# Elizabeth Simcoe > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Elizabeth_Simcoe > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Elizabeth_Simcoe.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Simcoe > Source revision: 1354511608 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) English artist (1762–1850) Elizabeth Simcoe Portrait by Mary Anne Burges, 1790 Born Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim (1762-09-22)22 September 1762 Aldwincle, Northamptonshire, England Died 17 January 1850(1850-01-17) (aged 87) Honiton, Devon, England Spouse John Graves Simcoe ​ ​ (m. 1782; died 1806)​ Children 11 **Dame Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe** (22 September 1762 – 17 January 1850) was an English [artist](/source/Artist) and [diarist](/source/Diary) in [colonial Canada](/source/Canada_under_British_Imperial_control_(1764-1867)). Her husband, [John Graves Simcoe](/source/John_Graves_Simcoe), was the first [Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada](/source/Lieutenant_Governor_of_Upper_Canada). Her diary gives an account of Canadian life. ## Biography She was born **Elizabeth Posthuma Gwillim** to [Lt Col.](/source/Lieutenant_Colonel) Thomas Gwillim and Elizabeth Spinckes in the village of [Aldwincle](/source/Aldwincle), [Northamptonshire](/source/Northamptonshire), [England](/source/England).[1] Her father died before her birth and her mother shortly afterwards. After her [baptism](/source/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](/source/Posthumous_birth), Elizabeth was given the middle name Posthuma. Her aunt and adoptive mother, Margaret, married Admiral [Samuel Graves](/source/Samuel_Graves) on 14 June 1769 and Elizabeth grew up at Graves's estate, [Hembury Fort](/source/Hembury_Fort) near [Honiton](/source/Honiton) in [Devon](/source/Devon). Gwillim was one of a group of friends that included [Mary Anne Burges](/source/Mary_Anne_Burges) in Honiton.[2] A 1793 watercolour painting by Simcoe of [York Harbour](/source/Toronto_Harbour) before settlement. [York](/source/York%2C_Upper_Canada) would become the city of [Toronto](/source/Toronto) On 30 December 1782, Elizabeth married [John Graves Simcoe](/source/John_Graves_Simcoe), Admiral Graves's godson. Between the years 1784 and 1804, they had eleven children, among them Francis Simcoe, after whom they named [Castle Frank](/source/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](/source/Fort_York) Garrison. Elizabeth was a wealthy heiress, who acquired a 5,000-acre (2,000 ha) estate near [Honiton](/source/Honiton), [Devon](/source/Devon), and built Wolford Lodge, which remained the Simcoe family seat until 1923.[3] She is buried at [Wolford Chapel](/source/Wolford_Chapel). ## Legacy Pages 6-7 of Elizabeth Simcoe's diary created between 1795 and 1796 from the Simcoe Family [Fonds](/source/Fonds) at the [Archives of Ontario](/source/Archives_of_Ontario) A watercolour painting by Elizabeth Simcoe created in [April 1792?] depicting a cascade in Wolfe's Cove from the Simcoe Family Fonds 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](/source/Watercolor_painting) that depict the town of [York, Upper Canada](/source/York%2C_Upper_Canada). She proposed the naming of [Scarborough Township](/source/Scarborough%2C_Toronto), an eastern Toronto district, after [Scarborough, North Yorkshire](/source/Scarborough%2C_North_Yorkshire). The townships of [North](/source/Georgina%2C_Ontario), [East](/source/East_Gwillimbury) and [West Gwillimbury](/source/Bradford_West_Gwillimbury%2C_Ontario), just south of [Lake Simcoe](/source/Lake_Simcoe), Ontario, are also named after her family. The Township of Whitchurch, today the town of [Whitchurch–Stouffville](/source/Whitchurch%E2%80%93Stouffville), [Ontario](/source/Ontario), honours her ancestral home, [Whitchurch, Herefordshire](/source/Whitchurch%2C_Herefordshire).[4] In December 2007, a statue of Elizabeth Gwillim Simcoe was raised in the town of [Bradford West Gwillimbury](/source/Bradford_West_Gwillimbury), when 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. [Ca. 1792] watercolour painting by Elizabeth Simcoe depicting the barracks at [Queenston](/source/Queenston) from the Simcoe Family Fonds In 2015, her work was included in *The Artist Herself: Self-Portraits by Canadian Historical Artists*, an exhibition co-curated by [Alicia Boutilier](/source/Alicia_Boutilier) and [Tobi Bruce](/source/Tobi_Bruce) who also co-edited the book/catalogue.[5] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [Baptism record on FreeReg](https://www.freereg.org.uk/search_records/5f04dd41f493fdc3162a5662/elisabeth-posthuma-gwilliam-baptism-northamptonshire-aldwincle-1762-09-22?locale=en). The exact date of her birth remains unknown. Her mother's burial took place one day later at the same church. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [The Progress of the Pilgrim Good-Intent, in Jacobinical Times](http://www.abebooks.co.uk/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=7191921134&searchurl=sgnd%3Don%26amp%3Bsortby%3D3%26amp%3Btn%3Dpilgrims%2Bprogress), Mary Ann Burges, AbeBooks. Retrieved 2 August 2014. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-DoCB_3-0)** Mealing, S.R. (1983). ["SIMCOE, JOHN GRAVES"](https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/simcoe_john_graves_5E.html). In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). *[Dictionary of Canadian Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_Canadian_Biography)*. Vol. V (1801–1820) (online ed.). [University of Toronto Press](/source/University_of_Toronto_Press). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Jean Barkey, et al., [Whitchurch Township](http://www.ourroots.ca/page.aspx?id=2871735&qryID=0eb09b9a-c844-41ad-8105-9f81bdb11bd3)[*[permanent dead link](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Link_rot)*] (Toronto: Stoddart, 1993), p. 14. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Wall, Erin (2015). [*"Elizabeth Simcoe". The Artist Herself*](https://library.gallery.ca/search~S1?/abruce%2C+tobi/abruce+tobi/1%2C1%2C16%2CB/frameset&FF=abruce+tobi+++++1965&1%2C%2C16). Kingston and Hamilton: Agnes Etherington Art Centre/ Art Gallery of Hamilton. pp. 38–39. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-55339-407-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-55339-407-5). Retrieved 6 April 2025. - Bassett, John M. (1974). *The Canadians: Elizabeth Simcoe, First Lady of Upper Canada*. Don Mills: Fitzhenry & Whiteside Ltd. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-88902-204-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-88902-204-6). - Frayer, Mary Beacock (1989). *Elizabeth Posthuma Simcoe, 1796–1850: A Biography*. Toronto: Duncan Press. - Firth, Edith G. (1988). ["GWILLIM, ELIZABETH POSTHUMA (Simcoe)"](https://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/gwillim_elizabeth_posthuma_7E.html). In Halpenny, Francess G. (ed.). *[Dictionary of Canadian Biography](/source/Dictionary_of_Canadian_Biography)*. Vol. VII (1836–1850) (online ed.). [University of Toronto Press](/source/University_of_Toronto_Press). - Innis, Mary Quayle (1965). *Mrs. Simcoe's Diary*. New York: St. Martin's Press. - Robertson, J. Ross (1934). *The Diary of Elizabeth Simcoe*. Toronto: The Ontario Publishing Company Limited. - [Travels With Elizabeth Simcoe](https://web.archive.org/web/20121106103813/http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/english/on-line-exhibits/simcoe/index.aspx). Archives of Ontario. ## External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Elizabeth Simcoe](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Elizabeth_Simcoe). - [Works by Elizabeth Simcoe](https://fadedpage.com/csearch.php?author=Simcoe%2C%20Elizabeth) at [Faded Page](/source/Distributed_Proofreaders_Canada) (Canada) - *[Travels with Elizabeth Simcoe: A Visual Journey Through Upper and Lower Canada](http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/explore/online/simcoe/index.aspx)*, online exhibit on Archives of Ontario website - [Simcoe family fonds](https://aims.archives.gov.on.ca/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/DESCRIPTION_WEB/WEB_DESC_DET?SESSIONSEARCH&exp=sisn%20841), Archives of Ontario Authority control databases International ISNI 2 VIAF 2 GND FAST WorldCat National United States Netherlands Israel Catalonia Academics CiNii Artists Scientific illustrators Other IdRef Open Library SNAC 2 Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Elizabeth Simcoe](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Simcoe) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Simcoe?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.