, New York, U.S.A. and became licensed on August 31, 1891. She had a general practice for 46 years. Active in her community she was a member of the Schenectady Business and Professional Women's Club. She served as president of the Queen's University Alumni Association and on the board of the Women's Medical Society of New York. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021);  Find a Grave Canada online (accessed 2022)

Florence Jessie Murray
 

Medical Missionary

Born February 16, 1894, Pictou Landing, Nova Scotia. Died April 14,1975, Halifax Nova Scotia. Florence graduated in medical studies from Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia in 1919. With the Canadian Presbyterian Church in Canada she became a medical missionary serving in Manchuria and then Korea from 1921-1969. She set up hospitals, acted as Public Health Officer, taught at medical school, trained nurses and inters and worked among lepers. She was also a writer and left numerous published articles about her medical work and about World War ll when she was interred as a prisoner of war. During the time she served at Severance Hospital she began the Medical Records Department. After an exchange of prisoners with the Japanese she returned to Canada in 1942 and practiced medicine in Halifax until the end of the war. After World War ll she served at a leper hospital in Seoul Korea until the Korean War broke out. She returned again to Korea in the early 1950’s until her retirement in 1962. She was decorated by the King of Denmark for her Korean Service. Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker, Clarke Irwin, 1974

Joyce Nsubuga

SEE - Social Activists

Samantha Nutt

Born October 1969, Scarborough, Ontario. Samantha grew up in Durban, South Africa, Toronto, Ontario, and as a teenager for six months in Brazil. She earned her Bachelor Degree McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario. She studied for her Masters in Science at  at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in England prior to returning to McMaster earning her Medical Degree. Samantha and her husband Eric Hoskins are the co-founders of War Child Canada for which she serves as Executive Director. It is a non government organization that works with local international partners to help children in war torn countries to have access to education. Samantha has written widely to raise awareness of the plight of these children.   She also studied as a Woman's Health Scholar at the University of Toronto. In 2000 she earned the McMaster University Alumnae Award and in 2003 she was on the Maclean's magazine list of the top 40 under 40. In 2010 she was inducted into the Order of Ontario. In 2011 she published Damned Nations: Greed, guns, Armies and Aid which detailed her work in the world's war zones. That same year she became a Member of the Order of Canada. The following year she received the Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Medal. Dr Samantha works on staff at the Women's College Hospital, Toronto and teaches at the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. (2019)

Geraldine Oakley

Born Stratford, Ontario. Died 1948, Calgary, Alberta. In 1912 she earned her medical degree from the University of Toronto. In 1915 she was appointed medical superintendent of the new 21 bed hospital, The Woman’s College Hospital and Dispensary, in Toronto. In 1918 she relocated to Calgary , Alberta where she was appointed as Medical Inspector with the Calgary Public Schools. She held regular clinics in all the area schools and at the same time ran a baby clinic at the Calgary City hall. Little did she know that by doing her job in visiting school children that she would be a mentor to future women doctors in the province. In 1935 the School and City Health Services were combined and Geraldine was appointed Calgary’s Assistant Medical Health Officer. The Independent Order of the Daughters of the Empire in the Province took to naming their local chapters after prominent Calgary medical doctors. In 1951 the Dr. Geraldine Oakley Chapter was formed. On October 6, 1960 the Dr. Oakley School was named in her honour. Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker, Clark Irwin,1974.

Florence Maud O'Donnell-Piers  3731

Medical Missionary
née O'Donnell. Born August 4, 1877, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Died September 28, 1958, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Florence attended Dalhousie Medical College and went on to earn her Masters' degree in Surgery in 1901. She interned at a Halifax hospital. She received a proposal of marriage from William Harrington Piers (1866-1939) of Halifax but remained determined to do service as a medical missionary in China. Supported by the Womean's Missionary Society, She endured six months of travel in China to reach  the Chengiu Hospital. After seven years of service she returned home to Halifax where in October 1908 she finally married Mr. Piers. The couple had three children. Florence gave up her title of doctor but was still an active member of her community with the Imperial Order of the Daughters of the Empire (I O D E).  During both World War l and World War ll the couple  opened their home to members of the armed forces. Many years later, one of her sons, Commodore Desmond William Piers, hung a scroll of Chinese characters in his office. It had belonged to his mother. One day a visitor translated the scroll which was a  a thank your from a high-ranking Mandarin lady proclaiming gratitude to Florence who had saved the lady's daughter. Evidently in reward for her service Florence had asked that the child's fee be unbound and never bound again.   Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Margaret O'Hara         3152

Born April 11, 1855, Port Elmsley, Canada West (now Ontario). Died August 28, 1940, Smith's Falls, Ontario.  In 1891 Margaret graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario.  She arrived in Bombay, India to begin missionary work in December 1891. She worked for 36 years as a hospital in Dhar, India. She was presented with the Kaiser-i-Hind Medal for her devotion and dedication. She wrote the book,  Leaf of the Lotus. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Clara Mary Olding-Hebb 3726 née Olding. Born November 5, 1869, Woodburn, Nova Scotia. Died June 18, 1921, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Clara graduated in 1896 from the Dalhousie Medical College. After graduation she received a handwritten notice from the provincial Medial Board permitting her to practice in New Brunswick. She opened her practice in Saint John, New Brunswick. She always wore a white uniform and was a familiar site on the city streets going to see patients. October 14, 1903 she married fellow doctor Arthur Morrison Hebb (1872-1959) and joined him and his medical partner Dr. G. R. Morse, in his medical practice in Chester, Nova Scotia. The young couple would have four children. Clara was active in her community and was a prime force behind the erection of the war memorial in Chester. By 1921 moved to Dartmouth. A year after her death her husband established the Dr. Clara Olding Prize which is awarded annually by the Dalhousie Medical School. * death date sometimes reported as June 20.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990; Find a grave Canada online (accessed 2022)
Belle Chone Oliver

Medical Missionary           
née Chone. Born January 25, 1875, Ingersoll, Ontario .Died May 21, 1947, Fort William 9now Thunder Bay) Ontario.  Belle graduated in 1900 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She relocated to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. where for 25 years she was house surgeon at the Philadelphia Women's Hospital. She also served as a medical missionary in Central India with the Presbyterian Church of Canada. In 1929 she became secretary of the National Christian Council of India. She was the force that developed the Women's Medical College at Vellore, India and raised the training standards for doctors and nurses. After 45 years of service in India she retired to Fort William, (now Thunder Bay), Ontario. Source: Source: The Indomitable Women Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1974). (2020); Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Marion Oliver

Born 1853, Avonbank, Canada West (now Ontario). Died May 23, 1913. She earned a teaching certificate and taught school in Perth County, Ontario. Deciding to enter into mission work she was accepted as a candidate with the Women’s Mission Society to be sent to India. In 1883 she graduated from the Women’s Medical College in Kingston, Ontario and was valedictorian for her class. In 1886 she became one of the 1st women to go to India as a medical missionary sailing for India on October 7, 1886. She was stationed at the mission at Indore where the missionaries had rooms to live right beside the medical dispensary. It was not long before she was taking weekly trips to Ujjain one of India’s oldest and most sacred cities. In 1888 she took charge of the Girl’s School in Indore. In 1892 she was also working at the new Women’s Hospital that was set up in Indore. She returned home to Canada on furlough and at that time cared for her ill mother. By 1894 she was once again back working in India retiring in 1913 and returning home to Canada. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Dorothea Agnes Jane Orr    3207

née  Johnston. Born Jun 1866, Whitby, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 22, 1946, Toronto, Ontario. Like so many young women of her era she became a school teacher in her home town.  On July 21, she married teacher Robert Orr, (died 1894).  Dorothea studied medicine graduating in 1899 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She interned at a children's hospital in New York, U.S.A. where she became head staff doctor. She eventually returned to Toronto and opened her own practice and was on staff of the Women's College Hospital. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Nettie Marjorie Oughton
                                    
3153

née Ogilivie. Born February 1866, Glasgow, Scotland. Died November 20 1927, Pomona, California, U.S.A. Nettie followed her father in profession graduating from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. She then took post graduate studies overseas becoming a Licentiate with the College of Physicians and Surgeons of London, Edinburgh, and Glasgow. She headed for Jamaica to join her parents and married Thomas Bancroft Oughton (died 1909) in June 1889.  After the death of her husband she returned to Canada and settled in Toronto and Vancouver, British Columbia before settling in southern California, U.S.A. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Parks

Physician & World War 1 Nursing Sister                        3208

Born March 1876, St. John, New Brunswick. Died April 1, 1955, St. John, New Brunswick. Margaret graduated in 1901 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, Ontario. After graduation she returned home to set up her practice in St. John.  In World War 1, women doctors were not allowed to serve so she enlisted as a nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) serving in France and then at the No. 1 Canadian Casualty Clearing Station as an anesthetist.  She returned home after the war and worked for the immigrations service of the Government of Canada in St. John, Quebec.  She went on to work in public health work in Manitoba. She retired to New Brunswick. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Christina Patrick        3209

née Gardiner Head. Born September 5, 1862, Eramosa , Wellington County, Canada West (now Ontario). Died May 17, 1933, Vancouver, British Columbia.  Tina was a graduate of the Toronto Normal School (Teacher's College" in 1881 and worked as a teacher for awhile. By 1886 she had graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  She relocated to Yorkton, Saskatchewan to set herself up. She soon  married a druggist, Richard Patrick.  Leaving her husband in 1907 she did post graduate studies at the New York Graduate Medical School and Laying In Hospital in the U.S.A. Returning to Canada she settled in Vermilion, Alberta where she became Medical Officer of Health. In 1925 she returned to Toronto to work at the Woman's Medical Hospital before retiring to Vancouver, British Columbia. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Lucinda McNeil Patterson  3210

Medical Missionary

Born April 23, 1877, Balinode, Ireland. Died May 24, 1935, Coquitlam, British Columbia.  Lucinda immigrated to Canada in the early 1890's. In 1903 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, Ontario. She became a medical missionary with the Church Missionary Society at Bahrain, Arabia in 1904. In a two week period she performed 20 eye operations, an amputation, removed a tumour and extracted numerous teeth.  From 1905 to 1911 she was in Shanghai, China.  She returned to British Columbia  and was admitted to Essondale Hospital, Coquitlam, British Columbia.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Eleanor Percival    3533 In 1922 she was on of the first of five women to graduate in medicine from McGill University. She went on to become the first female physician at the Montreal General Hospital. After her internship she worked at the Howard Kelly Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. where she studied the use of radium to treat cervical cancer.  She also spent a year at Johns Hopkins to further her studies. Returning to Canada she was in charge of the Montreal General Hospital's radium treatment where she fought for the recognition of the value of radiation in medicine. She retired in 1959 becoming an honourary attending staff.
Mildred Vera Peters    3454

Oncologist

Born April 28, 1911, Rexdale, Ontario. Died October 1, 1993, Toronto, Ontario. In 1934 she earned her medical degree from the University of Toronto as one of only ten women in the class. After the death of her mother from breast cancer Vera was determined to study for cures. In 1950 she published a medical paper on how Hodgins Disease could be curd. She studied radiation therapy to cure breast cancer. She worked at Princess Margaret Hospital, Toronto, demonstrating use of lumpectomy in breast surgery. It would take ten years for her theories to be fully accepted. In 1975 she was inducted into the Order of Canada and became an Officer in the Order in 1977 for therapeutic Radiology and Oncology. She also received the Médaille Antoine Belcere for her work. In 1988 she was named a Woman of Distinction by the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation. In 2010 she became a member of the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. She was married to Ken Lobb and the couple raised two children together. On September 10, 2020 Canada Post issued a commemorative Stamp celebrating her life and work. (2021)

Martha Agnes Philip-Bradshaw  3732

Medical Missionary
Born Halifax, Nova Scotia. Martha graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College in 1902.  Perhaps Martha had heard of Dr. Florence O'Donnell-Piers (1877-1958), an earlier graduate of Dalhousie Medical College, going to China as a medical missionary or perhaps the Chengtu Hospital in China was a main objective of the Women's Missionary Society of Canada. Either way, Martha endured the six months of uncertain travel to go to Chengtu Hospital as a medical Missionary.  Martha travelled with Dr. Mabel Cassidy-Mortimore who had just graduated from the University of Trinity College, Toronto. Martha married Dr. Frederick Joseph Bradshaw, a felloe missionary and the couple served many years together in China. They retired to Burbank, California, U.S.A. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Anne Louise Pickering      3211 née Inshaw. Born April 17, 1857, Birmingham, England. Died January 18, 1948, Wildwood, New Jersey, U.S.A..  In 1877 she married Dr. Latimer Pickering and the couple immigrated to Canada in 1883.  Annie graduated in 1887 from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She and her husband opened a practice in Toronto. Within five years Annie left her husband for another man and never practiced medicine again. She settled in Brooklyn, New York, U.S.A. and married Mark Mckinney (Died 1903). After the death of her husband she took over his florist business. In 1906 she married Dr. Charles Scattergood, a pharmacist and veterinarian. The couple dabbled in various businesses including a Picture Theatre, a family resort and an amusement palace.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Marion Powell

Died December 21, 1997. After Marion earned her medical degree she went on to earn her  Diploma in Public Health at the University of Toronto. In the 1970’s she assisted in establishing the Bay Centre for Birth Control which was the first hospital supported street centre to make information about contraception widely available. From 1980-1990 the Woman’s College Hospital appointed her as Director of the Bay Centre. By the time of her retirement in 1990 her efforts had been recognized by the YWCA with the Woman of Distinction in Health and Education in 1984. She received the 1988 Persons Award from the Canadian Government and in 1990 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. In 1994 the City of Toronto presented her the Gardina Award in recognition of her contributions to the development of the well-being of the city. In 1998, Women’s College Hospital created the Marion Powell Award in her honour.

Annie Powers

Born March 3, 1907, Rockland, Ontario. Died December 8, 1989, Rockland, Ontario. Annie earned the BA from the University of Ottawa in 1930. She started teaching and until 1941 she served at Hawkesbury, Ontario. She decided that the wanted to follow the career paths of her father and brothers and become a doctor. In 2945 she had received her medical diploma from the University Laval making her one of the 1st Francophone women in Ontario to become a doctor. She worked as a rural doctor and often provided free services for those in need who could not pay. She soon took over her father’s clients and became the doctor in residence Saint Joseph in Rockland. Here she established connections with L’hopital Montfort in Ottawa. At her own expense she often had patients in the hospital and even made certain that they had TV’s to watch. In 1971 she was Citizen of the year in Rockland and same year she received the Order of Canada. The medical library at the Montfort hospital was named in her honour and the town of Rockland named Le Centre Powers, supported by the Chevaliers de Colomb as a tribute. Source: Dr Annie Powers Biographies des Médecins Hôpital Montfort Online (accessed August 2015. )

Kathleen I. Prichard

Kathleen earned her Bachelor Degree in 1968 from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and went on to earn her medical degree there in 1971. In 1973 she researched melanoma ant tumor immunology at the University of Toronto. By 1977 she had began researching Breast cancer. In 1978 through 1984 she conducted clinical trials at Women's College Hospital, Toronto. In 1978 she was a founding member of the Canadian Oncology Society and a founding member of the Canadian Association of Medical Oncology. In 1984, she was appointed head of Medical Oncology and Haematology at Women's College Hospital. She was also Chair of the Breast Cancer Site Group with National Cancer Institute of Canada. Beginning in 1987 she spent ten years at Sunnybrook Regional Cancer Centre, Toronto. In 1990 to 1992 she was President of the Canadian Association of Medical Oncology. In 1997 she became Head of Clinical Trials and Epidemiology at the Odette Cancer Centre at Sunnybrook. She is well known for researching chemotherapy verses hormone therapy and the effects of aging and menopause and the risk of breast cancer. In 2005 she earned the O. Harold Warwick Prize from the Canadian Cancer Society. In 2006 she served on the Board of Directors for the American Society of Clinical Oncology. In 2015 she was honoured at the Women of Action Awards by the Israel Cancer Research Fund in Toronto. In 2018 she was inducted at a Member of the Order of Canada.  (2020)

Rose Pringle         3212 née Gale. Born June 28, 1866, London, England. Died May 9, 1947, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.A. After the death of her father Rose was left an Orphan and was adopted by her aunt Isabella Pringle and was brought up in Fergus, Ontario. In 1895 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She began her career as Head of the Women's Department of the Bloomingdale Hospital, White Plans, New York, U.S.A. Later she set herself up in Manhattan, New York.  Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Bessie T. Pullen-Singer

née Pullan. Born November 23, 1896? York County, Ontario. Bessie graduated from the Ontario Medical College in 1909. For the next two years she did post graduate studies at the New England Hospital for Women and Children, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She returned to Toronto where she married Louis M. Singer (1885-1959) a lawyer and the second Jewish member elected to the Toronto City Council where he served during World War 1. Bessie is considered the 1st Jewish woman doctor in Canada. (2020)

Mary Leila Randall-Morris 3728 née Randall. Born January 13, 1868, Bayfield, Nova Scotia. Died January 19, 1912, Bayfield, Nova Scotia. Mary graduated from the Dalhousie Medical College in 1899. She did some graduate studies prior to practice paediatrics for five years. She married an engineer Frederick Cox Morris. The couple invested in real estate and owned an apartment building known as Randall Apartments. Sadly Mary developed Bright's disease and died young. Source: Petticoat Doctors by Enid Johnson MacLeod Lawrencetown Beach, N. S. Pottersfield Press, 1990.
Hannah Emily Reid

Born January 19, 1870, Orangeville, Ontario. Died May 27, 1955, Toronto, Ontario. After high school Hannah Emily, like so many young women of her era, attended Normal School, (Teacher's College), in Toronto. By 1905 she had graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She interned at the New England Hospital Women and Children, Boston, Massacheutts, U.S.A. Returning to Toronto she set up her own practice specializing in anaesthesia and obstetrics. She was a member of the first Board of the Women's College Hospital and in 1926 became chief anaesthesia. She practiced medicine in Toronto for 50 years. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Minerva Ellen Reid

Born October 10, 1871, Orangeville, Ontario. Died May 28, 1957, Toronto, Ontario. A bright student in Public School and High School  Minerva obtained a teaching certificate and moved to be with her brother Dr. John Buchanan  Reid (1861-1931) in Tilsonburg, Ontario. It while living with her brother that she became interested in medicine. In 1905 she and her sister Hannah Emily Reid (1876-1955) both graduated from medical school in Toronto, Ontario. Minerva completed her surgical training in London, England and Dublin, Ireland. Both Minerva and Hannah served on the 1st Board of Directors of the Toronto Women’s College Hospital. In 1915 Minerva became the 1st woman to be chief of Surgery in North America. Minerva also campaigned to the establishment of Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto to care for wounded soldiers. She was also active in her community as a member of the Toronto Women’s Committee. She ran for provincial parliament in 1929 and in 1935 she ran in the federal election. In 1996 Rose Anthony wrote a one woman play, The League of Notions, based on Minerva’s life. (updated 8/2014); Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  (2020)

Grace Rice     3725 Born Weymouth, Nova Scotia. Died 1963, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Grace was one of two women who would graduate in 1903 from the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax, Nova Scotia. After graduation she headed to the U.S.A. where for six years she was a resident physician in the Massacheutts State Hospital. About 1909 she travelled overseas taking post-graduate studies in obstetrics and gynecology in Dublin, Ireland and Edinburgh, Scotland. By 1911 she was back in Canada where she opened her own practice in Halifax. She was soon joined by her sister Frances who had served as a Nursing Sister during World War 1. Grace retired from her medical practice in 1951 after almost 50 years dedicated to her community. She often provided free medical care for those who could not afford to pay a fee but she was also known to be generous in her help of the poor as well as helping many nursing and medical students. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990;
Annie Grant Hill Rideout

Born November 1871, Calcutta, India. Died May 4, 1965, St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S.A. Annie's was an engineer working in India. Annie attended the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston in 1893. The following year she married Dr. John Byron Rideout, a dentist. Together the couple had at least one son. She worked with Dr. R. E. Sparks, a dentist and become one of the first women dentists when she passed examinations of the Quebec Dental Association. She became the dental partner in Montreal of Dr. Samuel J. Andres. She relocated to Roseville, Minnesota, U.S.A. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Susanna 'Susie' Carson Rijnhart-Moyes  4040

Medical Missionary
Born 1868, Chatham, Ontario. Died February 8, 1908, Chatham, Ontario. In 1888 she graduated from the Woman's Medical College, Toronto, Ontario. September 15, 1894 she married a Dutch missionary, Petrus Rijnhard (1866-1878). The couple were soon medical missionaries in Tibet where she was only the second Western Women known to have visited the country.  At first the couple were well received in the village of Lusar. They respected the local peoples and soon gained respect in return. In a battle against Musilim intruders the people sided with the Chinese imperial government. Susie and Petrus tended the wounded of the battle and were forced to flee for their lives when the enemy regrouped and attacked. They were welcomed to the safety of their home village by all the inhabitants. The moved to Tankar to set up a dispensary. Here their son , Charles, was born. and the family moved on to Lhasa. A tremendous trip of  rough terrain, inclement weather and marauding bandits. Sadly Charles died on the trip and the couple gave up the journey. On the way back to their home Petrus disappeared, possibly murdered. Susie was reluctantly taken in by a group of nomads and went to China. Years later she married James Moyes. Returning to Canada in 1907 she wrote a book of her experiences and lectured. She died shortly after the birth of her son. Source: D C B
Maureen Lorimer Roberts   

née McWilliams. Born January 26, 1915, Peterhead, Scotland. Died 2004, Ottawa, Ontario. Maureen graduated in medical studies from the University of Edinburgh, Scotland in 1937. In 1939 she earned a diploma in child health from the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. In 1940 she married Dr. Richard Roberts. In 1944 she left her son in England and served in the Indian Medical Service. After the World War ll, back in England, the couple established a medical practice near Canterbury. By 1948  they were in Halifax, Nova Scotia where Richard joined the Canadian Navy to earn money and continue in depth medical training while Maureen taught Pediatrics at Dalhousie University. Reading about Medic Alert bracelets and their success in the U.S.A., on June 18, 1961 they put up $1,000.00 to begin the Canadian Medic Alert Foundation which flourished with her efforts and dedication. In 1964 the couple joined a medical expedition and sailed to Easter Island. In 1966, posted to Ottawa, Maureen set up a genetic counselling service. In 1980 the retired Dr. Maureen worked with an Ottawa day care center. Sources: Charlotte Grey, ‘Maureen Roberts’ in the Canadian Medical Journal Vol. 131 November 15, 1984: Valerie Knowles, Capital Lives, Volume 2, 2010. (2020)

Jane 'Jennie' Smillie Robertson

née Smillie. Born February 10, 1878, Hansall, Ontario. Died February 26, 1981, Toronto, Ontario. Jane became a teacher so that she could earn money to attend the Ontario Medical College, Kingston, Ontario (merged with University of Toronto, 1906). Once she had earned her medical certificate in 1909 she could not find a Toronto hospital that would accept her for residency. She took off the U.S.A. to intern at Philadelphia’s Women’s Medical Collage. She returned to Toronto to practice medicine and became , perhaps, the 1st woman in Canada to perform surgery. She operated in a private home because she was still having problems finding a position in any local hospital which were still reluctant to accept woman doctors. She was also the 1st woman doctor in Canada to perform major gynaecological surgery. Jennie worked to establish Women’s College Hospital as well as the Federation of Medical Women in Canada.  At 70 she married her childhood sweetheart, Alex Robertson. Sources: “Dr Jennie Smillie Robertson, woman surgeon, was 1st to enter practice in Canada”, Globe and Mail, March 3, 1981 : Builders and Pioneers: Individuals who helped ideas prosper by Steve Brearton, University of Toronto Magazine, Spring 2000.

Gretchen Roedde

Born 1952?. Gretchen earned her medical degree from MacMaster School of Medicine, Hamilton Ontario. She works in Northern Ontario where for many years she has spent at least half the year working to improve maternal health in forlorn parts of more than 30 developing countries. She has written from her diary and medical journals A Doctor's Quest: The Struggle for Mother and Child Health Around the Globe. Part of this book spoke of her experiences in Tanzania. She was invited to share her story with the United Church Women (U C W) in Northern Ontario. The regional UCW was so impressed with her presentation and her professionalism that she was invited to speak to the National conference which was just beginning a charity drive for helping a maternity training school in Tanzania. Her passion spawned the U C W across the country to raise some $270,000.00 for training in Tanzania. Proceeds of the second printing of the book also went to maternal health projects mainly in Africa. Back home in Northern Ontario Gretchen became a breast cancer survivor and began work on her second publication. Deep Water Dream: A medical Voyage of Discovery in Rural Northern Ontario appeared in 2018. Gretchen has also helped develop a Cree language community medical dictionary to aid in training health based care workers. She is an assistant professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine. (2020)

Annie Ross

Born July 1872, Blyth, Ontario. Died September 4, 1966, Goderich, Ontario. She graduated from the Toronto Model School and taught school for several years in Huron County, Ontario. In 1902 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She attended Columbia University, New York City, U.S.A. for post graduate studies. Returning to Canada she joined the staff of the Ontario Agricultural College, Guelph, Ontario where she lectured to female students of Macdonald College. She retired in 1936. Living in Goderich, Ontario she was an active member of the Women's Institute. She was an honorary member of the St. John Ambulance and taught first aid and home nursing to various groups. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

Charlotte Whithead Ross

Born July 15, 1843, Darlington, England  Died February 16, 1916, Winnipeg, Manitoba. She immigrated to Canada with her family when she was five years old. Charlotte received her schooling in Clinton, Ontario, and went to finishing school at the Sacred Heart Convent in Montreal. At eighteen, she married David Ross, her father's associate in the railway construction business. In 1870 women were not allowed entry into Canadian medical schools. She enrolled in an U.S. medical school, the Women’s Medical College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,  with her husband's encouragement. She was forced to take 2 absences because of a miscarriage and the birth of a daughter. She graduated in 1875 and set up a successful practice in Montreal, Quebec, the first woman doctor in the city.  In 1878 left  Montreal to join her husband and father who were building the Canadian Pacific Railway, in Whitemouth, Manitoba Charlotte was the 1st woman to practice medicine in that province. There are many stories attesting to the fact that after delivering a  baby, she would scrub the floor, do the washing, and cook enough food for several days so that the new mother would get a couple of days' rest. She was also known to bring new mothers a bouquet of white roses that she grew in her garden. She was strict about antiseptic methods and sterilization which meant she was far ahead of some of her contemporaries in her practice of medicine. Dr. Ross practiced medicine for twenty-seven years without a license. She applied for licenses in both Montreal and Winnipeg, but she was denied because she refused to go to medical school in Canada and pass the exam by the all-male admissions board of the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons. She continued to practice medicine, despite the fact that she knew she could be prosecuted and jailed. She avoided prosecution in Montreal because she worked under the patronage of Dr. Hingston, her original mentor, who later became the mayor of Montreal. She avoided prosecution in Manitoba because her practice was rural and she was the only physician in Whitemouth. The Charlotte W. Ross Gold Medal for highest honours in obstetrics is given annually in the Manitoba Medical College. Dr. Ross finally did get her license posthumously in November 1993 when Liberal MLA Sharon Carstairs introduced a resolution to that effect in the Manitoba Legislature. Government of Manitoba. Source: Status of Women. Women working for Healthy Communities by Ada Ducas et all October 2001. Online (accessed December 2011); Memorable Manitobans Online (accessed 2022)

Edith M. Ross   3678 Born October 23, 1888, Whitemouth, Manitoba. Died May 13, 1932, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Edith was the granddaughter of pioneering doctor Charlotte Whitehead Ross (1843-1916). In 1913 she graduated from the Manitoba Medical College receiving the gold medal that was named for her grandmother. Edith would become the first woman anesthetist at the Winnipeg General Hospital. In 1918, in a gutsy move, she resigned her position at the hospital when she was refused funds to purchase a nitrous oxide dispenser, the best device for delivering anesthesia at the time. The hospital considered this an unnecessary expense for use with public ward patients. The Hospital Committee gave in and made the purchase and Dr. Edith was reinstated.  Sources: Influenza: Disease, Death, and Struggle in Winnipeg by Esylit W. James; Find a grave Canada 0nlone (accessed 2022)
Miriam Frances Rossi 3534

Black Pediatrician
née Senhouse. Born January 31, 1937, Boston , Massachusetts, U.S.A. Died July 11, 2018, Toronto, Ontario. Miriam earned a Bachelor of Science in dietetics, and a Master's Degree in nutrition and Biochemistry from the University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa, U.S.A. After graduation she worked as an instructor at a Boston hospital and then as a teacher and public health nutritionist in New York City, U.S.A. Miriam studied medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York City, U.S.A. She took her medial residency at McGill University, Montreal. In 1973, she and her husband, Renato Rossi, went to Milan, Italy, where she practiced medicine after earning her Italian medical degree. In 1981 she joined the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children serving as a pediatrician in the division of Adolescent Medicine and an Associate Dean of Student Affairs and Admissions at the University of Toronto (U of T) Faculty of Medicine. She was the mother of one son. From 1990-1993 she was on the Presidential Advisory Committee on Race Relations and Anti-racial Initiatives of the University of Toronto. From 1991 through 1998 she served on the Ontario Premier's Council for Health Strategy. In 1992 she co-founded the Association for the Advancement of Blacks in Health Sciences. In 1994 she was the co-founder of the Summer Mentorship Program giving high school indigenous or African ancestry  a chance to explore health sciences at the U of T for four weeks. She also fought hard to address the under representation of Black and Indigenous students in medicine. She championed the establishment of the T A I B U Community Health Centre to provide care to Toronto's Black communities. From 2004 through 2010 she served on the Trillium Gift of Life Network, Ontario's provincial agency dedicated to organ transplant and donations. She was also a founding member of the Black Physicians' Association of Ontario. Upon retirement she became an emeritus professor of paediatrics at the U of T. Among her many awards was in 2016 when she was recognized as one of the 100 accomplished Black Canadian Women. In 2017 the Miriam Rossi Award for Health Equity in Undergraduate Medical Education was established to recognize faculty members at U of T's Medical program for their commitment to diversity and health equity. She was a Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Source: Obituary (accessed 2021); in Memorium U of t (accessed 2021)
Mary Helen Irwin Rutnam

née Irwin. Born June 2, 1873, Elora, Ontario. Died May 1962. In 1896 she graduated with a medical degree from the Women’s Medical College, Trinity College, University of Toronto. While doing post graduate work in New York, U.S. she met and married Samuel Christmas Kanaga Rutnam, a Christian Tamil from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). The couple would settle in Ceylon and raise 5 children. She was shunned by the missionaries in Ceylon because of her marriage. She was denied a permanent position with the Ceylonese government because she only held a Canadian Medical degree not British credentials. Not deterred she simply opened her own successful medical practice. On a trip to Canada in 1907 she became interested in the information regarding the founding of the Women’s Institutes. She returned to Ceylon where she challenged herself with attempting to install similar institute training for women. After another visit to Canada in 1931 she returned to Ceylon and successfully established the Women’s institutes which by 1950 had some 150,000 members. She would go on to found the Lanka Mahila Samiti training program for rural women in Ceylon. Active in the political scene through the Women’s Political Union and the All Ceylon Womens Conference. She authored health textbooks and taught about women’s bodies and childbirth long before these were accepted topics for conversation. In 1934-35 she served during a massive malaria outbreak in the country. In 1958 she was honoured as the only woman to receive the 1st Ramon Magsaysay Award for her dedication public service.  Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Clarke Irwin, 1974) ; Dr. Mary Rutnam (1873-1962) a Canadian Pioneer for Sri Lanka Women. Online (accessed April 2014); Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  (2020)

Clara Ryan

Born 1859, Barriefield, Canada West (now Ontario). Died October 1, 1946, Toronto, Ontario. Like many women of her generation her first career was that of a teacher. She graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario in 1893. For a short time she lived in Sherman, Texas, U.S.A.  She then spent 13 years working as superintendent of a hospital in Arizona, U.S.A. She then was a staff doctor at the Loomis Hospital, Liberty, New York, U.S.A. She returned to Canada residing for a while in Ernestown, Ontario prior to relocating to Toronto where she was considered the oldest woman to have an active medical practice in the city. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Helen Elizabeth Ryan

née Reynolds. Born June 7, 1860, Mount Forest, Canada West  (now Ontario). Died July 9, 1947, Victoria British Columbia. Helen , like so many ladies of her era attended Normal School (Teacher's College) in Ottawa. Wanting more education she attended Queen’s University in the second medical class that allowed women students in 1881.  Helen would have to withstand abuse from some of the male students and faculty but she still graduated at the top of her class in 1885. She opened her first practice in Toronto where she struggled to become established and finally joined her brother in Mt. Forrest.  While struggling to establish herself she met and then married Thomas John Ryan on September 10, 1880. The couple settled in Sudbury, Ontario where he would become elected mayor (1899 to 1901). The couple had five children together. She was the first woman doctor to practice in Northern Ontario. Together they raised a family of five children while Helen had a successful medial practice. In 1907 the family relocated to British Columbia where Helen, unable to practice medicine in the province, became active in public life. She worked for women’s franchise joined the Local Council of Women and was a charter member of the University Women's Club.. (right to vote). She was the 1st woman member of the Canadian Medical Association. Sources: Greater Sudbury 125 1883-2008 the story of our times (Bilingual); South Side Story, January 2005. Additional information provided by Queen’s University Archives ; The indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke Irwin, 1974) (2021)

Ricky Kanee Schachter

Born December 23, 1918, Melville, Saskatchewan. Died July 1, 2007, Toronto, Ontario. After earning her Bachelor of Arts at the University of Saskatchewan she headed to the University of Toronto (U of T) to her her medical degree in 1943. Married while completing her studies she was mother to two children. She then did some post graduate work at Columbia University in New York in dermatology. She returned to her husband in Toronto where they would raise their three children. In 1946 she joined the staff of the Woman's College Hospital in Toronto. She has served as Chief of Dermatology and Director of the Psoriases Education and Research Centre where she pioneered the idea of treating psoriases patients on an out-patient basis. it is considered a Centre of Excellence in North America. She would serve as president of the Medical staff and the Medical Advisory Committee f in 1958. In 1976 she established the Psoriasis Education and Research Centre at W C H and served as the first Director. The Centre was the first of its kind in Canada to specialize in the treatment, education, and research on psoriasis.  In 1978-9 she became the first woman to lead specialists in her field when she served as President of the Canadian Dermatology Association. She published numerous papers, reports and articles in her field and was in demand internationally as a speaker for seminars and scientific exhibitions. She has received numerous honours including the Queens Golden Jubilee Medal. In 1985 a chair in dermatology was established in her honour. The Dr. Ricky Kanee Schachter Dermatology Fund was established in recognition of her commitment to patient care.In 1998 she became a Member of the Order of Canada.  In 2005 she was the first to receive the Canadian Dermatology Foundation's Practitioner of the Year Award. (2022)

Annie Sarah Schilstra       3215

 
née McConnell. Born January 20, 1871, Clinton, Ontario. Died March 4, 1942, Steinback, Manitoba.  In 1899 Annie graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She immigrated to Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.A. where she interned at North Western Hospital. In 1902 she married Dr. Alexander Schilstra. Annie Sarah spent time in New York State, U.S.A. and then relocated to Manitoba in 1904  settling in Steinbach, Manitoba in 1908 where she was the firs woman doctor. . During World War l 91914-1918) she served with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) as Medical Allicer of the 16th Battalion Field Ambulance in Mesopotamia. Back in Steinback she worked with her husband at the local Bethesda Hospital. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  (2020)
Jessie Boyd Scriver     3520 née Boyd. Born 1894, Montreal, Quebec. Died May 13, 2000, Montreal, Quebec. Jessie originally trained as a musician and became a teacher at McGill University. During World War 1 with so many young men away fighting in Europe there was a shortage of physicians in Montreal. The need for doctors was desperate and McGill's Medical school began to admit women as 'partial students'. Jessie was one of the first women to study medicine at McGill University, Montreal, Quebec. These early women students were harassed by male students who threw bloody organs at the women during anatomy class. Jessie prevailed and was accepted as a full time student in her second year of studies. Jessie graduated in 1922 with the second highest marks in her class. After graduation she did postgraduate work in sickle cell anemia at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Montreal. She went on to train in pediatrics at Harvard University and the Children's Hospital in Boston in the U.S.A. from 1924 for two years. In 1924 she married Dr. Walter deMouilpied Scriver (1894-1967), also a McGill graduates. The couple had one son.  Back in Montreal she worked at the University Clinic and then into a pediatrics practice. which she maintained for 41 years. This was a time when medicine directed at children's health was a new idea. She became an associate professor of medicine at McGill University, was pediatrician-in-chief at the Royal Victoria Hospital, and physician at the Montreal Children's Hospital. In 1952 she served as president fo the Canadian Pediatric Society and was accepted as a fellow of the Royal College of Physicians and surgeons and the American Academy of Pediatrics. She retired in 1967 to care for her ill husband. Source: Dr. Jessie Boyd Scriver. Changing the face of Medicine. online (accessed 2021)
Elizabeth Caroline Secord

née Smith. Born October 26, 1841, Blissville, New Brunswick. Died July 4, 1916. After here early schooling Elizabeth earned her teaching Certificate at Normal School. After teaching for awhile she met and in 1869 married John Secord (Died 1874). The couple had one son in 1872. Elizabeth attended medical school in Keeokuk, Michigan, U.S.A. and spent her internship at the Women’s Medical College in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. in 1882. Returning home she registered in June 1883 as the 1st woman doctor in New Brunswick before leaving for Dublin and London, England for post graduate studies. At first she opened a practice in Frederick, New Brunswick but moved on to Norton and finally settled in Farmerston (now Jacksonville) for her 33 years of practicing medicine. In 1908 at the age of 67 she took in 2 British Home Children, Herbert Morris and Elsie May Morris. The children were sent to Canada by caring organizations in England. Elizabeth signed a contract to care for and educate the children. Sources: The Indomitable Women Doctors by Carlotta Hacker, (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin, 1974) : Elizabeth Caroline (Smith) Secord by John Wood, Online (Accessed March 2014)

Ellen Ann Sherratt       3216 née Atkins Burt. Born April 9, 1862, Huntingdon, Canada East (now Quebec). Died August 22, 1943, Toronto, Ontario. In 1893 Ellen graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, Ontario. On August 9, 1897 she married William Sherratt. She was active in the Social Service Council of Canada and in 1919 represented her country at an International Conference of Women Doctors, New Your, U.S.A. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  
Alice Mary Sidgwick

née Sibly. Born December 27, 1922, Gloucestershire, England. Died June 11, 2014, Toronto, Ontario. Mary was educated at Cheltenham Ladies College and studied medicine at Cambridge University in England. When she graduated women were ‘not invited’ to graduation ceremonies! In 1947 she married John R .L. Sidgwick (d. 1973) a musician. The couple immigrated to the Toronto area of Ontario and had three children. By 1960 Mary had met the qualifications of study to practice medicine in Canada. In 1964 she and her husband John founded the Orpheous Choir of Toronto. Mary herself was an accomplished pianist and choral singer. Mary had her medical practice in North York and also worked at North York General Hospital until her official retirement in 1977. Source: Obituaries, Globe and Mail June 27, 2014. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon.

Letitia Sirrs             3217

née Kean Meade. Born June 29, 1858, Haltonville, Canada West (now Ontario).  Died May 25, 1943, Haltonville, Ontario. Like so many young women of her era she began her working career as a teacher. She taught near her home for seven years. In 1891 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College For Women, Toronto. After she completed her studies she served as a demonstrator of anatomy at the College.  Returning to practice medicine in her home town she married George Sirrs on October 11, 1893. She became a medical inspection officer for schools as well has having he practice out of her home. The name plate from her office door is part of the collections of the Museum of Health Care, Kingston, Ontario. She helped organize her local Women's Institute and actively raised war funds to send supplies overseas. Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

Nellie St. George Skimin née St. George. Born July 26, 1863, St. George, Canada West (now Ontario). Died July 6, 1906, Hamilton, Ontario. Nellie earned a Master of Arts from Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario and then attended Queen's Women's Medical College graduating in 1892.  Her sister, Alice Skimin McGillivray (1861-1912) also studied medicine. The sisters opened a practice together in Hamilton, Ontario. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)
Martha Smith             3218 Born Erin, Ontario. Died November 29, 1914, India.  In 1889 she trained as a nurse at the Rhode Island Hospital Training School for Nurses graduating in 1901. Ten years later she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto, Ontario.  Martha became a medical missionary with the Christian Women's Board of Missions in India. She worked in Mahoba, India retuning home only to lecture to raise awareness of the mission work.    Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  
Elizabeth McPhail-Steele

Nursing Sister World War 1 & Physician        
3364

née McPhail. Born September 30, 1893, Paisley, Ontario. Died ???? Elizabeth graduated in 1916 from the Winnipeg General Hospital (WGH) School of Nursing, Manitoba. She enlisted as a Nursing Sister with the Canadian Army Medical Corps (CAMC) in March 1917. Overseas she was posted to No. 16 Canadian General Hospital, Orpington, and No. 12 Canadian General Hospital, England. Back home after the war in 1921 she married former veteran pilot Robert Crawford Steele. The couple settled in British Columbia for awhile and then returned to Winnipeg. Elizabeth enrolled in the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Manitoba and graduated in 1935. Source: Health Sciences Centre Archives, Winnipeg, Winnipeg General Hospital School of Nursing Class of 1916. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Mary Street      3455

Born 1907, Toronto, Ontario. Died 1993. Margaret began her working career as a high school teacher. She then studied nursing at the Royal Victoria Hospital, Montreal. She working as a nurse and taught nursing at the University of British Columbia beginning in 1961. She returned to Montreal to earn a bachelor of nursing degree from McGill University and then taught in Manitoba and Quebec. From 1953 through 1960 she was the associate director of the Calgary General Hospital School of Nursing. She served as president of the Alberta Association of Registered Nurses from 1957 to 1959. In 1962 she earned her master's of science from Boston University in Massauchetts, U.S.A. She returned to British Columbia to continue her teaching at the University of British Columbia retiring in 1972. In retirement she  wrote Watchfires on the Mountains: the Life and Writings of Ethel John. In 1982 she was inducted into the Order of Canada. In 1990 she became the first honourary member of the British Columbia History of Nursing Group. She was also an honourary member of the professional nurses' associations  in Ontario, and Alberta. She received the Canada Silver Jubilee Medal. (2021)

Bette Stephenson

Born July 31, 1924, Aurora, Ontario. In 1945/6 she earned her medical degree at the University of Toronto. She was one of then women in a class of 142 students. She and her husband opened a general medical practice that would span 40 years. She helped create the College of Family Physicians in order to promote more interest in family medicine. Bette was a staff member of Women’s College Hospital, Toronto, with her section becoming the Outpatient Department and she also served a Chief of the Department of General Practice. She would be the 1st woman to serve on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Medical Association and the 1st woman president of the organization. She was also the 1st woman president of the Ontario Medical Association. In 1975 she was elected to the Ontario legislature where on August 18, 1978 she served as the 1st woman Minister of Education and the 1st woman Minister of Colleges and Universities. On May 17, 1985 she became Minister of Finance/treasurer and the 1st woman to serve as Deputy Premier. She was also a founding member of the Canadian Institute of Advanced Research. In 1992 she received the Order of Canada and in 1999 the Order of Ontario. The Dr Bette Stephenson Recognition of Achievement was named in her honour. Source: Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Online. (accessed January 2014)

Emily Howard Stowe

née Jennings. Born May 1, 1831, Norwich, Upper Canada (now Ontario). Died April 30,1903, Toronto, Ontario. Emily's mother was a Quaker who   encouraged her six daughters to obtain a good education. Like many young women of her era Emily was a teacher at local schools. She was refused entry to Victoria College, Cobourg, Ontario because she was a woman. She became a life long champion of women’s rights. She attended the Normal School (Teacher's College) for Upper Canada, Toronto graduating in 1854. She worked as principal at a Brantford, Ontario public school becoming the first woman principal of a public school in Upper Canada. She married John Fiuscia Michael Heward Stowe in 1854. Together the couple had three children.  With no Canadian institution allowing women to study medicine she studied at the New York Medical College for women  in the United States and in 1868 became the first Canadian woman to practice medicine in Canada and the second licensed female physician in Canada.  She opened her practice in Toronto. In 1876 she founded the Toronto Literary Club which became the Canadian Women's Suffrage Association in 1883. She gained notoriety when she was accused and acquitted of administering drugs to cause an abortion in 1879. On July 16 1880 she received her medial license from the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario.  In 1883 a meeting of the Suffrage Association would lead to the creation of the Ontario Medical College for Women.  Her daughter Augusta Stowe Gullen (1857-1943) was the first woman to earn a medical degree in Canada. She was also founder and first president of the Dominion Women’s Enfranchisement Association in 1889. In 1893 she broke her hip at the Columbian Exposition's Women's Congress and she retired from medicine. In 1896 she and Augusta participated in a mock parliament where discussion was centered around the question of  giving men the vote! Public school have been named in her honour, a women's shelter in Toronto is named in her honour and in 2018 she was inducted into the Medical Hall of Fame. (2021)

Anne Augusta Stowe-Gullen

née Stowe. Born  July 27, 1857, Mount Pleasant, Toronto, Canada West (now Ontario) . Died September 25, 1943, Toronto, Ontario. Augusta’s mother and mentor was Dr. Emily Stowe(1831-1903). Augusta was the 1st woman to earn a medical degree in Canada. She graduated from Victoria College, (an affiliate of the University of Toronto) Cobourg, Ontario in 1883. Upon graduation she married Dr. John B. Gullen, a future founder in 1896 of Toronto Western Hospital. After their marriage the couple did post graduate coursed in children’s medicine in New York, U.S.A. Augusta taught at the Ontario Medical College for Women (known 1883-94 as the Woman's Medical College, Toronto) and was on U of T Senate 1910-22. Both she and her mother were leading figures in the suffrage movement. Augusta succeeded her mother as president of the Dominion Women's Enfranchisement Assn in 1903. She was also a founder of the National Council of women. In 1935 she received the Order of the British Empire. Sources: Carla Hacker. The Indomitable Women Doctors. (1974) ; K. Smith. Dr. Augusta Stowe-Gullen; a pioneer of social conscience in The Canadian Medical Association Journal, January 15, 1982 ; The Canadian Encyclopedia. Online (Accessed June 2003) (2020)

Wilhelmina 'Minnie'  Strait     3158

née Grant Fraser. Born 1862, St. Thomas, Canada West (now Ontario). Died June 26, 1928, Coonor, India. In 1890 she graduated from the Women's Medical College, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. She became a medical missionary with the Presbyterian Church serving at Mahow, Indore State, in central India. In 1896 she married Frederick Strait and the couple served as missionaries with the American Baptist  Missionary Union I serving in Udayagiri in southern India for 30 years. In 1925 she received the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal for her dedication and devotion.  Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Margaret Purdie Symington 3219

Born April 27, 1855, Brighton, Canada West (now Ontario). Died September 1, 1909, Napanee, Ontario.  Like so many young women of her era she worked as a teacher in her home town. By 1895 she had graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto. She went on to take post graduate work in Edinburgh, Scotland, becoming a Licentiate of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons. Returning to Canada ahe opened he medical practice in Napanee, Ontario in 1896.   Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

Lucille Teasdale-Corti

Born January 30, 1929, Montreal, Quebec. Died August 1, 1996, Lombardy, Italy. From the age of 12 she knew just what she wanted to do, she wanted to be a doctor. She studies at the University of Montreal and in 1955 was the 1st woman in Quebec to receive a diploma as a surgeon. She attempted to obtain training abroad but was turned down by American hospitals because she was a women. During her internship in Montréal Lucille met Piero Corti, a young Italian doctor studying pediatrics. His dream to establish a world-class teaching hospital in Africa. He had already heard about a small clinic near Lacor, a town not far from Gulu, a city in northern Uganda. It was little more than a dispensary with a few dozen beds, but he saw it as a starting point.  In 1961, she joined forces with Corti, her future husband, and they worked in Uganda for more than thirty years. Dr. Teasdale would tend to as many as 300 outpatients each morning and perform surgeries in the afternoon. Dr. Teasdale performed more the 13,000 surgeries working through Idi Admin’s dictatorship, civil wars, epidemics and massacres. She received many awards for her life work including being an Officer of the Order of the Merit of the Republic of Italy in 1981, inducted as a member of the Order of Canada 1991, named a Grand Officer of the National Order of Québec 1995, and awarded the Saskawa Prize with her husband in 1996. This is the most prestigious distinction awarded by the World Health Organization of the United Nations. She died from aids which she contracted while operating on an infected soldier. Canada Post issued a commemorative stamp in her honour as part of the Millennium series, January 17, 2000. In 2001 she was inducted into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame. Sources: Dr. Lucille Teasdale. Canadian Medical Hall of Fame Online (Accessed 2005) ; Lucille Teasdale. The Canadian Encyclopedia Online (Accessed 2005) ; Dawson, Joanna and Beverly Tallon. “Helping Heroes: Canadians who made a difference in the world.’ In Canada’s History February- March 2013 (2020)

Julia Thomas        3220

Born November 21, 1844, Bremhill, England. Died June 28, 1931, Toronto, Ontario. In the 1850's her family immigrated to Canada. Julia was a school teacher in and around Bowmanville, Ontario before she decided to return to school. In 1891 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Totonto. She set up her practice in Toronto where she was a member of the board of the Young Women's Christian Guild serving as physician to the Girl's Home in Toronto. She was overseas in 1914 when World War 1 broke out.   Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

Alice Evelyn Thorne-Morrison née Thorne. Born October 23, 1890, Karsdale, Nova Scotia. Died April 8, 1952, Port Kells, British Columbia. Alice was born into a well established Loyalist family. She attended a one room school house and went to Acadia University, Wolfville, to earn a teacher's licence. At this time her application to attend Dalhousie Medical College in Halifax was accepted and she graduated in 1924. she became ill with pulmonary tuberculosis and was forced to return home to recuperate. She later interned at the Tuberculosis Sanitorium in Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan. Finding the winter too harsh, Alice joined her sister, Mrs. Herberts, and completed her internship at the Vancouver General Hospital in British Columbia. At this time, the hospital was a male dominated place and she had to board in the nurses' residence. Her two young nephews would visit her outside the residence as no men were allowed inside. Norman Wade, from Nova Scotia, was also in British Columbia where he had a well established lumber mill. He was delighted that Miss Thorne had come to live near by and the couple were married in 1932. Alice became the medical attendant at the lumber mill in Post Kells. By 1937 she was a widow running the family lucrative family business where she was known to work as a spare hand when needed.  Her nephews came to visit during summer holidays and worked in the mill. The boys went both went on to medical school sponsored by their proud aunt. Alice eventually remarried to Harold Morrison.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Elizabeth 'Bess' Hope Thurrott 3736 Born 1892, Newcastle Bridge, New Brunswick. Died February 19, 1980, Newcastle Bridge, New Brunswick. As a young girl Bess was asthmatic and completed her high school studies ill at home by correspondence. She went on to study at Normal School (teachers' College) graduating top of her class. She wanted more so she had classes for a year at the University of New Brunswick. She switched schools to graduate from the Dalhousie Medical College, Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1922. She interned at the Children's Hospital, Halifax, Nova Scotia and completed her internship at the Saint John General Hospital in New Brunswick. An older doctor paid Elizabeth's financial debts leaving her free to fulfill a childhood dream of becoming a medical missionary in India. She left for India January 12, 1925, beginning 54 years of dedicated service. She learned the local language and served at the Women's Union Missionary Society of America's Jhansi hospital. Here there was one physician to 9,000 patients. She used her furlough to return to Canada taking courses at Moody Bible Institute. She would return to India working for the Women's Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. She would gather people for singing and Bible service treating the sick who were brought to her. During the Second World War (1939-1945) there was no padre for the troops who came to her area of Babina, India and she held religious services for the soldiers.  She retired officially in 1966 but found living back in Canada not to her liking and returned bock to India to work until 1979. She returned to her birthplace shortly before her death from cancer.  Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990
Ethlyn Trapp

Born July 18, 1891, New Westminster, British Columbia. Died July 31, 1972, West Vancouver, British Columbia. She graduated with her B.A. from McGill University, Montreal in 1913. During World War l she worked in military hospitals and earned her MD at McGill in 1927. She also studied in Europe before she practiced in Vancouver. Using her own money, set up a centre to prove the benefits of radiotherapy in 1937. From 1939-1944 she served as Director, B.C. Cancer Institute. She was the  1st woman president of the B.C. Medical Association in 1946/7 and in 1952 she was the 1st  woman president of the  National Cancer Institute of Canada. She was also president of the Federation of Canadian Medical Women. In 1963 she was awarded a citation from the Canadian Medical Association for her cancer research. She was inducted into the  Order of Canada in 1968. An art collector, she deeded her home, Klee Wyck, named for her artist friend Emily Carr, to West Vancouver as an arts centre. Source: Vancouver Hall of Fame (Accessed December 2012) (2020)

Jenny/Jennie Kidd Trout

née Gowanlock. Born April 21, 1841 Kelso, Scotland. Died November 10, 1921 Los Angeles, California, U.S.A. Jenny came with her parents to Canada in 1847. The family settled near Stratford, Ontario. Like many young girls of her generation she earned a teaching certificate from the Toronto Normal School and taught school. marriage. In 1865 She married  Edward Trout the couple settled in Toronto. The couple did not have any children of their own but after a family tragedy they adopted the Great-nephew and great niece.  While in Toronto Jenny decided to become a medical doctor. She studied Medicine at the University of Toronto as one of the 1st women admitted to the Toronto School of Medicine. She completed her medical studies at the Women's Medical College in Pennsylvania, U.S.A. March 11,1875, on passing the Ontario registration exam, she became the 1st Canadian woman licensed to practice medicine in Canada. Dr. Jenny opened the Therapeutic and Electrical Institute in Toronto and also ran a free dispensary for the poor from her offices. The Institute would expand with branches in Brantford and Hamilton, Ontario. Poor health forced her to retire in 1882 to Palma Sola, Florida, U.S.A. and by 1908 she was living in California. She was instrumental in establishing the medical school for women at Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario. Prior to her death she relocated to California. In 1991 Canada Post issued a postage stamp to commemorate her as the 1st licensed woman doctor to practice Medicine in Canada. The Jenny Trout Center in Stratford is a private medical company. (2020)

Agnes Maria Turnbull

Born August 29, 1866, Melrose, Canada West (now Ontario) Died January 5, 1907, Neemuch, India. In the 1880’s her family relocated to Quebec. In 1885 Agnes earned her teacher’s certificated from the McGill Normal School. By 1887 she was contacting the Women’s Foreign Mission Society of the Presbyterian Church of Canada. She was encouraged by the Society to complete medical studies before becoming a missionary. From 1888 to 1982 she studied at the Women’s Medical College at Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario. Upon graduation she took a couple of months post graduate studies in New Your State, U.S.A. In November 1882 she arrived in India to serve as a medical missionary. She would serve first at the Women’s Medical Hospital in Indore and by 1895 she was in Neemuch. Her she also pioneered medical work at an outstation in Jawad, At the turn of the century she took some leave back in Canada and returned in 1903 in the midst of an outbreak of the plague. For her service during the plague she was awarded the Kaisar-i-Hind medal from the Imperial Government which acknowledged service in the advancement of public interest in India. A local Anglican Church in Indore, India has a brass plaque tribute to Agnes and her work. Sources: The Indomitable Women Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke & Irwin, 1974) : The Dictionary of Canadian Biography vol. Xii Online (Accessed April 2014) (2020)

Gene Anne 'Jan' Turner

née Stewart. Born April 29, 1926, Croydon, England. Died March 11, 2012 Ottawa, Ontario. Jan earned her medical degree from the University of Toronto in 1952. She had interned at St. Paul’s hospital in Vancouver returning to Toronto to marry Ed Turner. The couple had three children. Jan held a variety of medical positions, including being Hamilton’s 1st District Health Officer, physician for the Borough of East York and doctor at the students’ heath clinic at the University of Toronto. In later career years, after training at the Institute for Human Relations she turned to administering to her patients’ emotional and mental health needs through psychotherapy.  Source: Obituary Globe and Mail March 15, 2012. Suggestion submitted by June Coxon, Ottawa, Ontario. (2020)

Margaret Stirling Wallace  3221

Medical Missionary
Born October 15, 1869, Essex, Ontario. Died February 14, 1963, Vancouver, British Columbia. Like so many young women oof her era she began her working career as a teacher. In 1898 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  She served as a medical missionary with the Canadian Presbyterian Mission in Honan, China, arriving shortly after her graduation. She served at the British Weihaiwei Hospital caring for wounded British soldiers from the Boxer Rebellion. In 1901 she relocated to work in India where she worked in Indore, Ludihana, Shar and Calcutta. She retired to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1938.    Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  
Marjorie Elizabeth Ward   3222

Born April 16, 1871, Renfrew, Ontario. Died January 25, 1939. Died July 26, 1948, British Columbia. In 1894 Marjorie graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  She worked for several years as Superintendent of the Children's Home Montreal. She left her job in order to care for her sick mother.  She then served the National Council Committee on Employment for Women.   Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

Olive Maude Wease          3223

née Rae. Born December 11, 1878, Lindsay, Ontario. Died July 26, 1948, British Columbia. In 1903 Olive graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  Attended the Methodist National Training School and became a medical missionary with the Women's Missionary Society. After studying the local language she served in Chingtu Hospital, China until 1913. She returned to Toronto but soon relocated to Bancroft to open her medical Practice. She married July 21, 1924 to Edward Howard Wease and the couple settled in British Columbia.   Source: Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

Janet Weir                        3159

née Marshall. Born June 18, 1860, Merrickville, Canada West (now Ontario). Died March 29, 1932, Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A. After her father, a doctor from Scotland, had immigrated to Canada he had attended Queen's Medical College, Kingston, Ontario in 1861. This is where Janet studied at the Women's Medical College graduating in 1891. She set up her practice in Hartford Connecticut, U.S.A.  where her maternal grandfather had come from. Source: Female Physicians ...Women's Medical College, Queen's University by Dr. Donald Brearley. 2017. online (accessed 2021)

Jean Whittier    3742

Medical Missionary
Born Rawdon, Nova Scotia. Died April 1987, Windsor, Nova Scotia. Jean , her sister, and younger brother were cared for by an aunt after the death of her mother. Jean had helped care for her paralyzed and bedridden grandfather. Jean took various correspondence courses in nursing and midwifery as well as a course in teaching from Normal (teachers' college). Deciding to become a doctor Jean graduated from the Dalhousie Medical School, Halifax in 1929. During her time at Dalhousie she was weak from early signs of tuberculosis and was able to graduate only with the help of her fellow students. After graduation  she served as medical supervisor and teacher of algebra and geometry at the Maritime Home for Girls. Her sister Catherine had gone to India as a medical missionary in 1927. When Catherine came home on furlough in 1934 Jean returned to India with her. Jean studied the local language and was appointed to the Hospital at Banwara working for 32 years in devoted service to the area. She reported that she worked as Chief of surgery, chief of medicine, chief of obstetrics  and gynecology, chief of pediatrics and head of the tuberculosis unit during her career. She taught midwifery as well. She adopted an abandoned baby girls making sure when she was old enough to send her to boarding school and then to teacher training. In 1966 she retired returning home to Canada and settling in Toronto spending summers in her beloved home province of Nova Scotia. She wrote her autobiography: My Life's Tapestry, which included many of her poems and her line drawings. In 1984 she was named the Dalhousie Medical Alumnus of the year. Source: Petticoat Doctors, Enid Johnson MacLeod. Lawrencetown Beach N. S., Pottersfield Press, 1990 (2022)
Jane 'Jennie' Wildman

née Gray. Born December 15, 1862, Dundas, Canada West (now Ontario). Died December 11, 1953, Barrie, Ontario. She studied at the Ontario Medical College for Women in Toronto in 1892. From 1892 through 1906 she took charge with Dr. Ida Lynd of the 1st clinics run by the College for women. The clinics were a dispensary for poor women which led into the establishment of the Women’s Dispensary which in turn became Women’s College Hospital by 1911. On May 14, 1909 she married James Frank Wildman. In 1915  she was president of the Toronto Women's Medical Association and vice-president of the Canadian Purity-Education Association.  She was also president of the Canadian Auxiliary of the Women's Christian Medical College, Ludhiana, India which was a training college for Indian girls.  For most of the 1920’s Jennie was involved with the free clinics and from 1920 through 1926 she established the Department of Gynecology at the Women’s College Hospital. In 1928 the couple was settled in Barrie, Ontario where she became president of the Women's Christian Temperance Union (W C T U) . Source: The Indomitable Lady Doctors by Carlotta Hacker (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Co Ltd, 1974); Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

Isabella Smith Wood

Born February 20, 1873, Granby, Quebec. Died November 29, 1954, Toronto, Ontario. Like so many young women of her era she taught school after attending the Toronto Model and Normal Schools (Teacher's College) . In 1902 she graduated from the Ontario Medical College for Women, Toronto.  She did post graduate studies in Boston and St. John. She settled in Toronto in 1904 and worked with St. Michael's Hospital, Toronto Western Hospital, and the Women's College Hospital. In 1916 she and other Toronto physicians sailed to England hoping to serve in Military hospitals during World War 1 She served many years at the Canadian National Exhibition (C. N. E.) as a judge for the baby show. In all Dr. Wood practiced medicine for 50 years in Toronto.  Source; Female Physicians; A Directory of Short Character Sketches From the Ontario Medical College for Women at Toronto by Donald Brearley, 2017. online (accessed 2021)  

AmeliaYeomans                     

née Le Sueur. Born March 29,1842, Quebec City, Canada East (now Quebec). Died April 11, 1913, Calgary, Alberta. Amelia married Dr. Augustus  A. Yeomans October 16, 1860. The couple had two daughters. In 1878, after the death of her medical doctor husband, Amelia and her daughter Lillian decided to study medicine. Since there were no schools in Canada accepting women as students the two women studied in the U.S. Both specialized in midwifery (birth of children) and diseases affecting women and children in the Canadian Midwest. Soon they were joined by another daughter Charlotte who was a nurse. The medical trio became champions of woman's suffrage ( votes for women), temperance ( stopping excess drinking of alcohol) and crusaded against prostitution and the diseases of prostitution. She also campaigned against white slave trafficking of young women which often led to prostitution. Amelia had a great speaking presence and lectured successfully for social equality and improvement of life. In 1905 she moved to Calgary. Retiring from medicine she became vice president of the Dominion Woman Christian Temperance Union (W C T U) and became honourary vice president of the Ottawa Equal Suffrage Society and Honourary president of the Calgary Suffrage Association. Modern Canadian women owe a lot to these social pioneering women.

Lilian Barbara Yeomans 4038

Born June 23, 1861. Died December 9, 1942, Manhattan Beach, California, U.S.A. .In 1879 she enrolled in medical studies at Michigan State University in Ann Arbour Michigan just a year prior to her mother Amelia Yeomans (1842-1913) Lilian was the first woman doctor in Winnipeg, Manitoba with the Manitoba College of Physicians and Surgeons by examination September 20, 1882. She advertised the opening of a practice in midwifery and diseases of women and children in the Winnipeg Free Press.  Amelia graduated in 1883 and joined Lilian in February 1885 in Winnipeg. In 1887 Lilian's sister Charlotte, known as  'Amy', joined the medical team as a trained nurse.  There were both involved with suffrage and temperance campaigns. Lilian worked with prostitutes, visited prisons and dealt with the social breakdown of the people living in the fast growing Winnipeg. She also became a drug addict herself taking morphine and other drugs to help her sell sleep. She tried to quit her addiction numerous time. In 1898 she went to John Alexander Dowie's healing homes in Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A. where she finally 'kicked the habit'. For a time she became a missionary among the Cree Indians in Northern Canada. She adopted a girls from Manitoba House Settlement. Having turned to God she held evangelistic meetings across North America speaking of the healing power of God. She followed her mother in 1907 to retire from medicine in Calgary, Alberta. After the death of their mother, Lilian and Amy bought bought a large home and designed it as a faith home. She would teach at Amy Semple McPherson's Bible School and published several books. She lived with her sister and adopted daughter in Manhattan Beach, California, U.S.A. In 1937 she broke apart from Aimee Semple (1890-1944) and became semi retired.  (2022)

Veterinarians                        Return to categories
Candace Grier-Lowe

Born Norway House, Manitoba. In high school her guidance teacher told her not to consider being a veterinarian as university studies were just too hard. Never underestimate the determination of a person with dreams. Candace worked for a couple of years as a dental assistant for a family friend in Thompson, Manitoba. She became restless and decided to try university. In 2005 she earned her veterinary degree from Western College of Veterinary (WCVM) at the University of Saskatchewan. Following graduation she worked as a clinical associate in radiation oncology at WCVM Veterinary Medical Centre. In 2008 she became a combined resident in veterinary dentistry and Master of Science Degree program. In 2009 she was one of the recipients of the National Aboriginal Achievement Award. Graduating in 2011 Candace is the 1st Aboriginal woman veterinarian dentist in the world and the ist Indigenous Canadian woman to graduate in this specialty. In September 2011 she joined the W D V M's Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences as an assistant Professor. She is a board certified specialist with the American Veterinary Dental College. She is the author of articles in veterinary dentistry for the Canadian Veterinary Journal and the Journal of Veterinary Dentistry. (2019)

Lenka J. Husa

Born Czechoslovak February 21, 1942. She studied for her degree in veterinary medicine in the Czechoslovak Republic. She and her family emigrated and settled in Newfoundland where she worked as a research Assistant , at the Animal Care Facility at Memorial University. She has authored and c-authored numerous articles and reports in her field. In 1989 she was appointed Director of Animal Care Services at Memorial University. She won the Award of Excellence from the Canadian Council of Animal Care and in the President's Award for Exemplary Service from Memorial University in 1995.

Miscellaneous                Return to categories

Johanne Louise Charlotte Fuhrer 3690

née Heise. Born September 30, 1833, Hanover, Germany. Died November 5, 1907, Montreal, Quebec. In her teens Charlotte worked as a governess. In 1853 She married Ferdinand Adolph Fuhrer (1826-1910) and the couple emigrated to New York, U.S.A. They would have six children. Unsuccessful at first in setting up a business they returned to Germany where Charlotte supposedly earned a diploma in Midwifery from the University of Hamburg. She also studied obstetrics with a physician. By 1859 the family was settled in Montreal, Canada East (now Quebec) and Charlotte had set as a midwife.  She also established a maternity residence where new mothers could stay near the time of delivery.  She would also author the book, Mysteries of Montreal: Being Recollections of a Female Physician in 1881. The self published book  accounted some of the med- Victorian medical and cultural history. Source: D C B (2022)

Agnes Larkin Jamieson4019

First Woman Coroner in Ontario

Born November 26, 1907 *, Barrie?, Ontario. Died 1983, Minden. In the 1920's the family left rural life and moved into the town of Barrie where Agnes and her three siblings were educated. Agnes went on to graduated in medicine from the University of Toronto (U of T) In 1935. She graduated at a time where the women student had to maintain marks ten percent higher that their male student colleagues. She interned at St. Joseph's Hospital in Toronto and then practiced for awhile in Mimico, Ontario. In 1934 Dr. Jamieson helped an automobile accident victim Andre Lapine, an artist. The two began a lifelong friendship and Agnes enjoyed painting trips  Andre and his wife. In December 1939 she was working with a Dr. Crowe in Minden, Ontario. When Dr. Crowe left to served during World War ll (1939-1945 she became the medical officer of health for the Haliburton District. In 1950 she became the first woman to be coroner in Ontario. A coroner investigates deaths that occur suddenly of unexpectedly from unnatural causes. In 1952 after the death of Andre Lapine his collection of paintings became property of the Town of Minden. Agnes volunteered time to organize and store, and display her friends painting. The collection continues to be maintained in the Agnes Jamieson Gallery, Minden, Ontario. * some sources say 1909.  Source: Agnes Jamieson: Ontario's First Female Coroner. by Carol Simmons online (accessed 2022)

Frances Gertrude McGill

Forensic pathologist, criminologist, allergoloist and allergist

Born November 18, 1882, Minnesota, U.S.A. Died January 21, 1959, Winnipeg, Manitoba. Frances attended the Winnipeg Normal School (Teacher's College) and taught summer school in order to further her education. By 1915 Frances had graduated from the University of Manitoba with the highest academic standing in her class.  An athletic person she enjoyed horseback riding and in 1917 she won a prize in the women's rifle competition. In 1918 she was named provincial bacteriologist with the Saskatchewan Department of Health. That same year she produced over 60,000 vaccinations for the Spanish Flu. Two years later in 1920 she became the provinces provincial pathologist and then became director of the provincial laboratory. She would become known as the 'Sherlock Holmes of Saskatchewan' working with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) investigating suspicious cases. In 1937 she was a driving force in the establishment of the RCMP's 1st forensic laboratory and would serve a three year term as director. During World War ll she supported the war effort by knitting socks for overseas soldiers. In 1946 she was appointed Honorary Surgeon for the RCMP.  She would train new recruits to her profession and in 1952 her case notes became textbooks for future generations. McGill Lake in northern Saskatchewan is named in her honour and she is a member of the Canadian Science and Engineering Hall of Fame.  Source: The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan online (accessed 2020)(2020)

Annie Lucy McLellan 4170

Born 1915, Sarnia, Ontario. As a girl growing up Annie became involved with the Girl Guides and continued on with the organization as an adult. She was president of the local area Girl Guides and help to start the Sarnia area summer camp on Lake Huron. During World War ll (1939-1945) she served at the Blood Bank and worked with the St. John Ambulance Brigade. She took instruction in First Aid and general nursing with St. John Ambulance and is credited with 2000 hours of work at the children's clinic, the air-raid assistance for refugees, and giving first-aid demonstration. Source: The Story of Annie McLellan, The Canuckhistorian: Canadian History for Kids by kids!, online (accessed 2022)

Diana Ruth Elizabeth Moeser  4270

Hospital Administrator

Born March 24, 1944, Toronto, Ontario. Died September 18, 2013, Toronto, Ontario.  Diana graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Arts in 1967 and they earned Her Masters of Arts in 1970. In 1984 she earned Master's in Health Sciences in Health Administration. While she completed studies for her Doctorate (PhD) she did not complete a thesis.  She married Mayer Brownstone. She was a senior employee at the Doctors Hospital. She was the founder of Toronto's first women's addiction treatment centre located on Dundas West (now the Women's Own Withdrawal Management Centre).  She became vice-president-ambulatory care and urban affairs of Wellesley Hospital and retained her position until the hospital closed. As a volunteer she was chair of the Canadian Society for International Healt where she established overseas links. She was also a board member regionally and national with Oxfam Canada for many years. She was chair of the Board of Regent Park Health Centre, Member of the Board and Chair of the programme Committee of Pathways to Education, an national organization dedicated to the education of marginalized youth including First Nations youth and youth in well known chronic poverty communities across Canada with substantial immigrations populations. Later in life she was an adjunct professor in health policy at the University of Toronto Faculty of Health. Source: Canadian Who's Who, 2000; Obituary, online (accessed 2023)

Carol Trotman

Pioneer Transplant patient

Born Trinidad, 1954. Died June 30, 2006. Immigrating to Canada she worked with Employment Canada. Carol was told by her doctors that she needed a lung transplant. Since she was going through a divorce the hospital but off listing her the needed operation. When told she needed a stress free support system for after the operation and that a divorce and having teen children at home was not what was required.  Carol established a strong support team of women and she got her operation in the spring of 1991. She was one of Ontario’s first recipients of a single lung transplant. Usually patients can expect an addition five years but remarkably Carol had 15 years! She wanted to see her children graduate and she lived long enough to see her first grandchild. A year or two after her operation she began to speak to groups about the importance of organ donation in support of the Trillium Gift of Life network. She counted each day as a blessing and never forgot to be thankful to her creator on a daily basis.  Source: ‘Carol Trotman, 52: Transplant pioneer’ by Catherine Dunphy. The Toronto Star, August 21, 2006. Online (accessed September 2006) (2020)

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