Alice Freeman (1857 - 1936) was a

Canadian 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 ...

school teacher and investigative journalist. She became Canada's first female columnist while writing for the ''

Toronto Empire ''The Toronto Empire'' was a newspaper established in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, in 1887. Founded by John A. Macdonald, the Prime Minister of Canada and publishing rival of George Brown of '' The Globe'', it was the voice of the conservatives in ...

'' newspaper. Freeman wrote under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Faith Fenton to keep her job as a teacher, as journalism was seen as an unacceptably disreputable activity for a teacher to be involved in. With the low salary she earned at these jobs, she required both salaries to support herself.

Childhood

Fenton was the third of twelve children, and was sent to live with a

Bowmanville, Ontario Bowmanville is a town of approximately 40,000 people located in the Municipality of Clarington, Ontario, Clarington, Regional Municipality of Durham, Durham Region, Ontario, Canada. It is approximately east of Toronto, and east of Oshawa along ...

minister and his wife when Fenton was age ten. Margaret Reike, her

foster mother Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family memb ...

, ensured Fenton got an education beyond what her parents might have afforded.

Journalism career

Fenton began her journalist career in 1886 as a

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

correspondent for the '' Northern Advance'', a daily newspaper in

Barrie, Ontario Barrie is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada, about north of Toronto. The city is within Simcoe County and located along the shores of Kempenfelt Bay, the western arm of Lake Simcoe. Although physically in Simcoe County, Barrie is politically i ...

. In 1888, she began writing a column for ''The Toronto Empire''. The column, titled "Women's Empire", dealt with issues relevant to women of the day:

sexual discrimination Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but it primarily affects women and girls.There is a clear and broad consensus among academic scholars in multiple fields that sexism refers primari ...

sexual harassment Sexual harassment is a type of harassment involving the use of explicit or implicit sexual overtones, including the unwelcome and inappropriate promises of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. Sexual harassment includes a range of actions fro ...

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical, sexual, and/or psychological maltreatment or neglect of a child or children, especially by a parent or a caregiver. Child abuse may include any act or failure to a ...

and wage disparity. Fenton wrote columns at night, travelled to work as a journalist during the summer, while remaining a teacher during the day. As a writer, she interviewed famous people of the day like

Susan B. Anthony Susan B. Anthony (born Susan Anthony; February 15, 1820 – March 13, 1906) was an American social reformer and women's rights activist who played a pivotal role in the women's suffrage movement. Born into a Quaker family committed to so ...

, Oliver Wendell Holmes,

Catherine Parr Traill Catharine Parr Traill (born Strickland; 9 January 1802 – 29 August 1899) was an English-Canadian author and naturalist who wrote about life in Canada, particularly what is now Ontario (then the colony of Upper Canada). In the 1830s, Canada ...

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 centur ...

and

Emma Albani Dame Emma Albani, DBE (born Marie-Louise-Emma-Cécile Lajeunesse; 1 November 18473 April 1930) was a Canadian-British operatic soprano of the 19th century and early 20th century, and the first Canadian singer to become an international star. He ...

. She kept her double identity secret until 1893. She resigned her job as a schoolteacher in 1894 and became a full-time journalist. When gold was discovered in the Yukon, Fenton accompanied the

Yukon Field Force The Yukon Field Force, later termed the Yukon Garrison, was a unit of 203 officers and men from the Permanent Force of the Canadian Militia that served in the Yukon between 1898 and 1900. The force was created in the wake of the Klondike Gold R ...

's nurses to the

Yukon Yukon (; ; formerly called Yukon Territory and also referred to as the Yukon) is the smallest and westernmost of Canada's three territories. It also is the second-least populated province or territory in Canada, with a population of 43,964 as ...

as a correspondent for '' The Globe''. Fenton departed Toronto in the spring, arriving in the Yukon in August. In the Yukon, Fenton met and married Dr. John Brown. Fenton took up residence in

Dawson City Dawson City, officially the City of Dawson, is a town in the Canadian territory of Yukon. It is inseparably linked to the Klondike Gold Rush (1896–99). Its population was 1,577 as of the 2021 census, making it the second-largest town in Yuko ...

and began to send reports of the gold rush back to eastern Canada. She returned to Toronto in 1904.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fenton, Faith Canadian women journalists Canadian women non-fiction writers People from Clarington People from Dawson City 1857 births 1936 deaths