Faith Fenton

Alice Freeman (1857 - 1936) was a Canadian school teacher and investigative journalist. She became Canada's first female columnist while writing for the Toronto Empire newspaper. Freeman wrote under the pseudonym Faith Fenton to keep her job as a teacher, as journalism was seen as an unacceptably disreputable activity for a teacher to be involved in. With the low salary she earned at these jobs, she required both salaries to support herself. Margaret Reike, her foster mother, ensured Fenton got an education beyond what her parents might have afforded. Fenton departed Toronto in the spring, arriving in the Yukon in August. In the Yukon, Fenton met and married Dr. John Brown. Fenton took up residence in Dawson City and began to send reports of the gold rush back to eastern Canada. She returned to Toronto in 1904.