author
Lillian Phelps
A Canadian activist, lecturer, and freelance writer, she used the printed word to champion temperance and women’s rights at the turn of the 20th century. Her life connects journalism, reform work, and the long campaign for women’s political voice in Canada.
1 Audiobook
Industries and Inventions of the Shakers: Shaker Music, a Brief History
by Bertha Lindsay, Lillian Phelps
About the author
Born Lillian Marietta Ross on September 27, 1856, in Kemptville, Canada West, she later became known as Lillian Marietta Phelps, or “Minnie.” She trained as a teacher, married lawyer and future judge Herbert Phelps in 1878, and eventually settled in St. Catharines, Ontario.
Phelps built a public career as a lecturer and freelance writer focused on women’s issues and temperance. From 1881 to 1886 she served as superintendent of the press department of the Ontario Woman’s Christian Temperance Union, helping shape how the organization and its causes were presented in newspapers. She was also active in the wider movement for women’s rights, including suffrage, and became known as a persuasive public speaker.
Later in life, she remained an influential figure in reform circles in St. Catharines. She died there on October 5, 1934, remembered as a determined advocate who used both speech and print to press for social change.