Mrs. Charles H. Thorburn

Mrs. Thorburn’s birth name is not featured in any of the scrapbook documents, and no confirmable records of her or her husband could be found through Internet searches. Her husband, Charles Henry Thorburn, was a bookseller who co-owned the book publisher Thorburn & Abbott. His father was Dr. John Thorburn, LL.D who was principal of the Ottawa Grammar School which became the Collegiate Institute.

Mrs. Thorburn was appointed to the Civic Playgrounds Committee sometime between 1918 and 1921 according to Scrapbook #2.

She wrote the paper "Ottawa. 1867-1927. Something of her history during the sixty years since Confederation" and presented it at The Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa on February 10th, 1928. It was published in the 10th Volume of Transactions of the Women's Canadian Historical Society of Ottawa.

In 1934 she was elected to the Collegiate Institute Board in January 1934, becoming the first woman to serve on the Board. Her nomination was originally removed by the city council in a vote against appointing women to the Board. However, when the council assembled for its regular session a large delegation of women from the Local Council of Women and other Ottawa women’s organizations had endorsed Mrs. Thorburn for the role. The delegation had filled the meeting hall and outer rooms. Mrs. Thorburn was then elected to the Board (Scrapbook #3). 

In 1935 she was elected as treasurer on the Board of Directors for Ottawa’ s Neighbourhood Services. (Scrapbook #3). In 1937 she became part of the city’s Management standing committee (Scrapbook #4) and a vice-president of the Women’s Missionary Society of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church (Scrapbook #4,). 

Sometime between 1935 and 1937 her name began to be followed with OBE in newspapers. However, I was unable to locate her or husband under Charles Henry Thorburn in any virtual directories of OBE members.

In 1938 she was elected vice-chairman of the Collegiate Board, and in 1940 she became the first woman to be elected as Chairman of the Board. The paper described the event as “history was made” when she was elected, with Mrs. Thorburn thanking the members of the board for the honour and that she believed that it was “the most important position in the public life of the Capital to be filled by a woman” and that “she would do her very best to make a good chairman” (Scrapbook #5, page 9 in PDF).

References

• Kent, Emma. “Publications.” The Historical Society of Ottawa. Accessed December 1, 2024. https://www.historicalsocietyottawa.ca/activities/colonel-by-memorials/content/publications.