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Women's History Network of British Columbia, Canada

             Selected Websites featuring British Columbia & Canadian women's history                   

Please send your suggestions for B. C. women's history web links (or report broken links) to the webmistress.  WHN/BC cannot be responsible for content on outside websites. 

 Index to Links

• B.C./Canadian Women's History 

• B.C./Canadian Women & the Home 

• B.C./Canadian Women's Legal Status 

• B.C. Women in Literature, Art & Photography  

• B.C./Canadian Women in Sport  

• B.C./Canadian Women and World War II 

• B.C./Canadian Women's Work, including Technology and Invention  

• Canada's Women's History Month and International Women's Day 

• B.C. & Canadian Women's History & Related Organizations 

• Archives, Libraries, Museums & Bibliographies 

• B.C. Genealogical Indexes, etc.

• B.C./Canadian Women's History Mailing Lists 

• Other Links

B. C./Canadian women's history                           

• Mother Tongue, A woman's history of ethnic Canada.  Information on the 3 episodes of a proposed 13 part documentary series, so far featuring two British Columbian women, Anna Markova & Kimiko Murakami.                         

• Loyalist Women in New Brunswick, 1783-1827. Part of the Atlantic Canada Virtual Archives. Featuring Winslow family documents.

• Dorothea Allison ,This site includes her 1913-1922 letters, written while living in Oyama, B.C. and some biographical information. Edited by Duane Thomson and Carolyn Webb. Part of Living Landscapes: Thompson/Okanagan: Past, Present, and Future.

• "Women in B.C. History",   the B.C. Archives Time Machine, includes information about Sylvia Stark, Catherine Schubert, Hannah Maynard, Nellie McClung,  Emily Carr, and Judge Helen MacGill.

• Chinese Pioneer Women in B.C., by Imogene L. Lim, includes discussion, some statistics 1911-1941 and suggestions for further reading. 

• "But Women Did Come" : Chinese Women in Canada, originally part of an photographic exhibit at the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library in 1997. Includes many B.C. examples & photographs.  Global Gathering Place Education Series, Joint Project of Multicultural History Society of Ontario and the University of Toronto.

• Interview with  K. Margaret Lyons, born in Mission, B.C. in 1923, in Five Generations, a Virtual Exhibit telling the story of Japanese Canadians over one century. Includes voice.  English & French.

• The Herstory Exhibit, retrospective sampling 20 years of  "Herstory: The Canadian Women's Calendar" from 1974-1995. French & English.   

• "Women" theme in the Living Memory web exhibition, National Archives of Canada,  brief descriptions with images, among them several B.C. women, including Nellie McClung, Elsie Gregory MacGill and Kimiko Okano Murakami.  French

• Famous Canadian Women's Historical Timeline, 1007 on, Dawn E. Monroe.

• Famous Canadian Women's Birthdays, Dawn Munroe's list of over 550 women, listed by the month of their birthdays.  Submit your suggestions.  Dawn Munroe also has pages of activities about Canadian women's history for Girl Guides (& other young girls).

• Firsts for  B.C. and Canadian Women,  timeline,  Women's History Month Committee

• Women in Alaska's History, includes Nellie Cashman, the 'Angel of B.C.'s Cassiar'.

• In Search of Silver & Gold, article about Nellie Cashman, by Don Chaput, originally published in American History Magazine, March, 1998.

• Canadian War Brides, stories, statistics, links, e-mail list info. Also "The War Brides of New Brunswick"  by Melynda Jarratt, 1995, "The Canadian War Brides of World War II", by Theresa Reynolds, 2001 & "Whither Thou Goest: War Brides: an investigation and comparison of the experience of Canadian and American wartime marriages" by Phyllis Britton, 2003.
   (papers downloadable).

• Yukon Genealogy, Gold Rush database of names from various sources, for example,  NWMP records,  a list of the female officers of the Women of the Golden North Fraternal Association.

• West Web: Making It Their Own, Women in the West, lots of links to literature & biographical resources for western women, including British Columbia's Catherine Schubert, Sylvia Stark & Emily Carr.

• Femmes du Pays : Women of the Fur Trade, 1774-1821 by A. Gottfred. (Includes some information for reenactors) Northwest Journal.

• Period Clothing 101, lots of information, ideas & pictures for women's (& men's) clothing,  suitable for historical re-enactments and events for the Pacific Northwest Slope, including British Columbia for the mid 1800's. 

• Form and Fashion, Jacqueline Beaudoin-Ross and Cynthia Cooper, McCord Museum. Adaptation by Karine Rousseau. Women's clothing from 1810 - 1898

• Straitlaced: Restrictions on Women, Elise Chenier, McGill University, McCord Museum. Women around the time of Confederation, 1867.

• Fe-mail: Women in Eaton's Toronto Mail-order Catalogues by Lorraine O'Donnell. Civilization.ca
  
  
   

B.C./Canadian Women & the Home                

• Ghosts of the North West Coast New!  Innovative look at some historical themes in B.C. history, includes songs & music by Tiller's Folly and teacher's notes. See the "Auld Lang Syne" section for recipes from Grandma Leticia Ann Jane MacKenzie who once lived on Hjorth Road in Surrey.                                               

• The Culinary Collection, University of Guelph Library.  Includes several digitized cookbooks and many images from the library's collection of almost 5,000 cookbooks, as well as links to other collection catalogues & bibliographies.

• The Food Time Line,  Morris County Library, New Jersey, U.S.A. Includes some Canadian links, (no Nanaimo bars, though), lesson plans & lots of food related information.

• Feeding America: The Historic American Cookbook Project,  digital archives of 75 cookbooks, 1798-1922, as well as essays, author's biographies, photographs of cookery implements, and a 15 minute video about the collection.  Michigan State University & Museum. Includes biographies of several Canadian born authors, for example, Sara (Eaton) Bosse & Winnifred Eaton (Onoto Watanna).  (The cover of their  "Chinese-Japanese Cookbook" is shown in the video, and the book is among those available to view online.)

• "Blue Monday,"  on-line 'washing machine exhibit', part of the Canadian Science and Technology Museum's "Love, Leisure & Laundry". French & English.  See also the Museum's school programme information for "Domestic Technology," which includes references.

• A Woman's Place: Programming for the Modern Homemaker,  1940's to 1960's , C.B.C. Archives, radio & television clips.

• Devenir la parfaite ménagère, (Quebec), C.B.C. Archives, radio & television clips.

• Count Blessins-Laundry, descriptions & discussion, CoolWomen.ca

B.C./Canadian Women's Legal Status                                                                 

• Equality First, The Royal Commission on the Status of Women, C. B .C. Archives, includes television & radio clips.

• Quelle situation pour la femme canadienne?,  C.B.C. Archives, includes radio & television clips.

• "The Famous Five, The Persons Case", National Archives of Canada, includes correspondence & official documents, brief biographies of the 'famous five', Emily Murphy, Henrietta Muir Edwards, Louise McKinney, Irene Parlby & Nellie McClung,  with a suggested reading list. French

• Women Winning the Vote in Canada, Parks Canada.  Includes outline of events, Canadian commemorative sites, etc. French

• The Modern Franchise, 1920-1997,  outlines the extension of the vote to groups previously denied on religious, gender & racial grounds, Canadian Museum of Civilization, suggested readings. French

• Names of Signers of 1885 B.C. Women's Suffrage Petitions, extracted by Hugh Armstrong from B.C. Sessional Papers, British Columbia Genweb resource site.

• Quebec women's quest for political equality, one step at a time, Director General of Elections in Quebec,  French,  Droit de votes des Québécoises.

• Rosemary Brown, biography & discussion, CoolWomen.ca

• The Lady Laurier Club, Dawson Creek, 1947-?, transcript from radio programme, Women Today, CJDC, 1963.   See also a transcript of an related interview with Mrs. M. Bullen.  These transcripts are from interviews & other materials about the history of Dawson Creek collected by Dorthea Horton Calverley.

B.C./Canadian Women Literature, Art & Photography                                    

Molly Bobak, artist, teacher,  Canadian war artist, World War II, biography & pictures, National Archives of Canada, Canadian War Artists exhibition.

Women Photographers, 1858-1900 and 1901-1950 , special categories in the Camera Workers: The British Columbia , Alaska & Yukon Photographic Directory 1858-1950, also bibliography, by David Mattison. Includes listings for Hannah Hatherly Maynard, 1834-1918 and Agnes Deans Cameron, 1863-1912, both of Victoria, B.C.

Canada's Early Women Writers, Professor Carol Gerson's searchable database of 470 women, includes biographical, writing , publishing details, archival sources.

To the Totem Forests, Emily Carr & Contemporaries Interpret Coastal Villages 

Emily Carr, At Home & At Work,  French & English

Emily Carr, biography & discussion,  CoolWomen.ca

Emily Carr House, Victoria, B.C., open mid-May to mid-October

Dorothy Grant, artist, fashion designer.  See also an interview with Dorothy Grant, (1997?)

Mattie Gunterman, Photographer & Camp Cook,  Lardeau Valley, B.C.

Hooser Weaving Centre, Surrey, B.C.  This collection, (textiles, tools, books, journals & scrapbooks), is the legacy of B.C.'s Honey Hooser and her 50 years of weaving, teaching & advocacy for the disabled. [Link Temporarily Inactive.  For information: telephone: 604-502-6456. Address: 13723 Crescent Road Surrey  BC  V4P 1J4 ]

Pauline Johnson,  poet, Archival Collection, letters, photographs, poetry, articles, biography,  McMaster University & Canada's Digital Collections.

"Passing Through, from Town Hall to Opera House,"  about Pauline Johnson, by Patricia Belier (originally published in 'The Officer's Quarterly', vol 11 no 3 Summer 1995 p.10-12) 

Helen McCall, photographer, 1920's to 1940's, Gibsons & Sunshine Coast, B.C., Elphinstone Pioneer Museum.

Hannah Maynard, photographer, B.C.,  1862? to 1912, B.C. Archives Time Machine.

Judith Morgan, artist, First Nations Art, B.C. Archives Time Machine.

Myrtle Philips,  includes her photographs of the Whistler-Alta Lake area of B.C., biographical information & a slide show. She, with her husband, owned & managed Rainbow Lodge there from 1915 to 1948.  Whistler Museum & Archives & Canada's Digital Collections.  

Susan Point, artist, description, exhibition list, bibliography, First Nations Art, Concordia University.  See also Susan Point's own website, for images of her work, including some at the Vancouver Airport, International Terminal.    

Stó:lo Artistic Traditions, excerpts from conversation with Anabel Stewart, one of the original Salish Weavers Guild participants in the 1960's, and with Rena Point Boulton on her basketry.

Threads of the Land,  clothing exhibit, including section on the NLaka'pamux from B.C.'s southern interior. Some quotes, and description with historical & contemporary photographs.  Canadian Museum of Civilization. English & French.

Weavers at Musqueam, historical & contemporary information, artist's profiles of Debra Sparrow, Vivian Campbell, Krista Point, Lynn Dan. Museum of Anthropology, University of British Columbia.

Masumi Hayashi Photographic Exhibition, Family Album Project,  photographs of Japanese-Canadian internment camp life in both Canada and the United States, during World War II, including photographs by Dr. Midge Ayakawa & Irene Tsuyuki, both born in Vancouver, B.C.

"Victory Through Honour", Ellen Neel's Kwakwaka'wakw pole at the University of British Columbia. First Nations Drum, Winter 2004-5

Kodakgirl.com, "dedicated to unrecognized and anonymous women photographers worldwide..." New York photographer Martha Cooper's collection of images of women photographers---not only in snapshots but in postcards, toys, Valentines, & advertising. (This website's included for fun. No Canadian women yet that I can see.)

B.C./Canadian Women & Sport                                                                          

• WomenWarriors.ca, Women & Sport. Includes Pioneers, biographies of Canadian women in sport, news. French & English. Inspired by the television documentary series.

• Nancy Greene,  Canada's top female athlete of the 20th century, biography with suggested readings. Celebrating Women's Achievements, National Library of Canada, French.

• History of Women's Sport, The Canadian Association for the Advancement of Women and Sport and Physical Activity.

• Fair Game: Pioneering Canadian Women in Sports, C.B.C. Archives, radio & television clips.

• La Longue course d'obstacles des femmes, C.B.C. Archives, radio & television clips.

• Women's Ice Hockey, Windsor Hockey Heritage Society Archives, Nova Scotia.

• Women's Hockey, National Library of Canada, French,  (kids version, English & French).

• The Canadian Women Olympians of 1928, (the first year women competed in track & field events).  In heroines.ca, Merna Forster's site.

B.C./Canadian Women & World War II                                                                   

• Women & the War on the Home Front , ( World War II),   Canadian War Museum,  French. This exhibition is based on clippings (included) from the Hamilton Star.

• My Grandmother's Wartime Diary,  "... dedicated to all the women who have yet to tell their stories." Stories contributed by Veterans Review and Appeal Board employees, 1998. Veteran Affairs, Canada. French

• On Every Front: Canadian Women in the Second World War, C.B.C. Archives, features radio & television clips.

• Des Femmes sur tous les fronts,  C.B.C. Archives, television & radio clips.

• Women in the War,  World War II, The Valour & the Horror, Canada at War,  pictures, quotes, stories & bibliography.

B.C./Canadian Women's Work, including Technology & Invention                      

• High Flyers: Canadian Women in Aviation, French & English.  Includes information on Vancouver born 'Elsie' (Elizabeth Muriel ) Gregory MacGill, the world's first female aeronautical engineer.  For biographical & bibliographical notes on Elsie MacGill, see her entry in Celebrating Women's Achievements, National Library of Canada.

• The Homeroom : British Columbia's History of Education website, see women's biographies under Topics: People, (for example, for Tillie Rolston and Lottie Bowron).

• Inventive Women, B.C. section includes Julia Levy, Liana Griener, Nancy Paris-Seeley, Royann Petrell, and Indira Samarasekera.

• Ruby (Lacy) Alton, born Salt Spring Island, 1931, brief biography & album of photographs, including from her training & work at Royal Jubilee Hospital, Victoria, B.C., 1950's. Salt Spring Island Archives.  

• St. Ann's Academy, Convent & boarding school, Victoria, B.C., 1858 to 1973, includes guides for teacher & student activities.

• Symbol of a Profession: 100 Years of Nursing Caps, Canadian Museum of Civilization on-line exhibit & collection information  English & French.

• Leaders, Scholars and Mentors: The History of Women and Education: A Canadian Chronology. Regina branch of Women in Alberta and Saskatchewan History, originally prepared by Status of Women Canada, 1995  with quiz & bibliography, French & English.

• The Story of Klondike Nurses, (PDF file) by Ruth Mellor, about the group of Victorian Order of Nurses who accompanied the Yukon Field Force from Vancouver, B.C. to work at Dawson, Yukon in 1898: Rachel Hanna & Amy Scott from Ontario, Georgia Powell, from Nova Scotia & Margaret Payson from New Brunswick.  Also with them on this trip were Faith Fenton, a 'Toronto Globe' reporter & Malvina Starnes.

• Indian Cowgirls Dr. Marilyn Burgess, an ongoing research project. Some photographs.

Canada's Women's History Month & International Women's Day     

• B.C. Women's History Month,  Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, with a message from the Honorable Ida Chong, B.C. Minister of State for Women's and Seniors Services.           

• B.C. Women Political Pioneers, B.C. Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, On-line Exhibit for Women's History Month, 2003.

• Celebrating  Women's Achievements,  the National Library of Canada's selection of outstanding women in the fields of  theatre & dance, art, sport, activism, book trade, science, politics, librarianship & bibliography, society, music & literature. Includes many B.C. women, for instance, Gathie Falk, & Daphne Odjig, artists, Celia Duthie, bookseller & Margaret 'Ma' Murray, publisher.  Each year, for Women's History Month, the library selects a theme; for 2003, the theme was Theatre and Dance.  Educational Resources. English & French. 

• see also the National Library of Canada's Memorable Canadians,  or see the French site

•  Herstory of Canadian Women's History Month, Women's History Month Committee.  Thanks to Lyn Gough, of Victoria, B.C. who led the successful campaign for an official Canadian Women's History Month.

•    Status of Women Canada, information on activities for International Women's Day (March 8th) & Women's History Month (October) in Canada. 

•  heroines.ca,  A Guide to Women in Canadian History.  Author Merna Forster's great site, with ideas for celebrating Canada's women's history month, and lots of good information, and even a book contest.

• FamousCanadianwomen.com, by Dawn E. Munroe, with Canadian women's historical timeline, famous women's birthdays, Canadian women's firsts & much more.

B.C. & Canadian Women's History & Related Organizations                       

• B.C. Historical Federation  contact information & web links for B.C.'s historical societies.

• B.C. History of Nursing Group, their website now includes a section on Vancouver's Nursing Monuments and a searchable database of their archives (held at the School of Nursing, University of British Columbia.

• British Columbia Women's Institute   The Institute is preparing for its centennial in 2009 by collecting information, photographs & stories about the B.C.'s women's institute groups and members.

• Canadian Association for the History of Nursing (English & French)

• Canadian Committee on Women's History ( French & English)

• Canadiana Costume Society of British Columbia and Western Canada

• The Original Costume Museum Society

• Womennet.ca:The Canadian Women's Directory of Resources and Information in Canada

• The Ontario Women's History Network

Archives, Libraries, Museums & Bibliographies       

• Alberta Women's Archive Association                                            

• Canadian Gay & Lesbian Archives, extensive lists of finding aids, on-line articles and on-line exhibit, the National Portrait Collection, Toronto, Ontario.

• The Canadian Women's Movement Archives, collecting materials from the 1960's forward, including records from over 2,000 organizations & coalitions, events, conferences, & women's publications. Collections now housed at the University of Ottawa, Ontario.  Some items included in an on-line catalogue.

• Victoria Women's Movement Archives, collections include correspondence & photographs of the Raging Grannies, who originated in Victoria, B.C. in 1987, and records of the University Women's Club, Victoria Branch, which began in 1908.  The archives opened in 1995, and is housed at the University of Victoria Archives, B.C.

• Canadian Women's History, a Selective Bibliography,  compiled by Mary Bond and Angella Savard, National Library of Canada, 1995  (French ).

• Women's History bibliography,  Section #18, On-line Resources for Canadian Heritage,   Canadian Museum of Civilization.  French. 

• Women's History Collection, Early Canadiana On-Line, French.  Free access to this collection of almost 700 scanned books & documents.  Some British Columbian materials included,  for example,  a 1867 report of the Female Infirmary for the Sick and Destitute, (Victoria, B.C.) and an article by Ernest Hall, M.D. "The Unofficial Gynaecological Treatment of the Insane in British Columbia." (1900?) Most of the collection relates to Central & Eastern Canada, but does include National Council of Women of Canada & Canadian Women's Christian Temperance Union publications, for instance, Lelia A. Davis, M. B.'s W.C.T.U.  pamphlet, (1894?) "Woman's Dress: A question of the day", medical journals, and books like Mrs. H. W. Beecher's 1881 "All Around the House:; or, How to Make Homes Happy."   There are also several books by women about the Klondike and Alaska.

B.C.Genealogical Indexes, etc.

•  Surname index: "Pioneer Women of Vancouver Island 1843-1846, N. de Bertrand Lugrin, (1928) Victoria Genealogical Society   

• B.C.Female Franchise Petition, 1885.  Includes names from Victoria, New Westminster, Wellington & Comox, Chilliwhack & Sumas & Maple Ridge. Names extracted by Hugh Armstrong. BC Genweb site

 B.C./Canadian Women's History Mailing Lists                                                 

• CAN-BC-HIST-WOMEN  an e-mail list for anyone interested in the history &/or genealogy of women in British Columbia, Canada.  To subscribe, go to

           http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/CAN/CAN-BC-HIST-WOMEN.html

• CAN-HIST-WOMEN   an e-mail list for anyone interested in the history &/or genealogy of women in Canada.  To subscribe, go to

           http://lists.rootsweb.com/index/intl/CAN/CAN-HIST-WOMEN.html

Other Links                                                                                                             

• The British Columbia History/Internet/Web Site, see the Women's History Listings.  This site is being redeveloped by David Mattison as the British Columbia History Portal.  See both sites for current information.

• The B.C. History Footnote Forum, (British Columbia History Portal)  for questions/discussions about B.C. history.

• CAN-BRITISH-COLUMBIA-L, an e-mail list for genealogical questions about British Columbia.

• Cyndi's List of Genealogy Sites on the Internet   Genealogical/Historical Resources for B.C. and Canada, including archives, heritage & historical societies, mailing lists,  see British Columbia listings,  Canadian listings, and the Female Ancestors section.

• Today in Canadian History,  searchable for any day of the year.

[Links Updated January, 2008]

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