"ELIZABETH POSTHUMA SIMCOE" - Holy Trinity - Dunkeswell Abbey, Devon, UK
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member SMacB
N 50° 53.380 W 003° 13.205
30U E 484520 N 5637578
An Ontario Provincial Plaque dedicated to Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe, wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Her diary gives an effective account of Canadian life.
Waymark Code: WM1551W
Location: Southern England, United Kingdom
Date Posted: 10/18/2021
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member Weathervane
Views: 6

"Dame Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe (22 September 1762 – 17 January 1850) was an English artist and diarist in colonial Canada. She was the wife of John Graves Simcoe, the first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada. Her diary gives an effective account of Canadian life.

She was born Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim to Lt Col. Thomas Gwillim and Elizabeth Spinckes in the village of Aldwincle, Northamptonshire, England, Her father died before her birth and her mother shortly afterwards. After her baptism, on the same day as her mother's burial, she was taken into the care of her mother's younger sister, Margaret. In commemoration of her posthumous birth, Elizabeth was given the middle name Posthuma. Her adopted mother, Margaret, married Admiral Samuel Graves on 14 June 1769 and she grew up at Graves's estate, Hembury Fort near Honiton in Devon. Gwillim was one of a group of friends that included Mary Anne Burges in Honiton.

On 30 December 1782, Elizabeth married John Graves Simcoe, Admiral Graves' godson. Between the years 1784 and 1804, they had eleven children, among them Francis Simcoe, after whom they named Castle Frank. Nine survived to adulthood; Katherine, their only child to be born in Upper Canada, and John Cornwall Simcoe died in infancy. Katherine is buried at Fort York Garrison.

Elizabeth was a wealthy heiress, who acquired a 5,000-acre (2025 ha) estate near Honiton, Devon, and built Wolford Lodge, which remained the Simcoe family seat until 1923. She is buried at Wolford Chapel.

Elizabeth Simcoe's diary provides a valuable impression of life in colonial Ontario. First published in 1911, there was a subsequent transcription published in 1965 and a paperback version at the turn of the 21st century, over 200 years after she wrote it. She also left a series of 595 watercolours that depict the town of York, Upper Canada. She was responsible for the naming of Scarborough, an eastern Toronto district, after Scarborough, North Yorkshire. The townships of North, East and West Gwillimbury, just south of Lake Simcoe, Ontario, are also named after her family. The Township of Whitchurch, today the town of Whitchurch–Stouffville, Ontario, honours her place of birth.

In December 2007, a statue of Elizabeth Gwillim Simcoe was raised in the town of Bradford West Gwillimbury, as it commemorated the 150th anniversary of its incorporation. The statue stands in a small park in front of the Bradford post office, at the corner of John Street West and Barrie Street."

SOURCE - (visit link)

Works by Elizabeth Simcoe - (visit link)

The text of the plaque reads -

ELIZABETH POSTHUMA SIMCOE
1766 - 1850

The wife of John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor
of Upper Canada, Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim was born at
Whitchurch, Herefordshire. Her diaries and sketches, compiled
1791 - 96 while in Canada, privide a valuable record of
pioneer life in that colony. Lieutanant-General Simcoe, who
claimed direct descendence from Lord William de Brewer, the
founder, in the twelth century, of the Abbey of St. Mary,
Dunkeswell, died in 1806, and thereafter Mrs. Simcoe devoted
herself to charitable work. She and her daughters were
responsible for the erection and decoration of this church,
Holy Trinity, which was built on the site of the Abbey
Church in 1842. Mrs. Simcoe is buried beside her husband
at Wolford Chapel, near Honiton, Devon.

Erected by the Archaeological and Historic Sites Board, Archives of Ontario.

The top of the plaque bears the arms of the Province of Ontario (Canada)

WM4MNP - Lady Elizabeth Simcoe statue, Bradford, Ontario, Canada

Address or location of plaque: Holy Trinity chuech, Dunkeswell Abbey, Devon, England, EX14 4RP

Physical location of plaque: Village

"Ontario Plaques" Website for this "Plaque": [Web Link]

A web-site for more details.: [Web Link]

Description of any physical remains at site of "Historical Plaque": Church

This 'Plaque' describes: A 'Person'

Condition of sign: Good

Is this a bilingual sign?: No !

What is the second/third language?: Not listed

Visit Instructions:
A "Visited" only remark, will be deleted.
No Waymark owner "Visits" allowed when setting up the Waymark.
Subsequent visits, at another time with photo are acceptable.
NOTE: All photos must include the 'O.H.P.Plaque' at its location to qualify for a "Visited"
Search for...
Geocaching.com Google Map
Google Maps
MapQuest
Bing Maps
Nearest Waymarks
Nearest Ontario Provincial Plaques
Nearest Geocaches
Create a scavenger hunt using this waymark as the center point
Recent Visits/Logs:
There are no logs for this waymark yet.