Agnes Grote Copeland Karyn Huenemann Linnea McNally Canada's Early Women Writers Canadian Writing Research Collaboratory Born digital object, initially housed by the Simon Fraser University library. English Born digital Life writing Biography Bibliography Agnes Grote Copeland (1847-1932)

Agnes Copeland spent most of her life in Ontario and is best known for her patriotic poetry dedicated to royalty.

 16 September 1847, Whitby, ON 19 March 1932, Toronto, ON Name at birth: Agnes Robena Grote Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Andrew Timleck for his research contributions.

Entry revised by Karyn Huenemann and Linnea McNally

 Agnes Grote Copeland (1849-1932)

Descended from United Empire Loyalists on her mother's side and the English intellectual aristocracy on her father's, Agnes Grote Copeland was born in Whitby, ON, in about 1849. Presumably on account of her studies, she moved to Toronto by the age of twelve, where she lived with her half-sister and fellow author, Maria Lauder; her brother George also lived with the Lauders while he attended Upper Canada College.

Agnes taught school in St. Catharines before her marriage to Jacob J. Copeland (1852-1927) in 1884. The couple lived for a period in Boston, MA, where their first son, Gordon, was born. They then returned to Canada and settled in Toronto, where two more children—Phoebe and George—were born.

Agnes accompanied her daughter, Phoebe, while the latter studied music under Leopold Auer in Russia, a trip that left the women detained for some time in Germany during the First World War. Her dedication to her children's education resulted in Gordon becoming a doctor, George a baritone, and Phoebe a violinist. Agnes and Maria both had poems graciously accepted by Emperor Franz Joseph in the waning days of the Austro-Hungarian empire, while Agnes also dedicated poems to three generations of British royalty: Queen Victoria, King Edward VII, and King George V. Her poetry tended to be uncritically patriotic; her Coronation Hymn, set to music, was a great favourite with congregations in Canada and Britain. Many of her poems and songs—such as Memories (1901) and On the Homing Tide (1909), both held in the British Library, London—were published in pamphlet or broadsheet format. Agnes died of pneumonia in 1932 at her daughter's home in York, ON, and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.

 Published Texts Poetry <XREF URL="https://archive.org/details/coronationhymn00copeuoft" RESP="KME">Coronation Hymn</XREF> (Toronto: Author, 1902) In the Golden Glow, 1855-1905 ([Toronto: Author], 1905) <XREF URL="https://archive.org/details/cihm_71204/page/n3" RESP="KME">Ode on the Coronation of King George V</XREF> (Toronto: Author, 1911) <TITLE LEVEL="MONOGRAPHIC">Oonah: An Irish Love Song ([Toronto: Author], 1913) This Wild Rose of Mine ([Toronto: Author], 1913) My Hero is Calling to Me: A Song ([Toronto: Author], 1918) Family and Relationships Father: Rodolphus Fuller Grote (30 JANUARY 1809 – 5 September 1888)

Very little is known about Fuller Grote. Born in 1809, he was of German descent. In 1838, he married widow Phoebe Harriet Perry Toof (1807-1875), and appears to have adopted her daughter Maria Toof (Maria was baptized Maria Grote in the Wesleyan church in 1842). Fuller and Phoebe had four children together. Fuller is listed as both a farmer and a gardener on census records. He died in 1888 in Barton, ON.

 Mother: Phoebe Harriet Perry 28 April 1807 – 27 August 1875

A descendant of United Empire Loyalists, Phoebe Harriet Perry (or Harriet Phoebe Perry) was born in Fairfax, VT, in about 1807. Likely in 1832, she married widower Whitcomb Power Toof (1806-c1838), whose first wife had died earlier that year. Phoebe and Whitcomb had one daughter, Maria Eliza Turner Toof (1833-1922) before his death about five years later. In 1838, Phoebe married Rodolphus Fuller Grote (1809-1888), with whom she had four more children. She died in Wellington, ON, on 27 August 1875.

 Siblings Maria Elise Turner Toff (half-sister) (20 February 1833 – 1 June 1922): m. Abram William Lauder

Agnes's half-sister, Maria Lauder, was the daughter of Phoebe and her first husband, Whitcomb Toof (1806-c1838). She was also a talented linguist and an author.

 Gordon Whitcomb Grote (6 July 1840 – April 1902): m. Mary Elizabeth Davies

Gordon earned his MD from the University of Toronto. He emigrated to England, where he married Mary Elizabeth Davies and practiced medicine until his death in 1902.

 George Whitfield Grote (8 April 1842 – 14 July 1920)

George was a barrister and a poet. Paralleling his sister's poetic production, he wrote <XREF URL="https://archive.org/details/cihm_85291/page/n7" RESP="KME">Ode on the Coronation of King Edward VII</XREF> (1902) among other odes to royalty and esteemed Canadian citizens.

John Wesley Grote (10 June 1845 – 27 June 1898): m. Catharine Augusta Warner

John was an insurance agent.

 Spouse: Jacob J. Copeland (1 March 1852 – 3 May 1927) Marriage: 1884, St. Catharines, ON

Jacob Copeland, the second of 15 children of George Copeland and Rachel Henry, was born in Port Hope, ON, on 1 March 1852. The family later lived in Durham, ON, then in the Muskoka region. A realtor, he married Agnes Grote in 1884, after which the couple moved to Boston, MA, where their eldest son was born in 1855. By 1887, they had returned to Canada and settled in Toronto, where two more children were born. Jacob died on 3 May 1927 and was buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto.

 Children Gordon Grote Copeland (son) (19 February 1885 - 1 May 1946): m. Eva Lucy Wheatley Phoebe Agnes "Rachelle" Copeland (daughter) (28 December 1887 - March 1932): m. Dr. Benjamin George Stephenson George Rudolf Copeland (son) (18 July 1890 – c1969): m. Jeannette Smith Ross; m. Madeline Henry Banks Religion Wesleyan Methodist Residences

Boston, MA (1885)

Grantham, ON (1871, 1881)

St. Catharines, ON

Toronto, ON (1861, 1891, 1901, 1911, 1932)

Whitby, ON (1849, 1851)

Education Awards Employment and Volunteer Activities Employment

Artist

School teacher

 Tangential Information

Agnes's surname has various spellings: Grout, Groat, Groote, and Groate.

Some documentation suggests that Agnes was born in June 1849, but the Wesleyan birth and baptism records indicate September 1847.

 Archival Holdings Published Resources 1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. 1861 Census of Canada. 1871 Census of Canada. 1881 Census of Canada. 1891 Census of Canada. 1901 Census of Canada. 1911 Census of Canada. <XREF URL="https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/146622941/agnes-robena-copeland" RESP="KME">Agnes Robena Grote Copeland</XREF>. Find a Grave. Web. 28 November 2018. Massachusetts, Birth Records, 1840-1915. Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938 and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947. Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928. Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register, 1828-1910.