Elizabeth Roberts MacDonald (, Roberts; 17 February 1864 – 8 November 1922) was a Canadian writer of poetry, children's literature, essays, and short stories. She regularly contributed articles to a number of Canadian and U.S. dailies. MacDonald was also one of the leaders of

women's suffrage in Canada Women's suffrage in Canada occurred at different times in different jurisdictions to different demographics of women. Women's right to vote began in the three prairie provinces. In 1916, suffrage was earned by women in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, a ...

. She died in 1922.

Early life and education

Jane Elizabeth Gostwycke (or, "Gostwick") Roberts was born 17 February 1864, in the "Old Rectory" at Westcock, New Brunswick. Her father was the Rev. Canon George Goodridge Roberts, Rector of

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River (Bay of Fundy), Saint John River, ...

New Brunswick New Brunswick is a Provinces and Territories of Canada, province of Canada, bordering Quebec to the north, Nova Scotia to the east, the Gulf of Saint Lawrence to the northeast, the Bay of Fundy to the southeast, and the U.S. state of Maine to ...

, and Canon of the Cathedral there. He was a cultivated, scholarly gentleman of old English descent. Her mother was Emma Wetmore (Bliss) Roberts. Her siblings were Charles G. D. Roberts, William Carman Roberts, and

Theodore Goodridge Roberts George Edwards Theodore Goodridge Roberts (July 7, 1877 – February 24, 1953) was a Canadians, Canadian novelist and poet. He was the author of thirty-four novels and over one hundred published stories and poems. He was the brother of poet Charl ...

("Thede") – a family remarkable for the variety and richness of their contribution to the literature of Canada. On winter evenings, the favourite gathering place was about the great centre table in the

sitting room In Western architecture, a living room, also called a lounge room (Australian English), lounge (British English), sitting room (British English), or drawing room, is a room for relaxing and socializing in a residential house or apartment. Su ...

, where the young people read aloud for each other's amusement or edification the rhymes or stories which the day had called forth. Spirited discussions frequently arose, but the utmost good humour prevailed and final decisions on most questions were sought and accepted from the parents. The informal gathering gave a training which no school or carefully planned course of study could have achieved. In summer weather the garden was the favourite meeting place, along with their cousin,

Bliss Carman William Bliss Carman (April 15, 1861 – June 8, 1929) was a Canadian poet who lived most of his life in the United States, where he achieved international fame. He was acclaimed as Canada's poet laureate during his later years. In Canada, Car ...

. It is of this scented garden that MacDonald wrote about in her book, ''Dream Verses and Others''. She was educated at the Collegiate School, Fredericton, and completed a partial course in English, French and German at the New Brunswick University.

Career

MacDonald taught for a time in the

Halifax School for the Blind Halifax commonly refers to: *Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada *Halifax, West Yorkshire, England * Halifax (bank), a British bank Halifax may also refer to: Places Australia *Halifax, Queensland, a coastal town in the Shire of Hinchinbrook * Halifax ...

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...

. Suffering from chronic ill health, she returned home. For many years, she was a frequent contributor to magazines. Poems of hers appeared in ''

The Century Magazine ''The Century Magazine'' was an illustrated monthly magazine first published in the United States in 1881 by The Century Company of New York City, which had been bought in that year by Roswell Smith and renamed by him after the Century Associati ...

'', ''The Independent'', ''

Outing Outing is the act of disclosing an LGBTQ person's sexual orientation or gender identity without their consent. It is often done for political reasons, either to instrumentalize homophobia, biphobia, and/or transphobia Transphobia consists ...

'', and other prominent magazines. "Voices", "The Spell of the Forest", "The House Among the Firs", "The Fire of the Frost", "White Magic", "The Signal Smokes", "Dreamhurst", "The Whispering Poplars", "Flood Tide", "Mountain-Ash", "March Wind", "Harvest", "Reassurance", "The Shepherd", and "A Madrigal" are some of her mentioned poems. A pleasing writer of short stories, chiefly of a romantic or idealistic nature, and an essayist of uncommon power, she perhaps did her best prose work in her book for children, ''Our Little Canadian Cousin'', where in attractive story-form she pictures the many-sided lives of Canadian children. In collaboration with her two brothers, William and Theodore, she was the author of ''Northland Lyrics'', 1899, where her contributions to its pages brought her great praise from verse lovers in England and in the U.S. Another poetry book of hers, ''Dream Verses and Others'', was published in 1906. In 1896, she married her cousin, Samuel Archibald Roberts MacDonald, and they removed to

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. There, MacDonald took an active part in the Equal Suffrage movement and was the first president of the Women's Suffrage Society of

Nelson, British Columbia Nelson is a city located in the Selkirk Mountains on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in the British Columbia Interior, Southern Interior of British Columbia, Canada. The city is known for its collection of restored heritage buildings that date ba ...

. The family moved next to

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

, where MacDonald was engaged as a special writer on the staff of the ''Winnipeg Telegram''. In 1915, after marital separation, she moved to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, with her sons, Archibald G. MacDonald and Cuthbert Goodridge MacDonald (a daughter, Hilary MacDonald, survived last than a year). A prominent member of the Canadian Authors' Association, MacDonald also held office in many other associations with which she was connected. Among them were the Women's Press Club of Winnipeg, and later of Ottawa, the Ottawa Women's Citizen Association, the Women's Suffrage Association of Nelson, British Columbia, of which she was president, while residing there, and the Women's Suffrage Association at Winnipeg. She also held a life membership in the Women's Auxiliary of the Anglican Church. She was also at one time treasurer of the Women's Citizens' Association. In religion, she was

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Personal life

Elizabeth MacDonald died at a hospital in

, 8 November 1922, from complications following an accident when she fell in her home, breaking her hip. Like his mother, Cuthbert, went on to become a writer. Cuthbert's son, Théodore Macdonald, was a Canadian

polymath A polymath or polyhistor is an individual whose knowledge spans many different subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific problems. Polymaths often prefer a specific context in which to explain their knowledge, ...

, professor of

mathematics Mathematics is a field of study that discovers and organizes methods, Mathematical theory, theories and theorems that are developed and Mathematical proof, proved for the needs of empirical sciences and mathematics itself. There are many ar ...

and

human rights defender A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

Selected works

* An unnamed collection of poems in booklet format was published by MacDonald's father, 1888 * ''Northland Lyrics'', 1899 (with William Carman Roberts and Theodore Goodridge Roberts) * ''Our Little Canadian Cousin'', 1904 * ''Dream Verses and Others'', 1906

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, Elizabeth Roberts 1864 births 1922 deaths 19th-century Canadian poets 19th-century Canadian women writers 20th-century Canadian poets 20th-century Canadian short story writers 20th-century Canadian women writers Canadian children's writers Canadian essayists Canadian suffragists People from Westmorland County, New Brunswick Poets from New Brunswick