Trafalgar Township Historical Society Digital Collections

1880-81 Wesleyan Female College Annual Catalogue

Description
Media Type
Text
Image
Item Type
Catalogs
Description
This catalogue for the Wesleyan Female College showing the students enrolled, past graduates and the curriculum for the young ladies is part of the Bigger/Munn family collections. Miss Henrietta E. Munn, as she is listed in the catalogue, was studying at the school in the 1880-81 session.

The following young ladies from Trafalgar Township, Halton County were also graduates of this college: Miss Isabel M. Bray from Oakville, had been in the Class of 1865 and graduated with the degree of "M.L.A". Mary E. White, from Bronte, graduated in the Class of 1869, "M.E.L". Gertrude H.A. Buck, from Palermo, graduated in the Class of 1876, "M.E.L". The school was incorporated in 1861, the first graduate was in 1863. To see the names and years, please open the .pdf document and view digital record pages 5-9.

The Course of Study is quite interesting, showing the education considered useful to a young lady. It ranges from book-keeping, algebra, penmanship, natural philosophy to Latin and French languages, classical and English literature, theology and moral science, music, art, and more. Lectures, prizes, literary societies are explained; dress code, boarding, visiting, shopping and the details of life are also laid out. It is an excellent "snapshot" of this institution.

The catalogue is uploaded to show two pages at a time. The first and last pages are the front and back covers of the booklet, one with the cover upright and the other with the college building showing vertical.

To see the pages of the catalogue, click on "Select" Pages above under the title of this record. Once you open a page, you can elect to open the entire .pdf as a single document.
Notes
The building used by the Wesleyan Female College had an interesting history. It was at 112 King St. E., Hamilton, Ontario. It was built in 1854 as a hotel to serve the Great Western Railway which arrived in Hamilton in the same year. The hotel was bankrupt by 1861. According to the internet article linked here for your further information, "The new owners were the members of the MacNab Street Methodist Church in Hamilton who disagreed with the discriminatory practice at the time of only allowing girls from the Church of England (the only institution legallay permitted to hold title to land) to be educated beyond Grade 8. They embarked on a conversion project (of the building) and when it opened the new Wesleyan Female College accepted applications from girls of all denominations. Under the leadership of its pioneering educator and first principal Mary Electa Adams, the college built a stellar reputation as the first school for the higher education of women in Upper Canada, which endured until closing its doors in 1898."
Subject(s)
Personal Name(s)
Henrietta (called Hettie) Elmira (or Almira) Munn, b.October 26, 1850 d.November 26, 1962. Married Albert Anson Bigger, b.November 13, 1856 d.June 24, 1938. Gertrude H.A. Buck. Mary E. White. Isabel M. Bray.
Local identifier
TTJBT000443
Collection
Trafalgar Township Historical Society
Language of Item
English
Geographic Coverage
  • Ontario, Canada
    Latitude: 43.23341 Longitude: -79.94964
Copyright Statement
Copyright status unknown. Responsibility for determining the copyright status and any use rests exclusively with the user.
Recommended Citation
1880-81 Wesleyan Female College Annual Catalogue
Contact
Trafalgar Township Historical Society
Email:michelle@tths.ca
Website:

Trafalgar Township Historical Society Sponsor: Jeff Knoll, Local & Regional Councillor for Oakville Ward 5 – Town of Oakville/Regional Municipality of Halton
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