Two albums of visual material amassed primarily in North America by Millicent Mary Chaplin (1790-1858) (nee Reeve), born in Leadenham, Lincolnshire, who accompanied her husband Colonel Thomas Chaplin of the Coldstream Guards to his posting to Quebec in May 1838. The couple remained in Quebec until September 1842, and in the interval went on a number of journeys through Eastern North America, including two trips to Niagara Falls. They also visited Toronto, Kingston, Ottawa, Montreal, Halifax, Charlottetown, the Gaspe, and the Saguneay region; as well as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Rochester, Buffalo, and points in between. The albums of watercolours and drawings document their life in Quebec during this period, while the microform diaries describe the various journeys undertaken by Mrs. Chaplin. The second album also contains views of Spain and France, done during a journey in the 1850s. Although the vast majority of the watercolours are by Mrs. Chaplin, there are also works by Miss A. Kirby, Philip J. Bainbrigge, James Renwick, Miss Sheffield, Helen Bayfield, Henry Barnard, and Henry James Warre (attributed). Also included in this fonds is an oil painting stated to be Chaudiere Falls near Quebec, signed "MMC", which closely resembles or may be copied after the print by Henry James Warre of Kakabeka Falls published in 1848. This painting was acquired at auction and is accessioned as part of a multiple group acquisition with the accession number 1988-114-11.
Chaplin, Millicent Mary, 1790-1858 : Millicent Mary Chaplin (née Reeve) was born on June 8, the second daughter and seventh child of William Reeve and Millicent-Mary King of Leadenham, Lincolnshire. On October 21, 1828 she married Captain Thomas Chaplin (1794-1863) of the Coldstream Guards, one of the MPs for Stamford in the House of Commons for Great Britain. In 1838, he resigned from the House of Commons and rejoined his regiment which had been ordered to Canada. The Chaplins sailed to Quebec from Liverpool in May 1838, landed in New York in mid-June, and proceeded to Quebec City, where they lived for the next four years, until September 1842. During their residence in Quebec, the Chaplins travelled widely in British North America and the northeastern United States. Mrs. Chaplin executed watercolours and drawings, primarily around Quebec, but also during her journeys. In 1842, they re-embarked for England, and thereafter lived a life of quasi-retirement. The Chaplins appear to have visited France and Spain in the mid-1850s. Mrs. Chaplin died on January 11, at Normanby Park, Lincolshire. Lincolnshire County Records Office, Marriages, Births and Deaths; Gentleman's Magazine; family records.
