McClung, Nellie L., 1873-1951

Nellie Letitia McClung (née Mooney) was a suffragist, writer, and public speaker. She was born in Chatsworth, Ontario and was educated in Manitoba where she received her teaching certificate at Winnipeg Normal School. Partly influenced by her future mother-in-law, Mrs. Annie McClung, Nellie became prominent in the Women's Christian Temperance Union from 1896 on, and in the suffrage movement. In 1912, Nellie organized the Winnipeg Political Equality League with the aim of advancing women's suffrage and such issues as conditions of female factory workers. McClung moved with her family in 1915 to Edmonton. In 1916, mainly through McClung's activism, Manitoba became the first Canadian province in which women could vote and Alberta soon followed. She was elected to the Alberta Legislative Assembly (1921-26). McClung , with Emily Murphy and three other women, challenged the interpretation of the word "person" in the BNA Act, as applied to Senate appointments. In 1929 this action resulted in a privy council ruling that women were persons. McClung wrote 16 books which include: Sowing Seeds in Danny (1908); In Times Like These (1918); Clearing the West (1935); Leaves from Lantern Lane (1936) and The Stream Runs Fast (1945).

From the description of Nellie McClung collection. [1925-1940]. (University of Victoria Libraries). WorldCat record id: 676738334

...