Barbara Hanley
Encyclopedia
Barbara McCallum Hanley, née Smith (March 6, 1882 - January 26, 1959) was the first woman to be elected a mayor
in Canada
. (Charlotte Whitton
, often credited with this distinction, was in fact the first woman in Canada elected mayor of a city.)
Born in Magnetawan, Ontario
, she moved to Webbwood, west of Sudbury, in 1909 to work as a schoolteacher. She married Joseph Hanley, a Canadian Pacific Railway
foreman, in 1913. She subsequently served on the public school board from 1923 to 1935, and then served one year on the town council.
On January 6, 1936, Hanley made history when she defeated Robert Streich by 13 votes in the town's election. She served as mayor of Webbwood for eight years, and championed the establishment of a home for the aged in the Sudbury District
. She stepped down as mayor in 1944, and served for four more years as the town clerk and treasurer before retiring.
Hanley died on January 26, 1959 in Sudbury. She was buried in Burk's Falls
.
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. (Charlotte Whitton
Charlotte Whitton
Charlotte Elizabeth Whitton, OC, CBE was a Canadian feminist and mayor of Ottawa. She was the first female mayor of a major city in Canada, serving from 1951 to 1956 and again from 1960 to 1964...
, often credited with this distinction, was in fact the first woman in Canada elected mayor of a city.)
Born in Magnetawan, Ontario
Magnetawan, Ontario
Magnetawan is a township in the Canadian province of Ontario, as well as the name of a community within the former Township of Chapman.Located in the Parry Sound District, the township had a population of 1,610 in the 2006 Canadian census....
, she moved to Webbwood, west of Sudbury, in 1909 to work as a schoolteacher. She married Joseph Hanley, a Canadian Pacific Railway
Canadian Pacific Railway
The Canadian Pacific Railway , formerly also known as CP Rail between 1968 and 1996, is a historic Canadian Class I railway founded in 1881 and now operated by Canadian Pacific Railway Limited, which began operations as legal owner in a corporate restructuring in 2001...
foreman, in 1913. She subsequently served on the public school board from 1923 to 1935, and then served one year on the town council.
On January 6, 1936, Hanley made history when she defeated Robert Streich by 13 votes in the town's election. She served as mayor of Webbwood for eight years, and championed the establishment of a home for the aged in the Sudbury District
Sudbury District, Ontario
The Sudbury District is a district in Northeastern Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was created in 1894 from townships of eastern Algoma District and west Nipissing District....
. She stepped down as mayor in 1944, and served for four more years as the town clerk and treasurer before retiring.
Hanley died on January 26, 1959 in Sudbury. She was buried in Burk's Falls
Burk's Falls, Ontario
Burk's Falls is a village in the Parry Sound District, Ontario, Canada, located 165 miles north of Toronto and 55 miles south of North Bay, Ontario...
.