Agnes Dennis,

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(11 April 1859 – 21 April 1947) was an educator and feminist in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. She was one of the Nova Scotia 5 who was active in the

Local Council of Women of Halifax The Local Council of Women of Halifax (LCWH) is an organization in Halifax, Nova Scotia devoted to improving the lives of women and children. One of the most significant achievements of the LCWH was its 24-year struggle for women's right to vote ...

. The daughter of Alexander Miller and Sarah Archibald, she was born Agnes Miller in

Truro Truro (; kw, Truru) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parishes in England, civil parish in Cornwall, England. It is Cornwall's county town, sole city and centre for administration, leisure and retail trading. Its ...

and studied at the Model and Normal Schools there. She taught at the Model School for two years and then married

William Dennis William Dennis (4 March 1856 – 11 July 1920) was an Independent Conservative member of the Senate of Canada. He was born in the English county of Cornwall and became an editor, journalist and publisher. Biography Introduction William D ...

, later senator and newspaper publisher, in 1878. She served as president of the Halifax branch of the

Victorian Order of Nurses The Victorian Order of Nurses (VON) has been leading home and community care in Canada for over a century. Today, VON provides home and community support services to over 10,000 people every day across Ontario and Nova Scotia. It is registered as a ...

and the Nova Scotia

Red Cross The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...

. Dennis helped organize relief efforts following the

Halifax Explosion On the morning of 6 December 1917, the French cargo ship collided with the Norwegian vessel in the waters of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The ''Mont-Blanc'', laden with high explosives, caught fire and exploded, devastating the Richmond ...

of 1917. She also ran the ''

Halifax Herald ''The Chronicle Herald'' is a broadsheet newspaper published in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada owned by SaltWire Network of Halifax. The paper's newsroom staff were locked out of work from January 2016 until August 2017. ''Herald'' management cont ...

'' after the death of her husband in 1920. She had 10 children. She died in Halifax at the age of 88. Her daughter

Clara Clara may refer to: Organizations * CLARA, Latin American academic computer network organization * Clara.Net, a European ISP * Consolidated Land and Rail Australia, a property development consortium People * Clara (given name), a feminine giv ...

produced a series of travel books on Nova Scotia illustrated with her own photographs.

References

People from the Halifax Regional Municipality 1859 births 1947 deaths Canadian newspaper publishers (people) Canadian nurses Canadian women nurses People from Colchester County Canadian activists Canadian Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Canadian feminists {{Canada-business-bio-stub