Beatrice Nasmyth

Beatrice Sifton Nasmyth (August 12, 1885 – October 23, 1977), later Beatrice Sifton Nasmyth Furniss was a Canadian suffragette and war correspondent during the First World War. She was a reporter for the Daily Province in Vancouver from 1910 to 1919, which took her to Europe to cover the war and the subsequent peace treaty.

Early life and family Nasmyth was born to Deborah (nee Dignam) and James Nasmyth on August 12, 1885 in Stratford, Ontario. Her father was a pharmacist. She was the third child born out of five and the only daughter. Her aunt was Mary Dignam, a painter and the founder of the Women's Art Association of Canada. Dignam would later influence Nasmyth in her suffragist and feminist views.

Nasmyth covered the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, acting as press secretary to Canadian delegate Arthur Sifton, She was the lone female journalist in attendance at the signing of the Treaty of Versailles.

Later life Nasmyth married Mackenzie Furniss in 1918. The couple arrived back in Canada in 1920, settling in Montreal. In 1921, they had a son named Harry, and then in 1924, they had a daughter named Monica. Nasmyth started writing fiction for the British magazine Modern Woman and the Canadian magazine Chatelaine.