Elizabeth Simcoe was an artist and diarist in colonial Canada.
Background
She was born Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim in the village of Whitchurch, Herefordshire, England, daughter of Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Gwillim and Elizabeth Spinckes. Her father died before her birth, and her mother died shortly afterwards. After her baptism, which was on the same day as her mother"s burial, she was taken into the care of her mother"s younger sister, Margaret.
Career
She was the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. In commemoration of her mother, Elizabeth was given the middle name Posthuma. Her adopted mother, Margaret, married Admiral Samuel Graves on June 14, 1769 and she grew up at Graves"s estate, Hembury Fort near Honiton in Devon.
On December 30, 1782, Elizabeth married John Graves Simcoe, Admiral Graves" godson.
Elizabeth Simcoe left a diary that provides a valuable impression of life in colonial Ontario. First published in 1934, there was a subsequent transcription published in 1965 and a paperback version issued at the turn of the 21st century, more than 200 years after she wrote lieutenant
Mistress Simcoe"s legacy also includes a series of 595 water-colour paintings that depict the town of New York
She was responsible for the naming of Scarborough, an eastern Toronto district, after Scarborough, England. The townships of North, East and West Gwillimbury, just south of Lake Simcoe in central Ontario, are also named for the family.
The Township of Whitchurch (today the Town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario), was named in honour of her place of birth. In December 2007, a statue of Elizabeth Gwillim Simcoe was erected in the town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, while commemorating the 150th anniversary of the town"s incorporation.
The statue is located in a parkette in front of the Bradford post office at the corner of John Street West and Barrie Street.