Beatrice Sifton Nasmyth (August 12, 1885 – October 23, 1977), later Beatrice Sifton Nasmyth Furniss was a Canadian suffragette and war correspondent during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. She was a reporter for the '' Daily Province'' in Vancouver from 1910 to 1919, which took her to Europe to cover the war and the subsequent peace treaty.

Early life and family

Nasmyth was born to Deborah (nee Dignam) and James Nasmyth on August 12, 1885 in Stratford, Ontario. Her father was a pharmacist. She was the third child born out of five and the only daughter. Her aunt was

Mary Dignam Mary Ella Dignam (Born Mary Ella Williams; 1857–1938) was a Canadian painter, teacher, and art organizer best remembered as the founder and first president of the Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC). Life Mary Ella Williams was born in P ...

, a painter and the founder of the

Women's Art Association of Canada The Women's Art Association of Canada (WAAC) is an organization founded in 1887 to promote and support women artists and craftswomen in Canada, including artists in the visual media, performance artists and writers. At one time it had almost 1,000 ...

. Dignam would later influence Nasmyth in her

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to v ...

and feminist views. Nasmyth graduated from Woodstock Collegiate Institute and then attended finishing school at

Alma College Alma College is a private liberal arts college in Alma, Michigan. It enrolls approximately 1,400 students and is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Alma College is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and offers bachelor ...

in St. Thomas, Ontario. After graduation, she studied at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

before leaving in 1907. Her first journalist job was at the

Woodstock Sentinel-Review ''The Woodstock Sentinel-Review'' is a local daily newspaper that serves Woodstock, Ontario and Oxford County in the Canadian province of Ontario. It's published four days a week, Tuesday to Friday, after the Monday print edition was ended Nove ...

. In 1910, she moved to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

, where one of her brothers was living. Nasmyth continued writing, and in two years she was reporting for ''

The Vancouver Daily World ''The Vancouver Daily World'' (also known as ''The Vancouver World'' or simply ''The World'') was a newspaper once published in Vancouver, British Columbia. It was founded in 1888 by John McLagan, the editor of the paper. In 1901, when John McLag ...

'' and editing book reviews for the weekly '' B.C. Saturday Sunset''. She also joined the '' Vancouver Province'' (also known as the ''Daily Province'') as assistant women's editor. Nasmyth helped found the Vancouver branch of the

Canadian Women's Press Club Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

(CWPC), and in 1913 she took on the role of president. She was close friends with poet and author

Pauline Johnson Emily Pauline Johnson (10 March 1861 – 7 March 1913), also known by her Mohawk stage name ''Tekahionwake'' (pronounced ''dageh-eeon-wageh'', ), was a Canadian poet, author, and performer who was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centu ...

(another member of the CWPC). In 1914, Nasmyth participated in the ''Komagata Maru'' incident, where she became part of a crowd of Canadian citizens and officials who prevented a ship full of Indian immigrants from coming ashore.

First World War

The ''Province'' sent Nasmyth to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

to cover the war in 1914. She was known for trying to evade

press censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governments ...

by smuggling her articles past the censors. She would give her articles to one of her brothers, a businessman who often traveled to England, and he would smuggle the reports back to Canada. Nasmyth covered the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, acting as press secretary to Canadian delegate Arthur Sifton, who was her second cousin. She was the lone female journalist in attendance at the signing of the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

Political activism

In 1917, Nasmyth was the campaign manager for Roberta MacAdams, a military dietitian who ran for the

Legislative Assembly of Alberta The Legislative Assembly of Alberta is the deliberative assembly of the province of Alberta, Canada. It sits in the Alberta Legislature Building in Edmonton. The Legislative Assembly currently has 87 members, elected first past the post from sin ...

, who became the second woman ever elected to the Assembly.

Later life

Nasmyth married Mackenzie Furniss in 1918. The couple arrived back in Canada in 1920, settling in Montreal. In 1921, they had a son named Henry, and then in 1924, they had a daughter named Monica. Nasmyth started writing fiction for the British magazine ''Modern Woman'' and the Canadian magazine '' Chatelaine''. Nasmyth died in Vancouver, British Columbia, on October 23, 1977.

References

External links

* Nasmyth, Beatrice (August 30, 1915)
"Crossing Atlantic's War Zone"
''The Province''. p. 3. {{DEFAULTSORT:Nasmyth, Beatrice 1885 births 1977 deaths Canadian women journalists War correspondents of World War I People from Stratford, Ontario Canadian suffragists Canadian women non-fiction writers