The story of Maude Abbott: her childhood

Descriptive transcript:

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Montage of sepia photographs of the Abbott family: Maude Abbott and John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, Maude Abbott’s university diploma in Latin and a plaque in her memory as a physician, author, historian, founder and vice president of the Historical Society of Argenteuil County. An interpretive sign of Maude Abbott’s family in Christ Church Cemetery and Maude Abbott’s gravestone in the cemetery. Historian Robert Simard points to artifacts in a display case at the Argenteuil Regional Museum and speaks into a microphone to a group of children dressed in snowsuits and seated on the ground outside in winter in front of Elmbank, Maude Abbott’s home. It is a two-storey red brick house with a black cedar shingle roof, a large white front porch on the ground floor and a small balcony in the centre of the second floor, also white. The house is decorated for Christmas. It is snowing.

Video title: The Story of Maude Abbott, Chapter 1, Her Childhood.

[Narrator]: From the arrival of Joseph Abbott in 1818 when he established the first church in Argenteuil, Christ Church Anglican Church in St. Andrews East,

Shot of a plaque reading “Christ Church, 1819, Anglican”.

View of Christ Church. It is made of red brick, with a bell tower in the front centre. The white door bears the inscription “163” and is topped by a clear lancet window. Another such window can be seen a little higher up on the bell tower.

There is a black iron railing on either side of the steps in front of the church. Four children are standing on the steps in front of Christ Church in winter. It is snowing.

[Narrator]: to his son, John Joseph Caldwell Abbott, who became the third prime minister of Canada in 1891,

Black and white photo of an elderly John Joseph Caldwell Abbott. He is sitting in a chair and looking to the left of the camera with a serious gaze.

[Narrator]: to Maude Abbott, who became one of the first female physicians in Québec and Canada in 1894, this family has left an undeniable legacy on Canada’s history.

Black and white photo of Maude Abbott as a student. She is gazing into the distance, looking serious.

A young girl holding an umbrella is looking at the sign in the Maude Abbott exhibit in Christ Church Cemetery, smiling. The green sign features the previous photo of Maude Abbott as a student and the inscription “Docteure Maude Abbott (1896-1940) Christ Church Cemetery”.  Christ Church is on the left. It is snowing.

[Student]: Why are you interested in Maude Abbott?

[Cynthia Lisa Dubé, author]: Because she was a pioneer; that interests me. I’m a feminist, even if Maude wasn’t. It’s interesting to see a woman who overcame great obstacles to achieve her goals, and she did it in a remarkable way, she made advances in medicine,

Cover of “The Maude Abbott Medical Museum: 1822 – 2017”, book illustrated by Doctor Richard Fraser. Black and white drawing of a heart.

[Cynthia Lisa Dubé, author]: Especially children’s cardiology, she was known around the world,

Black and white photo of an elderly Maude Abbott examining a little girl in the arms of a nurse, who is smiling at the patient.

[Cynthia Lisa Dubé, author]: And I really wanted other kids to see this woman as a role model, as an example for them to follow. So that’s why I wanted to put her in a book so that she would remain in our memories.

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Black and white view of Elmbank, Maude Abbott’s home. It is a two-storey red brick house with a black cedar shingle roof, a large white front porch on the ground floor and a small balcony in the centre of the second floor, also white. The house is decorated for Christmas. It is snowing.

[Narrator]: Maude and her sister Alice were orphaned at an early age and were raised by their maternal grandmother, Frances Mary Smith Abbott, in the village of St. Andrews East.

Black and white photo in a red velvet frame with beaded accents in the four corners, of Maude Abbott and her sister Alice as little girls. They are in front of a fence outside and are both looking at the camera with a serious expression.

Black and white photo of an elderly Frances Mary Smith Abbott. She is wearing a black dress and white cap, and the photo is inscribed “Frances Mary Abbott 1807-1890” at the bottom.

Shot of four young girls looking at Elmbank, Maude Abbott’s home. It is a two-storey red brick house with a black cedar shingle roof, a large white front porch on the ground floor and a small balcony in the centre of the second floor, also white. The house is decorated for Christmas. It is snowing. The girls are arm in arm as they look at the house.

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[Françoise Savard, Parole aux aînés d’Argenteuil]: You know, women, back then, were raised to serve… They were raised to serve. To serve men, mainly, because in those days, there was no women’s liberation, and women were subjugated.

View of the cemetery and Christ Church. Several gravestones can be seen, along with the back of the red brick church with lancet windows and the back of a two-storey red brick house. It is snowing.

[Françoise Savard, Parole aux aînés d’Argenteuil]: It was largely, or at least partly, because of religion.

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Interpretative sign of Maude Abbott’s family in Christ Church Cemetery.

Gravestones in Christ Church Cemetery. It is snowing.

[Narrator]: Maude received an exemplary upbringing from her grandmother and inherited a profound sense of duty to her community.

Black and white photo of Maude Abbott as a young adult, wearing a graduation gown and cap. She is standing with one hand on her waist and looking seriously at the camera.

[Narrator]: Maude’s grandmother always encouraged her to follow her dreams and her convictions. It was she who encouraged Maude to pursue a career in medicine.

Maude Abbott’s gravestone in winter. It is shaped like a cross and reads “Maude E.S. Abbott. B.A., M.D., C.M. L.L. D. Granddaughter of…” The snow hides the rest of the inscription.

Robert Simard is talking to a group of children dressed in snowsuits in Christ Church cemetery. The children listen to Robert as they look at the gravestones. It is snowing.

[Music]

Robert Simard holds a microphone. He is speaking to a group of children in Christ Church Cemetery.

[Robert Simard, historian]: Here we are on the grounds of Christ Church, which was built in 1819 by Joseph Abbott, Maude’s great uncle and John Abbott’s father. He was the one who had this church built in 1819, and who was with him? Maude’s grandfather, William Abbott, who was Joseph’s brother. And William Abbott is buried here.

 Shot of the plaque reading “Christ Church, 1819, Anglican” and the front of the church. It is snowing.

Black and white charcoal drawing of William Abbott wearing the black robe and white collar of an Anglican minister. The inscription “Rev William Abbott 1789-1859” can be seen at the bottom of the drawing.

View of the cross-shaped gravestones of the Abbott family in Christ Church Cemetery. It is snowing.

[Françoise Savard, Parole aux aînés d’Argenteuil]: For girls to go to school was unusual. They had to fight to go.

Black and white photo of Maude Abbott as a young adult. She is gazing into the distance, looking serious.

[Françoise Savard, Parole aux aînés d’Argenteuil]: Thanks to women like Maude Abbott, today you can keep your name when you get married, you have the right to own a car, you have the right to own a house, you have the right to do whatever you want, you have the right to have your own bank account. Women didn’t have those rights.

End credits

Guests: Cynthia Lisa Dubé, Françoise Savard, Robert Simard.

Director and camera operator: Marc-Antoine Bergeron.

Voice-over: Hans-Thomas Leclerc.

Editing: Elodie St-Jean.

With the collaboration of: the students of Scolaire le monde school, the Argenteuil Regional Museum, Table de concertation Paroles aux aînés d’Argenteuil, TVC d’Argenteuil.

TVC d’Argenteuil logo.