User:Thegrammarguy/Mary Drever Macleod

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Mary Drever Macleod
Born
Mary Isabella Drever

11 October 1852
Died15 April 1933(1933-04-15) (aged 80)
Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Nationality (legal)Canadian
Known forRed River Rebellion heroine
SpouseJames Farquharson Macleod (m. 28 July 1876)
Children
  • Helen Rothney (1878)
  • Norman Torquil (1880)
  • Mary Townshend
Parents
  • William Smith Drever
  • Helen Drever (née Dewey)

Mary Isabella Drever Macleod (11 October 1852 – 15 April 1933) was a Canadian heroine of the Red River Rebellion, made famous in western Canada by her evasion of Métis guards in 1869 to safely deliver a message to Colonel Wolseley, commander of the Red River Expedition.

After the Red River Rebellion she married James Farquharson Macleod and would later become the first lady of the North-West Mounted Police, the precursor to the modern-day Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Together Mary and James Macleod settled in Calgary, Alberta and became a prominent family in the city's history.

Family history and early life[edit]

William Drever (1800-1884) was born in Kirkwall, Orkney Islands and signed on with the Hudson's Bay Company as a labourer in June 1821 at the age of 18.[1][2] After a further 18 years he was posted to Red River Settlement in Rupert's Land (in what is present day Manitoba) where he met Helen Rothnie.[3]

Helen Rothnie, born in the early 1820s in Aberdeen, Scotland, came to Red River Settlement in 1839 as a maid-servant in the employ of the severely unpopular Adam Thom, the newly appointed Hudson's Bay Company's Recorder of Rupert's Land.[4][5][6]

William and Helen were married in 1843 and Mary Isabella was born 11 October 1852.[7] In that same year, William Drever purchased property and opened a general store at what would later be a major part of Winnipeg's central downtown, suddenly becoming potentially rich.[8][9][10]

As Mary grew older so did her family's status. Mary and her sisters attended the private boarding school run by Mathilda Davis. Two of Mary's sisters would marry prominent Anglican churchmen: William Pinkham, who would later become archdeacon of Manitoba, and John Alexander Mackay, who would later become archdeacon of Saskatchewan.[11][12][13]

Red River rebellion[edit]

In 1869, the Government of Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the Northwest Territories from the Hundson's Bay Company. Fearing the potential threat to their way of life, the Métis protested, seized control of Fort Garry on November 2, 1869, and established a provisional government.[14][15] Loyal supporters of Canada, the Drever family (among other prominent Red River families) refused to recognize the provisional government and become known as a loyalist sanctuary.[16] Mary's father and brother were both imprisoned at Fort Garry for their loyalist support.[17]

In the summer of 1870, at just 17 years old, Mary Drever


James Macleod[edit]

Met after RR. Eventually married. Wife of first NWMP commissioner. Signed Treaty 7. Settled in Fort Macleod.

Later years[edit]

After passing of James left penniless. No NWMP pension, eventually led to NWMP pension reform. Started successful business in Calgary to support family. Died, buried in cemetery (pic).

Legacy[edit]

On 15 June 2015 Mary Drever Macleod was commemorated in Calgary's East Village Wheel of Women Project, a ground-level installation celebrating the contributions of 30 women to the City of Calgary's history.[18][19]

The inscription on Mary's plague reads: "Mary Isabella (Drever) McLeod became famous in Western Canada for her steady nerve in the surrounds of Metis guards. She married Colonel McLeod and was one of only several women to sign treaty 7 Blackfoot crossing in 1877."[20]

Notes[edit]

[21] [22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29] [30] [31] [32] [33]

  1. ^ Bumsted, 276.
  2. ^ Craufurd-Lewis, 116.
  3. ^ MacEwan, 52.
  4. ^ Craufurd-Lewis, 115.
  5. ^ Bumsted, 276.
  6. ^ MacEwan, 52.
  7. ^ Jackel (2015).
  8. ^ Bumsted, 276.
  9. ^ MacEwan, 52.
  10. ^ Craufurd-Lewis, 117.
  11. ^ Craufurd-Lewis, 117.
  12. ^ MacEwan, 52.
  13. ^ Waiser (2016).
  14. ^ Macewan, 52-53.
  15. ^ Craufurd-Lewis, 118.
  16. ^ Craufurd-Lewis, 118.
  17. ^ Macewan, 53.
  18. ^ East Village Experience, "Crossroads."
  19. ^ Calgary Municipal Land Corporation, "Wheel of Women Plaza on Riverwalk Opens."
  20. ^ East Village Experience, "Wheel of Women."
  21. ^ Robinson, Mike. "Calgary's potential for renaissance can be found in its history." Troy Media, October 1, 2017. https://troymedia.com/2017/10/01/calgarys-potential-for-renaissance-can-be-found-in-its-history/.
  22. ^ The Canadian Encyclopedia. "Mary Isabella Macleod." Last modified January 7, 2015. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/mary-isabella-macleod.
  23. ^ Klassen, Henry C.. Eye on the Future: Business People in Calgary and the Bow Valley, 1870-1900. Ottawa, Canadian Electronic Library, 2010. dès Libres
  24. ^ Mackinnon, Doris Jeanne. Metis Pioneers: Marie Rose Delorme Smith and Isabella Clark Hardisty Lougheed. Edmonton, The University of Alberta Press, 2017. Scholars Portal Books.
  25. ^ She Who Dares. "Mary Macleod." accessed March 1, 2019, https://www.ywcalgary.ca/ywdares/150-women/mary-macleod/
  26. ^ R. C. Macleod, “Macleod, James Farquharson,” in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 12, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed February 27, 2019, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/macleod_james_farquharson_12E.html.
  27. ^ Millar, Nancy. Once upon a Wedding: Stories of Weddings in Western Canada, 1860-1945, for Better or Worse. Calgary, Bayeux Arts, 2000.
  28. ^ Butler, William Francis, Sir. The Great Lone Land: A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North-west of America. Edmonton, M. G. Hurtig Ltd, 1968.
  29. ^ Bumsted, J. M.. The Red River Rebellion. Winnipeg, Watson & Dwyer, 1996.
  30. ^ Craufurd-Lewis, Michael. Macleod of the Mounties: The North American Saga as seen through the life of a Scottish-Canadian Hero. Ottawa, Golden Dog Press, 1999.
  31. ^ MacEwan, Grant. Mighty Women: Stories of Western Canadian Pioneers. Vancouver, Greystone Books, 1995.
  32. ^ Nevitt, Richard Barrington. Frontier Life in the Mounted Police: The Diary Letters of Richard Barrington Nevitt, NWMP Surgeon, 1874-78. Calgary, Alberta Records Publication Board, Historical Society of Alberta, 2010.
  33. ^ Beahen, William. Red Coats on the Prairies: The North-west Mounted Police, 1886-1900. Regina, Centax Books, 1998.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Beahen, William (1998). Red Coats on the Prairies: The North-west Mounted Police, 1886-1900. Regina, Saskatchewan: Centax Books. ISBN 1894022017.
  • Bumsted, J. M. (1996). The Red River Rebellion. Winnipeg, Manitoba: Watson & Dwyer. ISBN 0920486231.
  • Butler, William Francis, Sir (1968). The Great Lone Land: A Narrative of Travel and Adventure in the North-west of America. Edmonton, Alberta: M. G. Hurtig Ltd.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  • Craufurd-Lewis, Michael (1999). Macleod of the Mounties: The North American Saga as seen through the life of a Scottish-Canadian Hero. Ottawa, Ontario: Golden Dog Press. ISBN 9780919614741.
  • "Crossroads". East Village Experience. Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  • Jackel, Susan (7 January 2015). "Mary Isabella Macleod". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  • Klassen, Henry C. (2010). Eye on the Future: Business People in Calgary and the Bow Valley, 1878-1900 (Electronic Book: dès Libres). Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Electronic Library. ISBN 9781552383353.
  • MacEwan, Grant (1995). Mighty Women: Stories of Western Canadian Pioneers. Vancouver, British Columbia: Greystone Books. ISBN 1550544160.
  • Mackinnon, Doris Jeanne (2017). Metis Pioneers: Marie Rose Delorme Smith and Isabella Clark Hardisty Lougheed (Electronic Book: Scholars Portal Books). Edmonton, Alberta: The University of Alberta Press. ISBN 9781772123630.
  • Macleod, R. C. (1990). "Macleod, James Farquharson". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 12. Retrieved 27 February 2019.
  • "Mary Macleod". She Who Dares. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  • Millar, Nancy (2000). Once upon a Wedding: Stories of Weddings in Western Canada, 1860-1945, for Better or Worse. Calgary, Alberta: Bayeux Arts. ISBN 1896209335.
  • Nevitt, Richard Barrington (2010). Frontier Life in the Mounted Police: The Diary Letters of Richard Barrington Nevitt, NWMP Surgeon, 1874-78. Calgary, Alberta: Alberta Records Publication Board, Historical Society of Alberta. ISBN 9780929123189.
  • Robinson, Mike (1 October 2017). "Calgary's potential for renaissance can be found in its history". Troy Media. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  • Waiser, W. A. (2016). "Mackay, John Alexander". Dictionary of Canadian Biography. 15. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  • "Wheel of Women". East Village Experience. Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. Retrieved 1 March 2019.
  • "Wheel of Women Plaza on Riverwalk Opens". CMLC. Calgary Municipal Land Corporation. Retrieved 1 March 2019.

External links[edit]