Grace Annie Lockhart as a student. Credit: Mount Allison University Archives. Lockhart – Dawson family fonds, 2016.05/87

First woman in the British Commonwealth to earn a bachelor’s degree

Grace Annie Lockhart (1855-1916) was the first woman in the British Commonwealth to receive a bachelor’s degree. Born in Saint John, New Brunswick, her early education was probably very conventional. Prior to about 1850, middle-class families tended to hire governesses and tutors to educate their children at home.

Her mother died when she was just nine months old and she was raised by her older sisters and their housekeeper, Rosanna Wilson. At age four her grandfather also passed away.  When she was eight, Rosanna Wilson passed at the early age of 44. Her older sisters entered Mount Allison before she did but not none of them stayed more than a year despite having enough money to do so. Mount Allison University was the first Canadian institution of higher education to accept female students.

Grace entered Mount Allison Ladies’ College in 1871 and completed a Mistress of Liberal Arts degree in 1874 and a Bachelor of Science in 1875. She spent six years teaching in Saint John, New Brunswick. In 1881, she married a fellow classmate, John Dawson. Following the traditions of the time, Grace stopped teaching and would go on to lead a conventional life, largely defined by her role as a minister’s wife. John was a Methodist minister and because of this, the couple moved frequently.

While detailed accounts of press coverage are limited, the university’s acknowledgment and the subsequent commemorations underscore the importance of her achievement in the context of the time. 

Grace died in 1916 in Charlotttetown, Prince Edward Island and both her and John are buried in the People’s Cemetery in Tryon, PEI.

Class photo of 1875. Her future husband, John Dawson is seated to her right. Note that Grace is not wearing the traditional academic regalia of gown and mortar board cap, as the men are.

1852 – Wesleyan Academy, Mount-Allison, NB, North America.

References:

Mawhinney, David, 2016. Grace Annie Lockhart – a Mount Allison and Canadian Heroine. Mount Allison University.

Images

Weslayan Academy: 1852. Weslayan Juvenile Offering. London, England
Class photo: Credit: Mount Allison University Archives. Picture Collection. 2007.07/161