BIFHSGO April Virtual Meeting

BIFHSGO members should have received an email from President Duncan Monkhouse with information on the 11 April monthly meeting.

The meeting is being held online thanks to the generosity of Ontario Ancestors (Ontario Genealogical Society).

The Zoom facility will be used.

The presentation is the one missed when the March meeting was cancelled.

Maud Lampman: First Woman to Work on Parliament Hill by Dianne Brydon

As a descendant of one of Toronto’s earliest settlers, Emma Maud (Playter) Lampman came from a privileged background and married young.  By the age of 32, she had suffered the loss of a baby and her husband. She was forced to find employment to support her remaining two children.  The daughter of a prominent doctor and the widow of a “Confederation Poet”, her story is a textbook example of an educated, genteel woman who entered the Canadian Civil Service around the turn of the 20th century, mirroring the experience of women in Britain and the US.

About the Speaker
Maud Lampman was one of the faceless women captured in Dianne Brydon’s M.A. Thesis “Claiming the Rights of Men and the Privileges of Their Sex as Well: Women in the Canadian Civil Service 1895-1907.” Dianne eventually worked at the Library of Parliament, where Maud had worked, and was asked to tell Maud’s story 110 years after her historic appointment. Dianne’s talk will highlight the rich information that can be found in the Civil Service List, which annually published personal information about Canadian civil servants from 1884 to 1918. Dianne has previously presented two “Great Moments” at BIFHSGO and has had two articles published in Anglo Celtic Roots. She received an honourable mention in BIFHSGO’s 25th Anniversary writing competition. She is currently unravelling the story of her litigious 18th Century Edinburgh ancestors and serving as BIFHSGO’s Program Director.

Instructions for connecting to the meeting, which requires registration in advance, have been sent to BIFHSGO members.

Non-members of BIFHSGO are welcome to this virtual meeting, as they are at all regular monthly meetings, by registering in advance at https://bifhsgo.ca/index.php. Please join the meeting a few minutes ahead of the start time of 10:00 a.m. As usual, there will be announcements after everyone is admitted to the meeting. The presentation will begin when announcements are finished.