Elizabeth Simcoe
Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe b. Gwillim (baptized September 22, 1762 (or 1766 ?) In Aldwincle , Northamptonshire , England ; † January 17, 1850 in Wolford Lodge near Honiton , England) was the wife of John Graves Simcoe , Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada . Her diaries and watercolors convey an often received impression of her life in Canada.
Elizabeth first met John Simcoe in 1782 and married him the same year. She named the Scarborough Bluffs and the place Scarborough west of Toronto after the city of Scarborough in England. Elizabeth and John Graves had four daughters.
Elizabeth was born to Elizabeth Spinckes and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gwillim. Elisabeth's father died months before she was born, and her mother shortly after she was born. In memory of her mother, Elizabeth was given the additional name " Posthuma ".
Elizabeth was baptized the same day her mother was buried. She grew up with her mother's younger sister, who married Admiral Samuel Graves in 1769 . She kept a culturally and historically significant diary about her life in the Canadian province of Ontario, which she also illustrated with almost 600 pictures in watercolors.
Web links
- Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe , excerpts and pictures from her diary in English and French
- Edith G. Firth: Gwillim, Elizabeth Posthuma (Simcoe) . In: Dictionary of Canadian Biography
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Simcoe, Elizabeth |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Simcoe, Elizabeth Posthuma (full name); Gwillim, Elizabeth Posthuma (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Author and artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | baptized September 22, 1762 or baptized 1766 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Aldwincle , Northamptonshire , England , United Kingdom |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 17, 1850 |
| Place of death | Wolford Lodge near Honiton , England , United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |