The Life Writings Of Mary Baker Mcquesten

How did a privileged Victorian matron, newly widowed and newly impoverished, manage to raise and educate her six young children and restore her family to social prominence? Mary Baker McQuesten’s personal letters, 155 of which were carefully selected by Mary J. Anderson, tell the story. In her uninhibited style, in letters mostly to her children, Mary Baker McQuesten chronicles her financial struggles and her expectations. The letters reveal her forthright opinions on a broad range of topics — politics, religion, literature, social sciences, and even local gossip. We learn how Mary assessed each of her children’s strengths and weaknesses, and directed each of their lives for the good of the family. For example, she sent her daughter Ruby out to teach, so she could send her earnings home to educate Thomas, the son Mary felt was most likely to succeed. And succeed he did, as a lawyer and mpp, helping to build many of Hamilton’s and Ontario’s highways, bridges, parks, and heritage sites, and in doing so, bringing the family back to social prominence. Mary Baker McQuesten was also president of the Women’s Missionary Society. The appearance, manner, and eloquence of various ministers and politicians all come under her uninhibited scrutiny, providing lively insights into the Victorian moral and social motivations of both men and women and about the gender conflicts that occurred both at home and abroad. This book will satisfy many readers. Those interested in the drama of Victorian society will enjoy the images of the stern Presbyterian matriarch, the sacrificed female, family mental illness, the unresolved death of a husband, and the dangers of social stigma. Scholars looking for research material will find an abundance in the letters, well annotated with details of the surrounding political, social, and current events of the times.

In this fascinating book, author Mary J. Anderson, PhD, once again dips into the Whitehern Archives to paint an illuminating picture of our Victorian past. Drawing from the thousands of letters to and from the McQuesten family that have been preserved in the archives of the Whitehern Museum in Hamilton, Ontario, Dr. Anderson covers such subjects as Victorian medicine--including women's health and education, treatments for mental illness, and the "aristocratic vice"--as well as the tragic life of Ruby Baker McQuesten and the accomplishments of her brother, Thomas B. McQuesten, in Ontario politics and government, including the building of such landmark public works as the Queen Elizabeth Way and the Rainbow Bridge at Niagara Falls. More than five dozen period photographs and illustrations bring the past to life. The result is a book no one who is interested in Ontario's history will want to be without.

This book explores the complicated relationship between Hamilton Harbour and the people who came to reside on its shores. From the time of European settlement through to Hamilton’s rise as an industrial city, townsfolk struggled with nature, and with one another, to champion their vision of “the bay” as a place to live, work, and play. The authors bring to life the personalities and power struggles, drawing on a rich collection of archival materials. Along the way, they challenge readers to consider how moral and political choices being made about the natural world today will shape the cities of tomorrow.

A timely work, this book showcases articles by leading Canadian and international historians interested in environmental action and policy, including Colin M. Coates, Ramsay Cooke, Ken Cruikshank, and Donald Worster.

Writing the Empire is a collective biography of the McIlwraiths, a family of politicians, entrepreneurs, businesspeople, scientists, and scholars. Known for their contributions to literature, politics, and anthropology, the McIlwraiths originated in Ayrshire, Scotland, and spread across the British Empire, specifically North America and Australia, from the mid-nineteenth century onwards. Focusing on imperial networking, Writing the Empire reflects on three generations of the McIlwraiths’ life writing, including correspondence, diaries, memoirs, and estate papers, along with published works by members of the family. By moving from generation to generation, but also from one stage of a person’s life to the next, the author investigates how various McIlwraiths, both men and women, articulated their identity as subjects of the British Empire over time. Eva-Marie Kröller identifies parallel and competing forms of communication that involved major public figures beyond the family’s immediate circle, and explores the challenges issued by Indigenous people to imperial ideologies. Drawing from private papers and public archives, Writing the Empire is an illuminating biography that will appeal to readers interested in the links between life writing and imperial history.

Inside Hamilton’s Museums helps to satisfy a growing curiosity about Canada’s steel capital as it evolves into a post-industrial city and cultural destination. In this special excerpt we visit Burlington's Joseph Brant Museum, which commemorates the Mohawk leader Thayendanegea, or Joseph Brant, who built his home on a site bordering modern-day Hamilton. John Goddard takes us on a detailed tour of the historic home, providing fascinating historical background and insight.

Inside Hamilton’s Museums helps to satisfy a growing curiosity about Canada’s steel capital as it evolves into a post-industrial city and cultural destination. In this special excerpt we visit Erland Lee Museum, which stands as an excellent example of Ontario Gothic Revival architecture and serves as the birthplace of the Women's Institute movement. John Goddard takes us on a detailed tour of the historic home, providing fascinating historical background and insight.

Inside Hamilton’s Museums helps to satisfy a growing curiosity about Canada’s steel capital as it evolves into a post-industrial city and cultural destination. In this special excerpt we visit Whitehern historic home and garden, which comes with three generations' worth of family possessions — everything from antique furniture to paintings, photographs, diaries, letters, and old toys. John Goddard takes us on a detailed tour of the historic home, providing fascinating historical background and insight into the McQuesten family secrets.