The Life Writings of Mary Baker McQuesten: Victorian Matriarch

Elisabeth Anne MacDonald-Murray is a private scholar, writing and
editing in Souris, Manitoba.

Whitehern Museum in Hamilton, Ontario, is well known as having been the
home of three generations of the McQuesten family for over a century.
Preserved exactly as the family left it to the city of Hamilton in the
late 1960s, it is a time capsule of life in Canada from the late 19th to
the early 20th century. And from Whitehern’s extensive archive Mary
Anderson has recovered the remarkable life and writings of Mary Baker
McQuesten, the matriarch of the family whose influence is evident
throughout the historical house, as well as in the lives of her six
children and in the community of Hamilton. Through McQuesten’s letters
and life writings, Anderson has brought to life a remarkable woman and
shed new light on life in the developing society of Southern Ontario.

McQuesten was born Mary Jane Baker to an upper-middle-class family with
connections in both the military and the church, and with strong views
concerning the rights and education of women. Her letters and writings
reveal her to have been an outspoken woman of strong personal opinions
and with significant influence. She married into a wealthy and
influential family and had seven children, but was widowed at 38 and
left with six children and her husband’s bankruptcy to deal with. Her
letters reveal her worries and anxiety for her children, as well as her
determination to do the best for her family and to return them to
success and prosperity. Reflected throughout her writings is Mary’s
strong sense of duty and responsibility, her devotion to her family, and
her deep Christian faith.

Anderson has produced a valuable edition of Mary Baker McQuesten’s
letters and life writings, employing a careful selection of 150
documents to illustrate the life of this Victorian matriarch and her
family, her social and religious work, and her unique perspective on the
culture and society of Hamilton and Canada during the Victorian and
Edwardian periods. Fully annotated, these letters and life writings are
supplemented by biographical information about Mary and her family,
pictures and genealogies, and a discussion of personal letters as a
literary genre. This volume will be invaluable to both historians and
scholars of women’s studies, and would be of interest to any reader
who is eager to encounter a powerful and engaging personality.