Kate Simpson Hayes

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Kate Simpson Hayes
Kate Simpson Hayes.jpg
BornCatherine Ethel Hayes
6 July 1856
Dalhousie, New Brunswick, British North America
DiedJanuary 15, 1945(1945-01-15) (aged 88)
British Columbia, Canada
Pen name
  • Mary Markwell
  • Elaine
  • Marka Wohl
  • Yukon Bill
Occupationplaywright, author, journalist, poet, teacher, milliner, legislative librarian
LanguageEnglish
Spouse
Charles Bowman Simpson
​
​
(m. 1882,separated)​
Partner Nicholas Flood Davin
Children4

"Society at large depends upon the home -- it has been called the 'bulwark of the nation,' and it is there woman's place is and should be." [1]

Contents

Kate Simpson Hayes ( née , Hayes; after first marriage, Simpson; after separation, Hayes; pen names, Mary Markwell, Elaine, Marka Wohl, Yukon Bill; 6 July 1856 - 15 January 1945) was a Canadian playwright, author, journalist, and poet from New Brunswick. As the first woman journalist in Western Canada, she wrote for the Free Press and the Regina Leader using a variety of pen names, including "Mary Markwell". She was a founding member of the Canadian Women's Press Club and the author of works such as Prairie pot-pourri. Hayes also worked in Britain for a time encouraging other women to emigrate to Canada.

Hayes also worked for the Canadian Pacific Railway, promoting the emigration of woman domestics from Britain. She was a charter member of the Canadian Women’s Press Club, and club president in 1906. Hayes continued to write until well into her seventies.

Biography

Catherine Ethel Hayes was born in 1856, in Dalhousie, New Brunswick. Her parents were Patrick Hayes, a lumber merchant and storekeeper, and Anna Hagan Hayes, a school teacher.

Hayes was the first woman journalist in the Canadian West. [2] [3] She wrote for the Free Press, Winnipeg, and wrote poetry using the pen name Mary Markwell for the Regina, Saskatchewan Leader. [4] A founding member of the Canadian Women's Press Club, she also served as club president in 1906. [5]

Hayes was opposed to women being given the vote. She was a "determined anti-suffragist". [6] She was employed by the Canadian Pacific Railway, where she encouraged other women to emigrate to Canada. [5]

Personal life

She married Charles Bowman Simpson in 2 June 1882; they had two children before separating in 1889. She had a relationship with Nicholas Flood Davin, and they had two children. [7] Her children were: Burke Hayes Simpson, Anna W Elaine ("Bonnie") Simpson, Henry Arthur Davin, and Agnes Agatha Davin. [3]

Kate Simpson Hayes died in Victoria, British Columbia, 15 January 1945. [8] Her papers are housed at the Saskatchewan Archives, McGill University, and National Archives of Canada. [3]

Selected works

References

  1. ↑ Carter, Sarah (1 November 2020). Ours by Every Law of Right and Justice: Women and the Vote in the Prairie Provinces. UBC Press. p. 61. ISBN   978-0-7748-6190-8 . Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  2. ↑ Lewis 2006, p. 10.
  3. 1 2 3 "Hayes, Kate Simpson". Simon Fraser University. Retrieved 10 August 2017.
  4. ↑ Powell, Williams & University of Regina. Canadian Plains Research Center 1996.
  5. 1 2 "The Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan - Details". esask.uregina.ca. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  6. ↑ Kay, Linda (2012). The Sweet Sixteen: The Journey That Inspired the Canadian Women's Press Club. McGill-Queen's Press - MQUP. p. 112. ISBN   978-0-7735-3967-9 . Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  7. ↑ "Hayes, Kate Simpson (a.k.a Mary Markwell) - City of Regina". www.regina.ca. Archived from the original on 10 August 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2017.
  8. ↑ Wishart 2004, p. 330.

Bibliography

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