Louisa Goddard Molson ( Frothingham; April 15, 1827 – August 12, 1910), known socially as Mrs. John H. R. Molson, was a Canadian philanthropist.

Early life

Louisa Goddard Frothingham 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 ...

Lower Canada The Province of Lower Canada (french: province du Bas-Canada) was a British colony on the lower Saint Lawrence River and the shores of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence (1791–1841). It covered the southern portion of the current Province of Quebec an ...

, the daughter of John Frothingham. Her father had a hardware business. She was the namesake of her mother, Louisa Goddard ( Archibald) Frothingham; she had a similarly named sister-in-law, Louisa Davenport Hayward Frothingham.

Philanthropy

When she was 18 years old, Frothingham joined the management committee of the Montreal Protestant Orphan Asylum. She continued to be active in the administration of the asylum for the next 64 years. She was also a manager of the Protestant Infants' Home of Montreal, a manager of the Mackay Institute, and a life governor of the Montreal Maternity Hospital. Beginning in 1890, she served on the board of governors at the Protestant Hospital for the Insane. She was the second president of the Montreal Ladies' Educational Association, succeeding her sister-in-law Anne Molson. Molson had an inherited fortune, and made significant donations and bequests to many of her causes, including the above-named charities,

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 ...

, Montreal General Hospital, the

Art Association of Montreal The Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (MMFA; french: Musée des beaux-arts de Montréal, MBAM) is an art museum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest art museum in Canada by gallery space. The museum is located on the historic Golden Square ...

, the

Mount Royal Cemetery Opened in 1852, Mount Royal Cemetery is a terraced cemetery on the north slope of Mount Royal in the borough of Outremont in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Temple Emanu-El Cemetery, a Reform Judaism burial ground, is within the Mount Royal grounds. Th ...

, the Montreal Ladies' Benevolent Society, and the Unitarian Church of the Messiah. In 1895, she was an honoured guest at the opening ceremonies for the new medical campus at McGill.

Personal life

Frothingham married businessman

John Henry Robinson Molson John Henry Robinson Molson (June 5, 1826 – May 28, 1897) was a Canadian entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was an owner of Molson Brewery and president of Molson Bank. Born June 5, 1826 to Thomas Molson (1791–1863) and Martha Molson (1795–1 ...

in 1873. They were close to Molson's nephew,

Harry Markland Molson Harry Markland Molson (August 9, 1856 – April 15, 1912) was a Canadian politician and entrepreneur. A member of the Molson family, he was Mayor of Dorval, Quebec. He perished in the sinking of RMS ''Titanic'' on April 15, 1912. Molson was ...

, the mayor of

Dorval Dorval () is an on-island suburban city on the island of Montreal in southwestern Quebec, Canada. In 2016, the Canadian Census indicated that the population increased by 4.2% to 18,980. Although the city has the largest surface area in Montré ...

, who was a passenger on the ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British passenger liner, operated by the White Star Line, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg during her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United ...

'' (he did not survive). She was widowed in 1897, and she died in 1910.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Molson, Louisa Goddard 1827 births 1910 deaths Canadian women philanthropists Province of Canada people Canadian socialites People from Montreal 19th-century Canadian philanthropists 19th-century women philanthropists