Louisa (Dolly) Helmcken
1862-1939

Harry & Dolly Helmcken BC Archives #HP19017

While Dolly studied at St. Ann’s Academy for several years, she was described as having a happy disposition and lots of friends.

Dolly excelled at arts and crafts, especially in needlework and ceramic painting. She also wrote and illustrated a children’s book.
click here to read it

After she finished her schooling at St. Ann’s, Dolly was sent to finishing school in Toronto. “She had shown exceptional talent in art and music, and went to London, England in 1882-3 to further study this. Her aunt accompanied her, and she traveled extensively through Germany, Switzerland, France and Italy. Shortly after she returned to Victoria, she married Williams Ralph Higgins in April 1889.

Throughout her life, Dolly had been involved with charitable work. She was also active in women’s activities in the Church, as well as carrying out other less public charitable works. Upon her death, Dolly’s ashes were placed in the family plot at Ross Bay cemetery. Her obituary describes her as “a fairy godmother to many lonely, sick and poor people who might otherwise have been forgotten.”

Activity: 1. Autograph books were a popular thing during this time, and often contained poetry, drawings and pictures. Create a book filled with your favorite poetry, artwork and anything else you’d like to include.

 

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