Janet (Chisholm) Lee
Encyclopedia
Janet Robertson Lee (1862-1940) was an important figure in the Niagara Region of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, best known for her role in the formation of the Women's Institutes in 1897, and for pioneering the Kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...

 program in Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton, Ontario
Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Conceived by George Hamilton when he purchased the Durand farm shortly after the War of 1812, Hamilton has become the centre of a densely populated and industrialized region at the west end of Lake Ontario known as the Golden Horseshoe...

.

Janet was born into the Chisholm family from Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city and the county seat of Oxford County in Southern Ontario, Canada. Woodstock is located 128 km southwest of Toronto, north of Highway 401 along the historic Thames River...

. She was educated at the Hamilton Normal School, where she earned her teaching certificate and created the first Kindergarten program in the city. In 1890 she married Erland Lee
Erland Lee
Erland Lee 1864 – 1926 was a notable Canadian farmer, teacher, and government employee from Stoney Creek, Ontario who is most well known for his role in the founding of the Women’s Institutes, an international organization originally formed to promote the education of isolated rural...

, a farmer, government employee, and teacher from Stoney Creek, Ontario
Stoney Creek, Ontario
Stoney Creek is a community in Ontario, Canada.Note: This article will only deal with matters up to its amalgamation with Hamilton.-Geography and population:...

. They had 5 children, Gordon, Alice, Hilda, Frank, and Marjorie..

Janet, her husband Erland Lee
Erland Lee
Erland Lee 1864 – 1926 was a notable Canadian farmer, teacher, and government employee from Stoney Creek, Ontario who is most well known for his role in the founding of the Women’s Institutes, an international organization originally formed to promote the education of isolated rural...

, and Adelaide Hoodless
Adelaide Hoodless
Adelaide Hoodless née Hunter was a Canadian educational reformer who founded the international women’s organization known as the Women's Institute....

 are considered the co-founders of the first Women's Institute, presently a worldwide organization originally formed to promote the education of isolated rural women. The group is internationally known as the Associated Country Women of the World
Associated Country Women of the World
The Associated Country Women of the World is the largest international organization for rural women, with a membership of nine million in over 70 countries. ACWW holds a triennial conference, most recently in Hot Springs, Arkansas, USA in 2010...

. Janet Lee is attributed with writing the original Women’s Institute constitution on her dining room table, on February 25 1897..

A primary school in Stoney Creek
Stoney Creek
Stoney Creek may refer to:In Australia:*Stoney Creek Falls, in Queensland, AustraliaIn Canada:*Stoney Creek, Ontario, was a municipality that is now part of Hamilton, Ontario, Canada**Stoney Creek - an electoral district in Ontario...

 was named for Janet Lee in 1987. The Lee family home, known as “Edgemont,” was converted into the Erland Lee Museum
Erland Lee Museum
The Erland Lee Museum is a National Historic Site of Canada located on the ridge of the Niagara Escarpment in Stoney Creek, Ontario. Originally a farmhouse belonging to Erland and Janet Lee, the museum is recognized as the birthplace of the first Women's Institutes, an international organization...

 in 1972.

External links

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