Kate Westlake Yeigh (1856-1906)
Kate Eva Westlake was born in 1856 in Ingersoll, ON, to Ruth Carne (1829-1879) and William Westlake (1824-1898), a successful merchant originally from England.
Kate began her career in journalism after the untimely death of her brother, William Edward Westlake (1854-1881), in 1881; she took over his editorial position with the
St. Thomas Journal, a connection she maintained until 1893. Here, she probably published her humorous sketches as "Aunt Polly Wog," the name she also gave to the main character of the only book issued under her name, A Specimen Spinster (1905), in which Aunt Polly Wog comments on women's position in society. Kate also published an anonymous dime novelSitting Bull’s White Ward (1891), which earned her $500. She wrote stories and articles for Saturday Night, the Canadian Magazine, and the Canadian Fireside (which she edited for a time), as well as a number of serial stories, two of which have been found in the January 1881 issue of the National Literary Monthly: Caught by Chaff and Stranger than Fiction.
In 1892, Kate married fellow author and journalist Frank Arthur Yeigh (1861-1935); they had no children. Of a liberal nature, she was active in religious and philanthropic organizations including the YMCA Women's Auxiliary. She died of heart disease in 1906 and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in London, ON.
For a more detailed biography, see her entry in the
Dictionary of Canadian Biography.
Father: William Westlake (c1824 – 9 October 1898)
William Westlake was born in about 1824 in Bere Alston, Devon, England. He was a tailor, a merchant, and a machinist. He married Ruth Carne (c1829-1879) in about 1849. He came to Canada West in about 1855 and established a dry goods business in London, ON. William died in 1898 and was buried in England.
Mother: Ruth Carne (c1829 – 22 April 1879)
Ruth Carne was born in about 1829, in Newton, Devon, England, to hat manufacturer Robert Carne (1800-1861) and his wife Elizabeth Elliott (c1804-1868). She married William Westlake (c1824-1898) in about 1849 and came with him to Canada West in about 1855. The couple had six children. Ruth died on 23 April 1879, in London, ON.
Siblings
Elizabeth "Bessie" Carne Westlake (24 June 1850 – after 1911): m. Hugh Richardson
Emma Ruth Westlake (8 April 1852 – 2 April 1922): m. Alphonse M. Moore
William Edward Westlake (1854 – 6 October 1881)
William had an editorial position at the
St. Thomas Journal until his untimely death.
Ellen "Nellie" Westlake (c1864 – 7 June 1902): m. Robert Grant Wilkie
Olive Edith Westlake (c1867 – 23 March 1869)
Spouse: Frank Arthur Yeigh (21 July 1860 – 26 October 1935)
Marriage:
27 October 1892, Toronto, ON
Frank Yeigh was born in 1860 in Burford, ON, to Edmund Lossing Yeigh (1831-1902) and his first wife, Adaliza Whitchurch (c1836-1880). Edmund was a farmer, Justice of the Peace, and on staff with the
Globe and Mail. He also served with the Burford Infantry.
Frank was an Ontario civil servant, lecturer, journalist, and author; many of his titles concern local Canadian history. He married Kate Eva Westlake (1856-1906) in Toronto in 1892, the same year in which he began his work as publicist for Mohawk poet and performer, E. Pauline Johnson. Following Kate’s death, Frank married again in 1908. His second wife, Annie Louise Laird (1879-1960), was instrumental in furthering the work of the Canadian Branch of the Save the Children Fund. The couple had one child: Frank Norman Yeigh (1909-1984). Frank Arthur Yeigh died in 1935 and was buried at Mount Pleasant Cemetery in Toronto, ON.