Skip to main contentDiary - Diary of Elisabeth Posthuma Gwillim entitled 1796 | McCord Museum
Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim was the wife of John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806), who in 1791 was appointed Upper Canada’s first lieutenant governor. For five years, Elizabeth accompanied her husband in the colony under his command. During her stay in North America, which she thoroughly enjoyed, she kept a personal diary and made many sketches and watercolours of Upper and Lower Canada.
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Diary
Diary of Elisabeth Posthuma Gwillim entitled 1796
Date
July 25,1796 - September 8, 1796
Dimensions1 textual record ; 20.1 x 16.6 cm
Origin
Canada, North America
Object NumberS001/C3.8,3.3
DivisionArchives - Textual Archives
CollectionStewart
Scope and ContentIn the volume of her diary titled 1796, Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim (1762-1850) describes a trip she made by boat along the Saint Lawrence from Kingston to Quebec City. She mentions the many seigneuries she visited, describing the surroundings, the landscape and the weather. Lady Simcoe also notes the generosity of her hosts, variously members of Catholic religious orders or of Lower Canada’s francophone or anglophone elites.Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim was the wife of John Graves Simcoe (1752-1806), who in 1791 was appointed Upper Canada’s first lieutenant governor. For five years, Elizabeth accompanied her husband in the colony under his command. During her stay in North America, which she thoroughly enjoyed, she kept a personal diary and made many sketches and watercolours of Upper and Lower Canada.
NotesSource of title: based on the nature of the document.
Immediate source of acquisition: The documents relating to Elizabeth Simcoe kept at the Museum come from the Vowler family, of Devon, England. David M. Stewart apparently purchased this “fonds” from the family in 1982 through the intermediary of a London antique dealer (apparently a Ms. Hoppen, possibly Stephanie Hoppen). At that time the fonds was placed in the Devon archives under the reference code 1038 M/F/1; it was subsequently divided in two between the Queen’s York Rangers regiment (Toronto) and the Stewart Museum.
Arrangement: the original reference code was 1038 M/F1/V 1796 [diary].
General notes: photocopies and documentation available in the Lady Simcoe file.
Immediate source of acquisition: The documents relating to Elizabeth Simcoe kept at the Museum come from the Vowler family, of Devon, England. David M. Stewart apparently purchased this “fonds” from the family in 1982 through the intermediary of a London antique dealer (apparently a Ms. Hoppen, possibly Stephanie Hoppen). At that time the fonds was placed in the Devon archives under the reference code 1038 M/F/1; it was subsequently divided in two between the Queen’s York Rangers regiment (Toronto) and the Stewart Museum.
Arrangement: the original reference code was 1038 M/F1/V 1796 [diary].
General notes: photocopies and documentation available in the Lady Simcoe file.
Status
Not on viewInformation about the objects in our collection is updated to reflect new research findings. If you have any information to share regarding this object, please email reference.mccord@mccord-stewart.ca.Information about rights and reproductions is available here.
Diary of Elisabeth Posthuma Gwillim entitled 1791-1796 Voyages
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S001/C3.8,3.4
Diary of Elisabeth Posthuma Gwillim entitled 1792-1793-1794
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Collected poems of Elisabeth Posthuma Gwillim
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1944-1945
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1862-1864
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1855
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This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.