Cottage with a Woman Seated on Log
MediumGraphite
SupportPaper
Credit LineGift of Robin Harris, King City, Ontario, 1997
Object number1997.017.024
Label TextThis is a drawing by Amelia "Millie" Harris of Eldon House. Eldon House has provided this biography of Millie:
Amelia (Milly) Archange Harris (1869-1959) was the eldest child of George and Lucy Ronalds and named after her grandmother, who she would come to resemble in spirit and determination. Being born into the wealth and status of the now-established Harris family, she was well educated and socially connected. The diaries of her youth list nearly daily social engagements, sporting activities and visits to friends and family throughout the region.
Milly attended school in Torquay, England at 13, completing her schooling at 18 years of age. She had many diverse interests upon her return to Canada, engaging in the hobby of photography, attending lectures at Western University, avidly engaging in sports including women’s hockey and golf as well as being active with the London Hunt Club and the Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire (IODE).
Ultimately Milly never married, proving to be an exception to the societal expectations for women during the period. “Spinsterhood” was a chosen state for Milly – we know she had at least one offer of marriage - and allowed her greater freedom and management of her own fortune. As an unmarried woman Milly had ample opportunities to travel, which she took advantage of, both in Canada and abroad.
Her home remained Eldon House, first living with her parents, then with her brother Ronald and his wife, Lorna. She assisted her brother and sister-in-law to raise their three children and became actively involved in public service. Milly was a strong minded individual and it is thanks to her that Eldon House has retained its historic character developed in the 1890s. Her two nephews and niece would, according to family lore, comment that in growing up at Eldon House, one already felt a museum-like quality of its interior.
Milly Harris lived for almost 92 years, outliving her whole generation. It was she, it can be said, that lived in Eldon House longest and last – as after her death in 1959, the house would soon be translated to become a historical museum.
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