Grace Julia Parker Drummond (December 17, 1860 — June 10, 1942) was a Canadian

clubwoman The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a par ...

and philanthropist, decorated for her work during

World War I 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 ...

Early life

Grace Julia Parker was born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Canada East Canada East (french: links=no, Canada-Est) was the northeastern portion of the United Province of Canada. Lord Durham's Report investigating the causes of the Upper and Lower Canada Rebellions recommended merging those two colonies. The new ...

, the daughter of Alexander Davidson Parker and Grace Gibson Parker. Both of her parents were born in Scotland. (Because she and her mother shared a first name, she was called Julia or Grace Julia.)"Lady Grace Julia Drummond"
''L’Encyclopédie de l’histoire du Québec / The Quebec History Encyclopedia'', Marianopolis College.

Career

Julia Parker Drummond was the first president of Montreal's branch of the Canadian Council of Women (1893-1899), and helped to found the Montreal 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 ...

in 1899. She was president of the city's

Charity Organization Society The Charity Organisation Societies were founded in England in 1869 following the ' Goschen Minute' that sought to severely restrict outdoor relief distributed by the Poor Law Guardians. In the early 1870s a handful of local societies were formed w ...

from 1911 to 1919. She was director of the Woman's Historical Society, and she served as an advisor to the Parks and Playgrounds Association of Montreal. She "lent her aid ungrudgingly to every movement for the betterment of her sex," including women's suffrage. During World War I, Drummond was in London as head of the

Canadian Red Cross The Canadian Red Cross Society ()British Red Cross The British Red Cross Society is the United Kingdom body of the worldwide neutral and impartial humanitarian network the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The society was formed in 1870, and is a registered charity with more ...

for her work. She also received an honorary degree from

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...

, in recognition of her community service in Montreal.Drummond family fonds (P015)
McCord Museum. In 1923, the ''Winnipeg Tribune'' named her one of the "12 Greatest Canadian Women" for her Red Cross work. The Drummonds hosted many prominent visitors in their Montreal home, including opera singer

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 ...

and Lord and Lady Minto.

Personal life

Julia Parker married twice, first in London to the Rev. George Hamilton in 1879; she was widowed at age 19, when Hamilton died in 1880. She married as her second husband Sir

George Alexander Drummond Sir George Alexander Drummond, (11 October 1829 – 2 February 1910) was a Scottish-Canadian businessman and senator. Life and career Born in 1829 at Edinburgh, he was a younger son of the entrepreneurial stonemason, building contracto ...

, a Canadian senator. In addition to George Drummond's seven children from his first marriage, he and Grace had two sons together; Julian Drummond died young, and Guy Drummond died at

Ypres Ypres ( , ; nl, Ieper ; vls, Yper; german: Ypern ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality co ...

in 1915, during World War I. Grace Julia Parker Drummond was widowed for the second time in 1910, and died in 1942, aged 82 years."Long Illness Fatal to Lady Drummond"
''Kokomo Tribune'' (June 11, 1942): 2. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. In November 2018, ...

The Drummond Family Papers are archived at

McCord Museum The McCord Stewart Museum (french: Musée McCord Stewart) is a public research and teaching museum dedicated to the preservation, study, diffusion, and appreciation of Canadian history. The museum, whose full name is McCord Museum of Canadian His ...

References

External links

* * An oil painting created in about 1897
"Mrs. George A. Drummond, Lady Drummond"
by Robert Harris, in the collection of the

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Parker Drummond, Grace Julia 1860 births 1942 deaths Canadian women in World War I Canadian philanthropists Clubwomen 20th-century Canadian women