Estelle Jean WorfolkLinnea McNallyKaryn HuenemannCanada's Early Women WritersCanadian Writing Research CollaboratoryBorn digital object, initially housed by the Simon Fraser University libraryEnglishBorn digitalLife writingBiographyBibliographyEstelle Jean Worfolk (1886-1949)Image from Sunday School Teacher Is 'Godmother' To Men of Five Navy Minesweepers.The Montreal Gazette (28 January 1944): 11.
Born in Manitoba and raised in Nova Scotia, Estelle Jean Worfolk spent much of her adult life in Montreal where she was active in the Canadian Authors Association and published one book of poetry.
1 February 1886, Virden, MB4 February 1949, Kingston, ONName at birth: Estelle JeanMacdonaldNote
We would like to thank Jim Macdonald, a member of the author's family, for providing us with information and family documents.
Entry revised by Linnea McNally and Karyn Huenemann
Estelle Jean Worfolk (1886-1949)
Estelle Jean Macdonald was born in Virden, MB, to James Edward Macdonald (1856-1940) and Harriet Margaret Burt (1860-1943). She was raised and educated in Sydney, NS, where she attended the Sydney Academy. She advanced to the Insurance Institute of New York and then the Sherwin Cody School of English in Rochester, NY.
Soon after completing her studies, Estelle married William Frederick Worfolk (1879-1944), and dedicated herself to church work, the public health movement, and women's suffrage. The couple lived for many years in Montreal. During the First World War, in which her husband served with the Canadian Army Medical Corps, Estelle was enmeshed in home-front activities. This was perhaps an extension of her work with women's and children's health. She was co-founder of the Mount Royal Health Centre, and a member of the child-welfare executive for the Province of Quebec, both assisting in clinic work and home visits, and giving lectures in schools.
The Worfolks had no children. During the Second World War Estelle took on the monumental task of supporting soldiers overseas by arranging the "adoption" of specific ships by various Montreal organizations: the C.P.R. War Unit, the Notre Dame de Grace Women's Club, and the de Salaberry Ladies' Club to name a few.
As an author, Estelle was active in the Canadian Authors Association. She contributed articles to many periodicals and published one book of poetry,
Wayside Reveries (1939), the verse of which demonstrates her love of the Nova Scotian landscape. She also wrote the words and music of a patriotic regimental song, March On Cape Breton Boys, as well as the introduction to From Hill and Dell (1940), by Janet Pollock Graham (1880-1968). In addition to giving several public lectures, she recited some of her verse on local radio stations.
Estelle was widowed in 1944, just a day after her husband's sixty-fifth birthday. She died five years later, in 1949, during an operation. She was buried with her husband in the Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, QC.
Published TextsPoetryWayside Reveries (Montreal, QC: Menu, 1939)Periodical ContributionsAvon (Detroit, MI)Charlottetown GuardianCrucible (Toronto)Great Thoughts (London, ON)Iola Register (Iola, KS)Lethbridge HeraldMontreal Daily StarMontreal GazetteMontreal HeraldMunicipal Review (Lachute, QC)New England Gladiolus MagazineThe News (Amherst, NS)Post Record (Sydney, NS)Quarterly of the Canadian Gladiolus Society (Guelph, ON)Sentinel Daily NewsSherbrooke Post RecordWestern Call (Vancouver, BC)Watchman (Lachute, QC)Other PublicationsAnthologized in: Creighton, Alan, and Hilda M. Ridley, eds., A New Canadian Anthology (Toronto: Crucible, 1938).Harrison, Henry. The North American Book of Verse. Vol. 2 (New York: Author, 1939).Contributed: Introduction to From Hill and Dell: Little Nature Sketches of the Ottawa Valley, by Janet Pollock Graham (Lachute, QC: Watchman, 1940).Family and RelationshipsFather: James Edward Macdonald(10 September 1856 – 27 March 1940)
James Edward Macdonald was born in 1856 in Nova Scotia, to Jane McLean (1814-1906) and Donald MacDonald (1815-1897), a missionary to Cape Breton from Lewis, in the Highlands of Scotland. James married Harriet Margaret Burt (b. 1860) in 1884. A house carpenter by trade, his favourite hobby was sailing, although he was also known as an inveterate reader and a philanthropist. Late in life, he moved to Miami, FL, to help rebuild after the disastrous "Labor Day Hurricane" of 1935. He died in 1940. His first language was "gaelic Scot."
Mother: Harriet Margaret Burt(16 August 1860 – 29 April 1943)
Harriet Margaret Burt, called "Hattie," was born in 1860 in Huntingdon, QC, to Anglican minister, Rev. Frederick Burt (1827-1904) and his wife, Eliza Ann Whittle (1827-1914), both originally from England. Harriet married James Edward Macdonald (b.1856) in 1884. The couple had six children.
SiblingsMabel Burt Macdonald(16 November 1887 – 6 December 1980): m. William H. PettigrewEmma Macdonald(25 February 1889 – after 1949)Florence Ella Macdonald(2 March 1894 – 27 December 1952): m. Alexander Ruthven DouglasFrederick Burt Macdonald(3 November 1895 – 7 November 1964): m. Ethel G.
Frederick served with the Canadian Infantry in the First World War, and also worked as a newspaper reporter, seaman, and photo laboratory worker. Frederick was naturalized in California in 1929 and most likely died on 7 November 1964. His two daughters appear on various documents as Evelyn/Marcheta (b. 1923) and June/Pollyanna (b. 1925).
Harriet Margaret Macdonald(27 April 1898 – 8 July 1943): m. Adolphus Donington PaynterSpouse: William Frederick Worfolk(15 September 1879 – 16 September 1944)Marriage: 7 January 1916, Toronto, ON
William Frederick Worfolk was born in 1879 in Toronto, ON, to hairdresser William Robinson Worfolk (1855-1931) and Annie Elizabeth Thompson (b. c1854).
William's first occupation was as an elevator operator. At the time of his marriage to Estelle Jean Macdonald (1886-1949) in 1907, he was a "decorator." During the First World War, he served as a sergeant with the Canadian Army Medical Corps. He was injuried in the war, and Estelle for a time gave up her work in public health to stay home and care for him. A day after his 65th birthday, William died suddenly at Tadoussac, QC; he is buried at Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal, QC.
ReligionPresbyterianResidences
Montreal, QC(1919-1944)
Napanee, ON(1946)
Sydney, NS(1891, 1901)
Toronto, ON(1907)
Virden, MB(1886)
Education
Sydney Academy, Sydney, NS
Insurance Institute of New York
Sherwin Cody School of English, Rochester, NY
Correspondence coursework
Awards
First honorable mention for Homely Joys, (Poetry Centre, World Fair)
Tangential Information
Following her death, Estelle's sister Emma sent for publication the manuscript of an unpublished novel,
Callin' Tomorrow, as requested in a letter written by Estelle in hospital before her operation. The manuscript was submitted to McClelland and Stewart, but was unsuccessful. It will be included in a forthcoming publication by Jim Macdonald.
Employment and Volunteer ActivitiesEmployment
Contributing editor,
Eastern Star Magazine (Boston, MA)
Lecturer
Unpaid and volunteer work
Chairman, Arts and Letters Committee, Montreal (1935-1936)
Co-founder, Mount Royal Baby Health Centre; Clinic Convener (1916-1920)
District visitor, Canadian Patriotic Fund, St. Denis Ward, Montreal (c1914-c1918)
Founder, Pen Pal Club, Montreal
Member, Board of Directors, Maritime Women's Club, Montreal (1936)
Member, Executive Committee, Child Welfare in Montreal (1916-1917)
Organizer and honourary president, Greenfield Park Soldiers' Wives, Red Cross branch(1916-1920)
Organizer and president, Ladies' Auxiliary, Flanders Branch, Canadian Legion, British Empire Service League (1935-1936)
Organizer and possibly grand matron, Queen Alexandra Chapter, No. 24, Order of the Eastern Star, Montreal
Organizer and president, St. Denis Soldiers' Wives Guild (1915-1922)
Secretary, Education Committee, Royal Empire Society (1940-1944)
Sunday school teacher
Treasurer, Women's Volunteer Reserve Corps, Montreal (1941)
Memberships
Canadian Authors Association, Montreal Branch
Maritime Women's Club
New Gladiolus Society
Order of the Eastern Star
Quebec Gladiolus Society
Royal Empire Society
Women's Volunteer Reserve Corps
Archival HoldingsPublished Resources1891 Census of Canada.1901 Census of Canada.Creighton, Alan, and Hilda M. Ridley, eds., A New Canadian Anthology (Toronto: Crucible, 1938).Deaths: Douglas.The Mopntreal Star (29 December 1952): 18.Deaths: Paynter.The Ottawa Journal (14 July 1943): Deaths: Pettigrew.The Kingston Whig-Standard (8 December 1980): 22.Deaths: Worfolk.The Montreal Gazette (18 September 1944): 14.Deaths: Worfolk.The Montreal Gazette (5 February 1949).Donald MacDonald, 1815-1897 (Domhnuil Ceister). Beaton Institute Archives, Cape Breton University, Sydney, NSEstelle Jean Worlfolk.Find A Grave. Web. 20 May 2016.Godmother to British Navy Men is Ill in General Hospital Here.The Kingston Whig-Standard (24 December 1948): 27.James Macdonald Dies in 84th Year.The Montreal Gazette (28 March 1940): 12.Letter from Carl Eayrs to Emma Macdonald, Toronto, ON, 18 March 1949. Photocopy of letter provided by Jim Macdonald.<XREF URL="http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1946&dat=19400420&id=8n0tAAAAIBAJ&sjid='JgFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3762,3599261" RESP="KME">Maritime Poetess</XREF>. The Montreal Gazette (20 April 1940): 5.Ontario, Canada Births, 1832-1917.Ontario, Canada Marriages, 1801-1928.Sunday School Teacher Is 'Godmother' To Men of Five Navy Minesweepers.The Montreal Gazette (28 January 1944): 11-12.Watters, R.E. Checklist of Canadian Literature and Background Materials, 1620-1960 (Toronto: U of Toronto P, 1972): 215.Worfolk, Estelle Jean. Letter of final instructions. Handwritten. February 1949, Kingston, ON. Photocopy provided by Jim Macdonald.Worfolk, Estelle Jean.National Reference Book on Canadian Men and Women. Ed. H. Harrison, H. 5th ed. (Montreal, QC: Canadian Newspaper Service, 1936): 803.Worfolk, Estelle Jean.National Reference Book on Canadian Men and Women. Ed. H. Harrison, H. 6th ed. (Montreal, QC: Canadian Newspaper Service, 1940): 749.