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24. RUSSELL ABBEY
The Russell Abbey
Elizabeth Russel (1754-1822) was unlike most women of her class. She was older, had less education and never married(1). Having cared for her violently insane mother up until the age of 25, Elizabeth came from a world of extravagance, illness, lawsuits and debt. After the death of her mother in 1770, and father in 1786, she was taken under the wing of a half-brother she hardly knew(2).

Peter Russell (1733-1808), who was 20 years older than Elizabeth, first met his sister in Ipswich when he was 38. His career in Upper Canada lead to an appointment in 1792 as Receiver-General of Ontario3. Elizabeth went with him, and settled in Niagara-on-the-Lake. Peter placed his illegitimate daughter Mary Fleming under his sister’s care, but unfortunately Mary died soon after of tuberculosis(4).

In shock from the loss, Elizabeth went to join Peter in York. Peter was having Russel Abbey, a home named after the Russel family seat at Wolburn Abbey, built for him and his sister on the northwest corner of Palace (now Front) and Prince’s Streets(5).  With construction complete upon her arrival, Elizabeth moved into the beautiful estate which overlooked the lake. There for many years, while Peter administered the province, Elizabeth longed for England. Together they entertained York society, and nursed Peter’s failing health.

Peter had been trying to sell his property so that they could return to England, but died in 1808 without an offer(6). William Warren Baldwin [site 23], the Russels’ closest friend, helped Elizabeth settle her brother’s estate. She was his sole heir, and never recovered from the loss. Possibly it was her grief and depression which deteriorated into mental illness, such that by 1812 the Baldwins had moved into Russel Abbey to care for her.

Elizabeth died in 1822, willing the Russel Estate to her cousins Margaret Phoebe Baldwin and Maria Willcocks(7). As a legacy, the letters and diary of Elizabeth Russel paint a detailed picture of the life of a unique woman in early Upper Canada.
Notes
  1. Francess G. Halpenny, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, Vol. VI, (Toronto and Quebec: Universoty of Toronto and Les Presses de l’universite de Laval, 1987), pp.669-70.
  2. Ibid.
  3. Eric Housome, Toronto in 1810; The Town and Buildings, (Toronto: Coles Publishing Company Ltd., 1975), p.64.
  4. Halpenny, VI, p.670.
  5. Ibid.
  6. Ibid., p.729-32.
  7. Ibid., p.670.


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