Sara Anne McLagan (1 April 1855 – 20 March 1924), born Sara Anne Maclure, was an Irish-born Canadian newspaper editor and clubwoman, co-founder and publisher of the ''

Vancouver Daily World ''The Vancouver Daily World'' (also known as ''The Vancouver World'' or simply ''The World'') was a newspaper once published in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1888 by John McLagan, the editor of the paper. In 1901, when John McLag ...

''. She is often described as "the first female publisher of a daily newspaper in Canada" or "the first Canadian female newspaper editor."

Early life

Sara Anne Maclure was born near

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

County Tyrone County Tyrone (; ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the thirty-two traditional counties of Ireland. Its county town is Omagh. Adjoined to the south-west shore of Lough Neagh, the cou ...

, the daughter of daughter of John Cunningham Maclure and Martha McIntyre Maclure. Her father moved to

New Westminster New Westminster (colloquially known as New West) is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada, and a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver Regional District. It was founded by Major-General Richard Moody as the cap ...

in 1858, as a surveyor with the

Royal Engineers The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the ''Sappers'', is the engineering arm of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces ...

. The following year, she emigrated to

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

with her mother and baby sister, to join him.Hale, Linda L. Maclure's father taught her

telegraphy Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas pi ...

. At the age of 12, when a major forest fire threatened their home in Matsqui (now part of Abbotsford), Sara tapped a message through to New Westminster to call for help. At 15 she was employed at the New Westminster telegraph station.

Career

Telegraphy and journalism

McLagan worked at the Western Union Telegraph Company in Matsqui and in Victoria, as an operator, tester, dispatcher, and office manager, until she married in 1884. In 1888 she was a co-founder (with her husband) of the ''Vancouver Daily World'' newspaper. After her husband's death in 1901, she continued as president and editor of the paper, the largest Canadian daily published west of Winnipeg, with her brother Frederick S. Maclure. She is often described as "the first female publisher of a daily newspaper in Canada." During her tenure, the newspaper added a woman's page. She sold the paper to a group of businessmen in 1905. McLagan was an early member of the Canadian Women's Press Club, and of the British Columbia Institute of Journalists.

Clubwork

McLagan was a founder of the Local Council of Women of

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, and president of the organization from 1898 to 1900. She was a provincial leader of the

National Council of Women of Canada National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

from 1903 to 1907, advocating for

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 ...

and improved career opportunities for women. She helped found a Vancouver chapter of the

Victorian Order of Nurses The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) is a non-profit charitable organization founded on January 29, 1897, and based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It was created as a gift for Queen Victoria for the purposes of home care and social services. It is regi ...

, presiding over the chapter from 1902 to 1906, and helped establish a nurses' training home in the city. In 1903 she served as president of the Art, Historical and Scientific Association of Vancouver. She was also involved in the city's

YWCA The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swit ...

and

YMCA YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches w ...

, and active in the Georgian Club and the

Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE) is a women's charitable organization based in Canada. It provides scholarships, bursaries, book prizes, and awards, and pursues other philanthropic and educational projects in various communities ac ...

(IODE).

World War I

McLagan's only son, Patrick Douglas Maclure McLagan, died at

Ypres Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...

in 1917, in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1920 she was presented with the "Cross of Sacrifice" for her postwar relief work with the Red Cross at

Vitry-en-Artois Vitry-en-Artois (; literally "Vitry in Artois"; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and in the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Vitry-en-Artois is situated some northeast of A ...

, France, sponsored by the IODE. She and her daughter were the only British Columbians at the unveiling of the Cenotaph to the Unknown Warrior in

Whitehall Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London, England. The road forms the first part of the A roads in Zone 3 of the Great Britain numbering scheme, A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea, London, Chelsea. It ...

in 1921. Later that year, she chose St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Vancouver to house a bronze memorial tablet to her son's memory.

Personal life

Sara Anne Maclure married widowed printer

John McLagan John James Campbell McLagan (July 22, 1838 – April 11, 1901) was a newspaper publisher born in Strathardle, Scotland. He later moved to Ontario, Canada, where he managed the ''Guelph Mercury'' with MP James Innes. After living in Winnipeg he m ...

in 1884. He had a grown son, and they had more children together, including four daughters Geraldine (who died in 1891), Hazel, Marguerite, and Doris, and a son, Patrick Douglas (who died in 1917). She died in 1924, aged 68 years, in Vancouver. As of 2012, her grave was unmarked. In 2018, the

Vancouver City Council Vancouver City Council is the governing body of Vancouver, British Columbia. The council consists of a mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a Municipal corporation, municipal government such as that of a city ...

named a public space at the corner of West Pender Street and Beatty Street as "Sara Anne McLagan Plaza".

References

External links

* Chung123 (12 July 2016)
"Erotic massage spot was once newspaper HQ of 1st woman publisher in Canada"
''Findery''. {{DEFAULTSORT:McLagan, Sara Anne 1855 births 1924 deaths 19th-century Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian newspaper founders Canadian newspaper editors Canadian women newspaper editors Burials at Mountain View Cemetery (Vancouver) Canadian women non-fiction writers Canadian women in World War I Irish emigrants to Canada Irish women newspaper editors 19th-century Canadian women journalists 19th-century Canadian journalists 20th-century Canadian women journalists 20th-century Canadian journalists