Catharine Parr Strickland

Strickland, Catharine Parr, later Traill, 1802—1899

by Benjamin Colbert

Catharine Strickland was born in London, the fifth daughter of Thomas Strickland (1758–1818) and Elizabeth Strickland, née Homer (1772–1864). From 1818, she built up a reputation as an author of children's fiction. In 1832, she married Thomas Traill of the 21st Scottish fusiliers, with whom she emigrated to Canada in July of that year, The Backwoods of Canada being her account of this journey. Catharine Traill continued to write. She later published Canadian Crusoes (1851), a self-help adventure story, and a guidebook, The Female Emigrant's Guide (1854), republished as The Canadian Settler's Guide. In later life, she published frequently on Canadian botany.

Sources:

Mitchell, Rosemary. 'Traill [née Strickland], Catharine Parr (1802–1899), author, botanist, and settler in Canada'. Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. 3 Jan. 2008. Oxford University Press. Web. 20 June 2017. https://doi.org/10.1093/ref:odnb/42123

[see updates]