Frances 'Fannie' McNeil (1869-1928)

18. Cross Queen's Road to #35, the home of suffragist Fannie McNeil.

Fannie McNeil was born in St. John's, the daughter of suffragists and affluent merchants. Her parents, George Knowling and Elizabeth Upham actively supported women's suffrage. She was educated in St. John's and England and likely studied art there as well.

Home of Fannie McNeil
Home of Fannie McNeil
35 Queen's Road, St. John's, NL
Photo by Linda Cullum. © 2023.

As a young woman, Fannie participated in the Current Events Club and the Ladies' Reading Room early in the 20th century. She was Honorary Secretary (1918-1925) and then President of this organization. After World War I she was an active member, and Secretary, of the Women's Franchise League and is credited by some as a leader in the final years of the suffrage campaign. Her home was used as the office for the League.

Fannie McNeil, ca. 1910
Fannie McNeil, ca. 1910
Fannie McNeil seen with her husband, Hector, and daughters Betty and Margaret.
Courtesy of Archives and Special Collections (William Knowling, Collection MF-276), Queen Elizabeth II Library, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John's, NL.

Fannie has been described as "calm, tactful, witty and persistent, and a favorite with crowds as a public speaker" in the cause of women's suffrage. Other members of the women's groups remembered her as high-spirited and fun.

After the vote was obtained for women in 1925, she became one of the first females to stand for office. Along with May Kennedy, Fannie ran for the newly formed Women's Party in the St. John's City Council elections of 1925. Both were defeated.

Fannie's other interests included the Playground Association and fundraising for United Church schools. An avid poet and painter, Fannie co-founded the Newfoundland Society of Art with A. E Harris in 1925. She organized an annual art exhibit to benefit the Ladies Reading Room.

Fannie died of cancer in 1928.

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