Margaret Vallance

Margaret Vallance Taylor (née Vallance; 1 April 1840 – 26 December 1922) was a Canadian teacher and social reformer, who for half a century promoted women's missionary work, child welfare, travelling libraries and public-health initiatives in Ontario and Manitoba. Twice president of the National Council of Women of Canada (NCWC), she also founded Winnipeg's Children's Home and, at the suggestion of Lady Aberdeen, organised the nationwide Aberdeen Association to ship books and magazines to remote Prairie settlements.

Early life and education Margaret Vallance was the fourth of seven children born to customs officer Hugh Vallance and Ann Little, a Scottish immigrant whose first husband had died of cholera soon after the family reached Hamilton in 1832. She received a “good basic education” at a private school that stressed deportment and social graces. When her father died in 1856 the family finances collapsed, delaying her professional training until she could enter the Toronto Normal School in 1863. She graduated the following year with a first-class teaching certificate and began teaching in Bartonville (now part of Hamilton). Her school was located directly across from Thomas Wardlaw Taylor’s residence. During her time there, she caught his attention and they later married in 1864, making her his second wife. The couple had no children together.

Career and reform work

Presbyterian missionary work Taylor joined the newly formed Woman’s Foreign Missionary Society of the Presbyterian Church in Canada (WFMS) in 1876.

Aberdeen Association Prompted by Lady Aberdeen’s address at a Winnipeg women’s meeting on 19 October 1890, Taylor organized the Aberdeen Association within a month and served as its president until 1899. She resisted proposals to reduce the council's annual meetings, arguing that yearly sessions were vital despite their cost, and repeatedly tackled the body's chronic funding shortfalls. During her terms the NCWC her actions included:

Later life, and legacy Taylor resumed Red Cross work during World War I in 1914, but poor health soon curtailed her public activity. Following Sir Thomas's death in 1917 she divided her time between Hamilton and Winnipeg. She died in Winnipeg on 26 December 1922 and was buried in Hamilton Cemetery beside her husband. Scholars of Canadian women's history credit Taylor's “strength, clear thinking and sound judgement” for shaping the NCWC into an influential voice in public policy.

Selected works

“Report of the Aberdeen Association for 1894.” Winnipeg: Aberdeen Association, 1895. “The National Council of Women: Its Aim and Duty” (presidential address, 1910). Toronto: NCWC pamphlet, 1910.