Last week, we dug into the history of George William Kerby, the namesake for the Kerby Building and what would later become the Kerby Centre.
But the legacy of the Kerby name doesn’t end with him! There are some incredible stories involving those part of the Kerby lineage.
Emily Spencer Kerby
Emily Spencer Kerby, wife of George William, is a character and historical figure in her own right.
Rather than just a footnote in the history of her husband, Emily Spencer spent her life campaigning for the rights of women and promoting suffrage and liberation of her gender.
Born March 1860, Emily Spencer was the fourth daughter of Sarah Lafferty and James Spencer in Toronto.
It’s not known for sure, but it’s likely that Emily Spencer and George William met in 1886 at a school where the former was a teacher and the latter a preacher for the students.
The Kerbys moved west in 1903 to settle in Calgary, and this is where Emily Spencer would begin to make a ruckus on behalf of women’s rights.
A talented and skilled writer, Emily Spencer published articles and letters — sometimes under anonymous names — criticizing everything from the church to the government on a range of topics all falling under the first wave of feminist theory. Through the Calgary Local Council of Women, Emily Spencer either joined or spearheaded campaigns for a higher age of consent to marry, women’s education, labour reform, protection of children, birth control and sex education.
On Oct. 14, 1914, she helped lead a province wide petition to the provincial government in support of women’s suffrage, and continued to write charged articles under various names and pseudonyms well into the 1930s.
On the topic of men attempting to pushback against the feminist revolution occurring, Emily Spencer said that “some fine morning you will … wonder what has occurred. It will only be our educated, efficient, twentieth century women showing their ability to shove. You may call it the women’s revolution if you’d like. It will be bloodless, but it will hit your silver and gold hard.”
Emily Spencer would pass away of a heart attack on Oct. 3 in 1938 at 78 years-old, but she absolutely helped change the landscape and position of women over her lifetime in this province.
Next week we’ll look into the last chapter we’ve written about the Kerby Lineage! This time, our research takes us up. Way up. Over 15,000 feet, in fact…
