Hellmuth Ladies' College (founded September 1869; closed 1899–1901) was a private college for women in London, Ontario. The college was founded by Reverend Isaac Hellmuth and was inaugurated by Prince Arthur. The college had no official connection with a church; but under the patronage of its founder and namesake, it was thoroughly Anglican. Princess Louise became its patroness on her visit in 1878.Report of the Minister of Education, Ontario Department of Education (1882), pg. 414 The college was devoted to the study of arts and sciences. It was located on Richmond Street North, just south of Windermere Road on the hill overlooking the Thames River. Hellmuth Ladies' College was complemented by Hellmuth College — for young men, founded 1865 — also of London, Ontario. Hellmuth Ladies' College closed sometime between 1899 and 1901. The properties were acquired by the Sisters of St. Joseph and transformed into Mount St. Joseph Orphanage.
Property
In 1867, Isaac Hellmuth purchased 150 acres with a hill overlooking the Thames River, and commissioned the design and construction of Hellmuth Ladies’ College.
The main building was designed by Gundry & Langley, a Toronto-based architectural firm headed by Thomas Gundry (1830–1869) and Henry Langley (1836–1907). Since the closing of the college in 1899, the building served as a convent and orphanage. It stood until 1976, when it was demolished. Mount St. Joseph Academy for girls continued in that location until 1985. As of 2011, the building and its grounds are the official home of Windermere On The Mount, a retirement residence operated by Revera.
The main building took on a new role in 1899, when it was purchased by the Sisters of St. Joseph, a Roman Catholic order of sisters dedicated to caring for orphans and the elderly, educating young girls, and ministering to the poor. Under its new name, Mount St. Joseph Mother House, the building and property served as both an orphanage and a convent for the sisters.
Isaac Hellmuth erected a small chapel, just a short walk from the main building, and named it St. Anne's Chapel, in honor of the then Lady Principal, Anne Mills.
Residence of Bishop Hellmuth.
Diplomas, certificates, medals Hellmuth Ladies' College conferred diplomas, certificates of standing, and medals. Silver medals were awarded for general proficiency; silver and gold medals were awarded for proficiency in special subjects, including divinity, mathematics, science, and languages.
Administration and selected faculty
1869–1872: Ann Mills (1810–1898) – Principal 1872–187?: Rev. Irwin – Principal 1872–1874: Rev. Ganon, B.S. Huntingdon, M.A. – Principal 1874–1883: Rev. Henry Faulkner Darnell (1831–1915) – Principal 1883–1899: Rev. Edward Noble English (1851–1918) – Principal 1878–1880: Rev. James Johnson Hill, M.A. (1832–1896) – Resident Principal and Chaplain for 18 months, beginning around the middle of 1878 1870: Major Evans
1875–1882: Lucy Hannah Clinton (1846–1932) – Lady Principal 1872–187?: Mrs. Irwin – Lady Principal
1875: Lucy Hannah Clinton (1846–1932) 1877: Miss McLellan 1882: Miss H.G. Wight, Diploma of Cambridge, England
Rev. Edward Noble English, M.A. (1851–1918) – professor of mental philosophy and physics Rev. J. S. Thomas, M.A. – professor of classical and English Literature Rev. Charles B. Guillemont, B.A., D.D., Ph.D. (1828–1910) – professor of modern languages 1879–1880: Rev. William Minter Seaborne (1828–1913) – professor of natural sciences The Rev. George Bloomfield Sage, B.A., B.D. (1856–1938) – Classics and Mathematics 1889–1896: Miss Martha H. H. Wray (1862–1947) – teacher of German, English, and mathematics Miss Henrietta B. English (1864–1946) – English Subjects
Miss E. Henstridge
1883–1888: William Caven Barron, Esq. (1864–1936) – professor of piano, organ, and music history 1883–1885: William Waugh Lauder (1857–1931) – musical director, professor of piano, music theory, and music history 1885–1899: Thomas W. Martin, Esq. (1861–1943) – musical director, professor of piano, harmony, and music history Miss Nelda J. Von Seyfried (born 1856) – professor of singing Roselle Pococke, Esq. (1859–1925) – professor of violin 1889–1899: Waldemar Arthur Blüthner, Esq. (1862–19??) – professor of piano and harmony Stinson W. Wilson – professor of organ Madame Hausch – professor of violin Miss. K. Moore – professor of singing and organ 1874–1876: Kate Sara Chittenden (1856–1949) – professor of piano 1870–188?: Lucy Hannah Clinton (1846–1932) – musical directress (1881), professor of piano, Lady Superintendent in 1875, Music Directress in 1877 Miss Anna M. Diller (born 1868; married Edwin D. Starbuck) – teacher of piano Ida Louisa English (1869–1937), 1900 marriage to Corvin Weld (1868–1942) – professor of piano, organ, and Italian Miss M. Raymond – piano 1869: Frances Josephine Hatton (1840–1906), 1871 marriage to Charles Greenwood Moore, MD (1818–1886) – composer, professor of composition and singing (daughter of English composer John Liptrot Hatton)
1883–1892: Julian Ruggles Seavey, Esq. (1857–1940) – director and professor of painting, modelling, carving, decorative art, and design Miss E. Burwell – Drawing and Crayon Miss L. A. M. Jones – Modelling, Carving, and Decorative Art Martha Justina Hardwick (née Thomas; 1854–1917), 1874 marriage to William James Anderson (died 1887), 1887 marriage to John Wesley Hardwick (1855–1923) Mrs. A. Kenly, Art Needlework mid-1870s: William Lees Judson (1842–1928), drawing and painting Caroline Farncomb (1859–1951) – painting
Rev. Edward Noble English, M.A. (1851–1918) – Director 1889–1894: Elizabeth (Libby) Alberta Oakley, B.L. (1862–1961), 1903 marriage to Walter E. Chrysler
William Charles Coo (1861–1950) – professor of shorthand
Mary Stoughton English (née Mulkins; born 1851), wife of Rev. Edward Noble English – Director Friend Richard Eccles, M.D. (who lived from 1843–1924) – Sanitary Science
C. Major Darnley – Department and Family G. B. Dayton – Dancing 1884–1999: John Fulcher (born 1850) – Riding and Driving
Frances "Fanny" Barbara Moule (1850–1917), 1880 marriage to professor James Edward Wells, M.A., LL.D. (1838–1898); 1904 marriage to Rev. Oates Charles Symonds Wallace (1856–1947) Edith Fitzgerald (née Edith Mary Jones; 1844–1928), 1864 marriage to Frederick Ardiel Fitzgerald (1840–1924) Constance Meredith (1865–1967), daughter of William Ralph Meredith, wife of George Armstrong Peters Maude Cloudman Hudson, married to William Hamilton Merritt, Esq., M.D., C.M., R.C.P.S., Edin (1865–1924) Buzzie Gurd (aka Laurie Buzzel Gurd, née Phoebe Buzzel Gurd; 1872–1895) Miss Hattie English
Notable alumnae Victoria Grace Blackburn (1865–1928), journalist and author Kate Sara Chittenden (1856–1949), professor of music; received the Dufferin Bronze Medal for Art in 1873, Evelyn Johnson (1856–1937), poet Maggie Langdell (née Margaret Ellen Huson; 1856–1907), 1875 diploma from Hellmuth, 1880 marriage to Christopher Columbus Langdell (1826–1926), Dean of Harvard Law School Madge Macbeth (née Madge Hamilton Lyons; 1881–1965), author and first woman president of the Canadian Authors Association Marian Osborne (née Marian Georgina Francis; 1871–1931), poet"Marian Osborne, Aurthur," New York Times, September 7, 1931 Anna Diller Starbuck (1868–1929), professor of music
Publications The Hellmuth World, the newspaper of Hellmuth Ladies' College Notable contributors: Louise Amelia Knapp Smith Clappe (1819–1906) "Our Summer In The Valley of the Moon," successive issues, beginning May 28, 1881; "The Lennox Library," April 2, 1881 "Unconscious Plagiarisms," June 18, 1881
Student organizations Chi Omega, a U.S. based sorority, chartered its Phi chapter at Hellmuth Ladies' College in 1899. Its one-year presence at Hellmuth stands as Chi Omega's only international expansion in the sorority's years of existence. and Hellmuth's only Greek sorority.
Bibliography Annotations
References
Sources
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External links
Architect's drawing of the Hellmuth Ladies' College building elevation, June 23, 1868, courtesy of the Toronto Public Library
External links