Minnie Bell Sharp
Encyclopedia
Minnie Bell Sharp Adney (January 12, 1865- April 11, 1937) was a Canadian music teacher and political candidate.
She was the daughter of Francis Peabody Sharp, a famous Canadian pomologist
, and on September 12, 1899 married Edwin Tappan Adney
, the Klondike publicist and Malicite
ethnographer. They had one child, Francis Glenn Adney, born on July 9, 1902, at Woodstock, New Brunswick
. He became a minor jazz pianist and band leader in the US. Sharp and her husband lived together for only about a quarter of their 38-year marriage.
Born and reared in Upper Woodstock, NB, Sharp trained in music at New York City beginning about 1883. She claimed as instructors William Mason
and Gonzalo Nunez for piano and Ange Albert Pattou and Frank Tubbs in voice. After some teaching at New York, Fredericton and Woodstock, in 1893 she purchased the business name and goodwill of the Victoria Conservatory of Music at Victoria
, British Columbia
, of which she was the principal until 1900. Thereafter she returned east and conducted the Woodstock School of Music for about two decades.
In 1919, the now impoverished and decidedly eccentric Sharp announced her candidacy for the constituency of Victoria—Carleton
in the first post-war Canadian federal election. Although women could then vote they could not run for office, so her name did not appear on the ballot. She stood for elective office on at least three other occasions. The only time her name appeared on the ballot was the federal campaign of 1925, when she received 84 votes. Although apparently in favour of legislated prohibition, the only point in her political platforms that was vaguely feminist was her pledge to build an economy in which children could be reared in security.
In September 1897 Sharp was arrested at Woodstock on a judgment debt for non-payment of school taxes and was in gaol for 17 days. She sued for false imprisonment
and eventually won.
As a music teacher Sharp was gifted. But like her gifted father before her, she had no head for business and, like her gifted husband, she was stubborn, defensive and eccentric in ways that exasperated many.
She was the daughter of Francis Peabody Sharp, a famous Canadian pomologist
Pomology
Pomology is a branch of botany that studies and cultivates pome fruit, particularly from the genera Malus, Prunus and Pyrus belonging to the Rosaceae. The term is sometimes applied more broadly, to the cultivation of any type of fruit...
, and on September 12, 1899 married Edwin Tappan Adney
Edwin Tappan Adney
Edwin Tappan Adney was an artist, a writer, a photographer and the man credited with saving the art of birchbark canoe construction. He built more than 100 models of different types, which are now housed at the Mariners' Museum in Newport News, VA. He authored a book, The Klondike Stampede about...
, the Klondike publicist and Malicite
Maliseet people
The Wolastoqiyik, or Maliseet , are an Algonquian-speaking Native American/First Nations/Aboriginal people of the Wabanaki Confederacy. They are the Indigenous people of the Saint John River valley and its tributaries, crossing the borders of New Brunswick and Quebec in Canada, and Maine in the...
ethnographer. They had one child, Francis Glenn Adney, born on July 9, 1902, at Woodstock, New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
. He became a minor jazz pianist and band leader in the US. Sharp and her husband lived together for only about a quarter of their 38-year marriage.
Born and reared in Upper Woodstock, NB, Sharp trained in music at New York City beginning about 1883. She claimed as instructors William Mason
William Mason (composer)
William Mason was an American composer and pianist and a member of a musical family.Mason's father was composer Lowell Mason, a leading figure in American church music...
and Gonzalo Nunez for piano and Ange Albert Pattou and Frank Tubbs in voice. After some teaching at New York, Fredericton and Woodstock, in 1893 she purchased the business name and goodwill of the Victoria Conservatory of Music at Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, of which she was the principal until 1900. Thereafter she returned east and conducted the Woodstock School of Music for about two decades.
In 1919, the now impoverished and decidedly eccentric Sharp announced her candidacy for the constituency of Victoria—Carleton
Victoria—Carleton
Victoria—Carleton was a federal electoral district in New Brunswick, Canada, that was represented in the Canadian House of Commons from 1917 to 1968....
in the first post-war Canadian federal election. Although women could then vote they could not run for office, so her name did not appear on the ballot. She stood for elective office on at least three other occasions. The only time her name appeared on the ballot was the federal campaign of 1925, when she received 84 votes. Although apparently in favour of legislated prohibition, the only point in her political platforms that was vaguely feminist was her pledge to build an economy in which children could be reared in security.
In September 1897 Sharp was arrested at Woodstock on a judgment debt for non-payment of school taxes and was in gaol for 17 days. She sued for false imprisonment
False imprisonment
False imprisonment is a restraint of a person in a bounded area without justification or consent. False imprisonment is a common-law felony and a tort. It applies to private as well as governmental detention...
and eventually won.
As a music teacher Sharp was gifted. But like her gifted father before her, she had no head for business and, like her gifted husband, she was stubborn, defensive and eccentric in ways that exasperated many.