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| birth_name = Violet Rita Huggard
| birth_name = Violet Rita Huggard
| birth_date = {{birth date|1903|4|23|df=y}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1903|4|23|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Dee Bank, Ontario]]
| birth_place = [[Dee Bank, Ontario]], Canada
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1993|08|26|1903|04|23}}
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1993|08|26|1903|04|23}}
| death_place =
| death_place =
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| alias =
| alias =
| motive =
| motive =
| charge = Stock manipulation
| charge = [[Stock manipulation]]
| conviction = Stock manipulation (1968)
| conviction = Stock manipulation (1968)
| conviction_penalty = Eight months prison
| conviction_penalty = Eight months prison
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==Early life==
==Early life==
Violet Rita Huggard was born to Thomas Francis Huggard (1853–1926), a farmer and an early [[mail coach]] driver,<ref>[http://www.windermerearea.ca/Windermere%20Tweedsmuir.pdf Tweedsmur History Committees] ''Tweedsmuir Histories'': "Windermere'", Forward by project namesake,
Violet Rita Huggard was born in Windermere, Ontario.<ref name="Ross">{{cite journal |last1=Ross |first1=Mary Lowery |title=Having a Wonderful Time |journal=Saturday Night |date=June 25, 1955}}</ref> Her father, Thomas Francis Huggard (1853–1926), was a farmer and an early [[mail coach]] driver,<ref>[http://www.windermerearea.ca/Windermere%20Tweedsmuir.pdf Tweedsmur History Committees] ''Tweedsmuir Histories'': "Windermere'", Foreword by project namesake, [[Susan Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir]], page 26. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref> and her mother, Harriet "Hettie" Spiers (1866–1957), daughter of George Spiers (1832–1919) and Jane Sheffield Spiers (1834–1907), was a native of [[Allensville, Ontario]]. Spiers proved herself to be a capable, enterprising woman who, along with farming and raising 14 children, became a self-educated and respected [[midwife]] in the small town of [[Dee Bank, Ontario]], three miles outside of [[Windermere, Ontario|Windermere]], in the [[District of Muskoka]], Canada, now a noted recreational area commonly referred to as "The Muskokas".
[[Susan Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir]], page 26. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref> and his second wife, Harriet "Hettie" Spiers (1866–1957), daughter of George Spiers (1832–1919) and Jane Sheffield Spiers (1834–1907), and a native of [[Allensville, Ontario]]. Spiers proved herself to be a capable, enterprising woman who, along with farming and raising 14 children, became a self-educated and respected [[midwife]] in the small town of [[Dee Bank, Ontario]], three miles outside of [[Windermere, Ontario|Windermere]], in the [[District of Muskoka]], Canada, now a noted recreational area commonly referred to as "The Muskokas".


Huggard wed his first wife, Mary Anne Goldsmith (1856–1881), on February 25, 1874, in [[Collingwood, Ontario]]. The couple had three children, Lily Ann, Mary Elizabeth (known as "Lizzie"), and John Wesley, before her death and burial at Ufford Methodist cemetery. Goldsmith died less than a month following John's birth, who was subsequently raised by his maternal grandparents, James Goldsmith (1811–1885) and Elizabeth Hall Goldsmith (1827–1908), and became known mainly by their surname.
Huggard wed his first wife, Mary Anne Goldsmith (1856–1881), on February 25, 1874, in [[Collingwood, Ontario]]. The couple had three children, Lily Ann, Mary Elizabeth (known as "Lizzie"), and John Wesley, before her death and burial at Ufford Methodist cemetery. Goldsmith died less than a month following John's birth, who was subsequently raised by his maternal grandparents, James Goldsmith (1811–1885) and Elizabeth Hall Goldsmith (1827–1908), and became known mainly by their surname.


Huggard and Spiers married March 29, 1885, and their children were: William George, Harriet Jane, Bertie, Joseph R, Rebecca May, James, Vada, Minnie Hazel, Sarah Daisy, Viola Rita (aka Reta), Gordon Edward, and Reginald Lewis, with several of them favouring their middle names for common usage. Rebecca and Minnie died during early childhood. MacMillan was the thirteenth of fifteen children born to a hard-working, but impoverished family whose son, Joseph "Joe" Huggard, in 1922, inspired his young sister's interest in mining when he escorted her on an incognito tour of [[Coniagas Mine]], where he worked during the [[Cobalt silver rush]].<ref name="CMHF">{{cite web|work= Canadian Mining Hall of Fame |url= http://www.mininghalloffame.ca/inductees/m-o/viola_r._macmillan |title= Viola R. MacMillan |access-date= 17 October 2016 }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=G1ad5Mrj4A4C&dq=%22from+the+ground+up%22+viola&q=thomas#v=snippet&q=thomas&f=false MacMillan, Viola]''From the Ground Up: An Autobiography'', ECW Press, 1992, page 3. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://issuu.com/cim-icm_publications/docs/aug2016-full Glanville, Jen] Mining Lore – "Remembering Canada's mining doyenne", ''CIM Magazine'', August 2016, Volume 11, Number 5, page 74 (published July 24, 2016), ​CIM-ICM Publications. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref>
Huggard and Spiers married March 29, 1885, and their children were: William George, Harriet Jane, Bertie, Joseph R, Rebecca May, James, Vada, Minnie Hazel, Sarah Daisy, Viola Rita (aka Reta), Gordon Edward, and Reginald Lewis, with several of them favouring their middle names for common usage. Rebecca and Minnie died during early childhood. MacMillan was the thirteenth of fifteen children born to a hard-working, but impoverished family whose son, Joseph "Joe" Huggard, in 1922, inspired his young sister's interest in mining when he escorted her on an incognito tour of [[Coniagas Mine]], where he worked during the [[Cobalt silver rush]].<ref name="CMHF">{{cite web|work= Canadian Mining Hall of Fame |url= http://www.mininghalloffame.ca/inductees/m-o/viola_r._macmillan |title= Viola R. MacMillan |access-date= 17 October 2016 }}</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=G1ad5Mrj4A4C&q=thomas MacMillan, Viola]''From the Ground Up: An Autobiography'', ECW Press, 1992, page 3. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref><ref>[https://issuu.com/cim-icm_publications/docs/aug2016-full Glanville, Jen] Mining Lore – "Remembering Canada's mining doyenne", ''CIM Magazine'', August 2016, Volume 11, Number 5, page 74 (published July 24, 2016), CIM-ICM Publications. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref>


==Marriage==
==Marriage==
In 1923, she married George Alexander MacMillan (c. 1899 – 1978) at the age of 20. George's father, Richard, and his uncle, a prospector known as "Black Jack" MacMillan,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2NWh-1Dp0SAC&pg=PA157#v=onepage&q&f=false MacMillan, H.P.] ''The Lochaber Emigrants to Glengarry'', Fleming, R.B., Editor, Natural Heritage / Natural History Inc., 1994, page 157.</ref> had taught him basic mineral mining in his youth and, in 1926, George and Viola became involved in mining due to his aging uncle's need to service his existing claims while in declining health.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=G1ad5Mrj4A4C&dq=%22from+the+ground+up%22+viola&q=thomas#v=snippet&q=thomas&f=false MacMillan, Viola]''From the Ground Up: An Autobiography'', ECW Press, 1992, page 32. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref> George's [[bachelor]] uncle, John "Black Jack" MacMillan, is sometimes misreported as having been his father.<ref>[https://archive.macleans.ca/issue/19570720 ''MacLean's'' (example)] "The prospector in the pink penthouse", by Christina McCall, MacLean's Magazine'', July 20, 1957. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref><ref>[http://www.republicofmining.com/2011/01/18/viola-macmillian-the-prospector-in-the-pink-penthouse-%E2%80%93-by-christina-macall/ McCall, Christina] "The prospector in the pink penthouse reprinted by ''Republic of Mining'', January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref>
In 1923, she married George Alexander MacMillan (c. 1899 – 1978) at the age of 20. George's father, Richard, and his uncle, a prospector known as "Black Jack" MacMillan,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=2NWh-1Dp0SAC&pg=PA157 MacMillan, H.P.] ''The Lochaber Emigrants to Glengarry'', Fleming, R.B., Editor, Natural Heritage / Natural History Inc., 1994, page 157.</ref> had taught him basic mineral mining in his youth and, in 1926, George and Viola became involved in mining due to his aging uncle's need to service his existing claims while in declining health.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=G1ad5Mrj4A4C&q=thomas MacMillan, Viola]''From the Ground Up: An Autobiography'', ECW Press, 1992, page 32. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref> George's [[bachelor]] uncle, John "Black Jack" MacMillan, is sometimes misreported as having been his father.<ref>[https://archive.macleans.ca/issue/19570720 ''MacLean's'' (example)] "The prospector in the pink penthouse", by Christina McCall, ''MacLean's Magazine'', July 20, 1957. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref><ref>[http://www.republicofmining.com/2011/01/18/viola-macmillian-the-prospector-in-the-pink-penthouse-%E2%80%93-by-christina-macall/ McCall, Christina] "The prospector in the pink penthouse reprinted by ''Republic of Mining'', January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2018.</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
MacMillan started her working career as a [[stenographer]]. Eventually she split her time working as a stenographer in the winter and a part-time prospector the remainder of the year. MacMillan is noted for the discovery of the Hallnor deposit<ref name="CMHF">{{cite web|work= Canadian Mining Hall of Fame |url= http://www.mininghalloffame.ca/inductees/m-o/viola_r._macmillan |title= Viola R. MacMillan |access-date= 17 October 2016 }}</ref> as part of the second wave of the [[Porcupine Gold Rush]]. MacMillan was also responsible for the development of the Canadian Arrow open pit gold deposit.<ref name="CMHF" /> When prospecting in Quebec MacMillan had to have her husband file her mining claims, as women were legally prohibited. She found major gold deposits in the [[Kirkland Lake]] area, northern [[Quebec]], and [[British Columbia]], and staked major uranium claims in northern [[Saskatchewan]].
MacMillan started her working career as a [[stenographer]] at a law firm in Windsor, Ontario.<ref name="Ross" /> Eventually she split her time working as a stenographer in the winter and a part-time prospector the remainder of the year. MacMillan is noted for the discovery of the Hallnor deposit<ref name="CMHF"/> as part of the second wave of the [[Porcupine Gold Rush]]. MacMillan was also responsible for the development of the Canadian Arrow open pit gold deposit.<ref name="CMHF" /> When prospecting in Quebec MacMillan had to have her husband file her mining claims, as women were legally prohibited. She found major gold deposits in the [[Kirkland Lake]] area, northern [[Quebec]], and [[British Columbia]], and staked major uranium claims in northern [[Saskatchewan]].


==Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada==
==Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada==
Line 52: Line 51:


==Honours==
==Honours==
Being the single largest contributor to the museum's acquisition fund, the Canadian Museum of Nature named the "Viola MacMillan Mineral Gallery" in her honour.
Being the single largest contributor to the museum's acquisition fund, the Canadian Museum of Nature named the "Viola MacMillan Mineral Gallery" in her honour.


She was appointed a [[Member of the Order of Canada]] 21 October 1992. MacMillan received her investiture 21 April 1993.
She was appointed a [[Member of the Order of Canada]] 21 October 1992. MacMillan received her investiture 21 April 1993.


In 1991, Viola MacMillan became the first woman inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.<ref name="CMHF">{{cite web|work= Canadian Mining Hall of Fame |url= http://www.mininghalloffame.ca/inductees/m-o/viola_r._macmillan |title= Viola R. MacMillan |access-date= 17 October 2016 }}</ref>
In 1991, Viola MacMillan became the first woman inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.<ref name="CMHF"/>


==Death==
==Death==
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* [[Mark Bourrie|Bourrie, Mark]]. ''Flim Flam: Canada's greatest frauds, scams, and con artists'', Toronto: Hounslow Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-88882-201-4}}
* [[Mark Bourrie|Bourrie, Mark]]. ''Flim Flam: Canada's greatest frauds, scams, and con artists'', Toronto: Hounslow Press, 1998. {{ISBN|0-88882-201-4}}
* MacMillan, Viola. ''From the Ground Up'', 1992.
* MacMillan, Viola. ''From the Ground Up'', 1992.
* [[Christopher McCreery|McCreery, Christopher]]. ''The Order of Canada: its origins, history, and developments'', University of Toronto Press, 2005.
* McCreery, Christopher. ''The Order of Canada: its origins, history, and developments'', University of Toronto Press, 2005.
* Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) main page: http://www.pdac.ca/pdac/about/pdac-brief-history.pdf
* Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) main page: http://www.pdac.ca/pdac/about/pdac-brief-history.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090131064558/http://www.pdac.ca/pdac/about/pdac-brief-history.pdf |date=2009-01-31 }}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, Viola}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Macmillan, Viola}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1903 births]]
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[[Category:Uranium mining in Canada]]
[[Category:Uranium mining in Canada]]
[[Category:Canadian fraudsters]]
[[Category:Canadian fraudsters]]
[[Category:History of mining]]
[[Category:Canadian miners]]
[[Category:Canadian miners]]
[[Category:Canadian prospectors]]
[[Category:Canadian prospectors]]
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[[Category:Mineral exploration]]
[[Category:Mineral exploration]]
[[Category:Mining in Canada]]
[[Category:Mining in Canada]]
[[Category:Mining organisations]]
[[Category:Mining organizations]]
[[Category:Canadian lobbyists]]
[[Category:Canadian lobbyists]]

Latest revision as of 14:58, 4 October 2023

Viola R. MacMillan
Born
Violet Rita Huggard

(1903-04-23)23 April 1903
Died26 August 1993(1993-08-26) (aged 90)
Occupation(s)Stenographer, miner, prospector, lobbyist
Criminal statusPardoned
SpouseGeorge MacMillan
Conviction(s)Stock manipulation (1968)
Criminal chargeStock manipulation
PenaltyEight months prison

Violet Rita "Viola" MacMillan (née Huggard; 23 April 1903 – 26 August 1993) was a Canadian mineral prospector and mining financier. During her career, she was one of few women in the mining industry, was the first female member and, later, president of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada, and the first woman inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.

Early life[edit]

Violet Rita Huggard was born in Windermere, Ontario.[1] Her father, Thomas Francis Huggard (1853–1926), was a farmer and an early mail coach driver,[2] and her mother, Harriet "Hettie" Spiers (1866–1957), daughter of George Spiers (1832–1919) and Jane Sheffield Spiers (1834–1907), was a native of Allensville, Ontario. Spiers proved herself to be a capable, enterprising woman who, along with farming and raising 14 children, became a self-educated and respected midwife in the small town of Dee Bank, Ontario, three miles outside of Windermere, in the District of Muskoka, Canada, now a noted recreational area commonly referred to as "The Muskokas".

Huggard wed his first wife, Mary Anne Goldsmith (1856–1881), on February 25, 1874, in Collingwood, Ontario. The couple had three children, Lily Ann, Mary Elizabeth (known as "Lizzie"), and John Wesley, before her death and burial at Ufford Methodist cemetery. Goldsmith died less than a month following John's birth, who was subsequently raised by his maternal grandparents, James Goldsmith (1811–1885) and Elizabeth Hall Goldsmith (1827–1908), and became known mainly by their surname.

Huggard and Spiers married March 29, 1885, and their children were: William George, Harriet Jane, Bertie, Joseph R, Rebecca May, James, Vada, Minnie Hazel, Sarah Daisy, Viola Rita (aka Reta), Gordon Edward, and Reginald Lewis, with several of them favouring their middle names for common usage. Rebecca and Minnie died during early childhood. MacMillan was the thirteenth of fifteen children born to a hard-working, but impoverished family whose son, Joseph "Joe" Huggard, in 1922, inspired his young sister's interest in mining when he escorted her on an incognito tour of Coniagas Mine, where he worked during the Cobalt silver rush.[3][4][5]

Marriage[edit]

In 1923, she married George Alexander MacMillan (c. 1899 – 1978) at the age of 20. George's father, Richard, and his uncle, a prospector known as "Black Jack" MacMillan,[6] had taught him basic mineral mining in his youth and, in 1926, George and Viola became involved in mining due to his aging uncle's need to service his existing claims while in declining health.[7] George's bachelor uncle, John "Black Jack" MacMillan, is sometimes misreported as having been his father.[8][9]

Career[edit]

MacMillan started her working career as a stenographer at a law firm in Windsor, Ontario.[1] Eventually she split her time working as a stenographer in the winter and a part-time prospector the remainder of the year. MacMillan is noted for the discovery of the Hallnor deposit[3] as part of the second wave of the Porcupine Gold Rush. MacMillan was also responsible for the development of the Canadian Arrow open pit gold deposit.[3] When prospecting in Quebec MacMillan had to have her husband file her mining claims, as women were legally prohibited. She found major gold deposits in the Kirkland Lake area, northern Quebec, and British Columbia, and staked major uranium claims in northern Saskatchewan.

Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada[edit]

MacMillan was credited with the development of the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada (PDAC) into a professional organisation. George MacMillan was elected president in 1941 with Viola elected as Secretary-Treasurer. In 1942, she organised a full day's convention complete with guest speakers, a dinner, and a dance for 150 people. She introduced a one dollar membership fee to fund the budget of the organisation. She was a lobbyist of the Canadian government getting beneficial legislation such as the Emergency Gold Mining Act, 1948 for the PDAC.

Windfall Oils and Mines scandal[edit]

In the summer of 1964, George and Viola MacMillan had staked the Windfall claim in north eastern Ontario near Timmins, Ontario. Stock was issued on the Toronto market as Windfall Oils and Mines. In late winter 1964, Texas Gulf Sulphur geologists working near Timmins found a copper-silver-zinc ore body worth an estimated $2 billion. In July 1965, rumours circulated in Toronto that the Texas Gulf Sulphur ore body reached the MacMillan's claim. MacMillan was at the centre of the Windfall gold mining stock scam that effectively killed off, at least temporarily, the Toronto Stock Exchange as a global mining financial centre. When assays showed the Windfall claims contained very little gold, the stocks collapsed, wiping out many investors and sparking a massive Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) investigation of mine financing in Toronto.

Conviction and imprisonment[edit]

The MacMillans were not charged in the Windfall scandal. However, the OSC investigation uncovered instances of wash trading. In 1968, MacMillan was convicted and jailed for eight months for manipulating the price of gold mining stocks on the Toronto Stock Exchange. After her release, MacMillan quietly returned to prospecting and mining ventures. In 1978, Viola MacMillan applied for and received a full pardon from the federal government.

Philanthropy[edit]

MacMillan spent the last few years of her life engaged in philanthropy. She donated $1.25 million to the acquisition fund of the Canadian Museum of Nature for the purchase of the "Pinch Collection". William Pinch, over the course of fifty years, had accumulated one of the world's most important mineral collections. It was purchased by the museum for $5 million in 1989. MacMillan also donated several Group of Seven art pieces to Rideau Hall.

Honours[edit]

Being the single largest contributor to the museum's acquisition fund, the Canadian Museum of Nature named the "Viola MacMillan Mineral Gallery" in her honour.

She was appointed a Member of the Order of Canada 21 October 1992. MacMillan received her investiture 21 April 1993.

In 1991, Viola MacMillan became the first woman inducted into the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame.[3]

Death[edit]

MacMillan died 26 August 1993. The bulk of her estate was distributed to charities, universities, and hospitals in 1998. Members of her family received nothing.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b Ross, Mary Lowery (June 25, 1955). "Having a Wonderful Time". Saturday Night.
  2. ^ Tweedsmur History Committees Tweedsmuir Histories: "Windermere'", Foreword by project namesake, Susan Buchan, Baroness Tweedsmuir, page 26. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Viola R. MacMillan". Canadian Mining Hall of Fame. Retrieved 17 October 2016.
  4. ^ MacMillan, ViolaFrom the Ground Up: An Autobiography, ECW Press, 1992, page 3. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  5. ^ Glanville, Jen Mining Lore – "Remembering Canada's mining doyenne", CIM Magazine, August 2016, Volume 11, Number 5, page 74 (published July 24, 2016), CIM-ICM Publications. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  6. ^ MacMillan, H.P. The Lochaber Emigrants to Glengarry, Fleming, R.B., Editor, Natural Heritage / Natural History Inc., 1994, page 157.
  7. ^ MacMillan, ViolaFrom the Ground Up: An Autobiography, ECW Press, 1992, page 32. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  8. ^ MacLean's (example) "The prospector in the pink penthouse", by Christina McCall, MacLean's Magazine, July 20, 1957. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
  9. ^ McCall, Christina "The prospector in the pink penthouse reprinted by Republic of Mining, January 18, 2011. Retrieved January 8, 2018.

Bibliography[edit]

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