Clementina Trenholm Fessenden (4 May 1843 – 14 September 1918) was a Canadian

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

and social organiser. She was also the mother of

Reginald Fessenden Reginald Aubrey Fessenden (October 6, 1866 – July 22, 1932) was a Canadian-born inventor, who did a majority of his work in the United States and also claimed U.S. citizenship through his American-born father. During his life he received hundre ...

, the radio pioneer.

Biography

Clementina Trenholm Fessenden was born in the village of Trenholm,

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 ...

, on 4 May 1843. Educated in Montreal schools, she grew up in a home where loyalism and devotion to British traditions were strong. At twenty-one she married the Reverend Elisha Joseph Fessenden, a Canadian-born

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

clergyman. The family moved to

Fergus, Ontario Fergus is the largest community in Centre Wellington, a township within Wellington County in Ontario, Canada. It lies on the Grand River about 18 km NNW of Guelph. The population of this community at the time of the 2016 Census was 20,767, ...

, and later to

Chippawa, Ontario Chippawa is a community located within the city of Niagara Falls, Ontario. The village was founded in 1850, and became part of the City of Niagara Falls, Ontario by amalgamation in 1970. It is located on the Canadian shore of the Niagara River ab ...

, on the banks of the

Niagara River The Niagara River () is a river that flows north from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario. It forms part of the border between the province of Ontario in Canada (on the west) and the state of New York (state), New York in the United States (on the east) ...

. There, she raised her four sons and honed her writing skills as one of the first editors of the ''Niagara Women's Auxiliary Leaflet''. In 1893, Elisha accepted the position of rector at St John's Anglican Church in

Ancaster, Ontario Ancaster is a historic town in the city of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, located on the Niagara Escarpment. Founded as a town in 1793, it immediately developed itself into one of the first important and influential early Kingdom of Great Britain, Bri ...

. Always trying to find ways to strengthen Canada's links to the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

, Clementina identified herself both physically and spiritually with

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

. She dressed in mourning black like the widowed Queen after her own husband died in 1896. She was responsible for introducing

Empire Day Commonwealth Day (formerly Empire Day) is the annual celebration of the Commonwealth of Nations, since 1977 often held on the second Monday in March. It is marked by an Anglican service in Westminster Abbey, normally attended by the monarch as ...

in Canadian schools, first in

Dundas, Ontario : ''For the county in eastern Ontario see Dundas County, Ontario. For the upper tier county, see United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry.'' Dundas is a community and town in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. It is nicknamed the ''Valley Town' ...

in 1898 on the last school day before May 24, Queen Victoria's birthday. It was celebrated more widely each year and then instituted in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1904 by Lord Meath. A typical Empire Day in Canadian schools occupied the entire day and included inspirational speeches by trustees and songs such as ''The Maple Leaf'' and ''Just Before the Battle''. She died in 1918 in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of T ...

. She was buried in St John's Anglican cemetery,

. A bronze plaque was installed in her memory on the wall of St John's Anglican Church in 1929, and a monument was placed by her grave in the churchyard which reads "Clementina Fessenden, Founder of Empire Day".

Tribute

An elementary school in Ancaster, Fessenden Public School, was named in her honour and opened in 1959. Two neighbourhoods were also named after her, ''Fessenden'' and ''Trenholme'', both on

Hamilton Mountain Hamilton is located on the western end of the Niagara Peninsula and wraps around the westernmost part of the Lake Ontario. Most of the city including the downtown section lies along the south shore. Situated in the geographic centre of the Golden ...

, Ontario. The first neighbourhood, ''Fessenden'', on the West Mountain, is bounded by Upper Paradise Road on the east, Mohawk Road West on the north and west. This road for the most part runs on a west-east route on the Hamilton Mountain, but on the western end, where this neighbourhood is situated, the road turns south and crosses the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway, the southern boundary of this neighbourhood. Landmarks in this neighbourhood include ''Sir Allan MacNab High School'' and ''Regina Mundi Church''. The second neighbourhood, ''Trenholme'', on the East Mountain, is bounded by Limeridge Road East on the north, ''Pritchard Road'' on the east, the Lincoln M. Alexander Parkway on the south, and Upper Ottawa Street on the west. Landmarks in this neighbourhood include

Albion Falls Park Albion is an alternative name for Great Britain. The oldest attestation of the toponym comes from the Greek language. It is sometimes used poetically and generally to refer to the island, but is less common than 'Britain' today. The name for Scot ...

and Trenholme Park, which is also named after her.

References

External links

Biography at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trenholm, Clementina 1843 births 1918 deaths Writers from Hamilton, Ontario History of Hamilton, Ontario Canadian women non-fiction writers Persons of National Historic Significance (Canada) 19th-century Canadian non-fiction writers 19th-century Canadian women writers