O'Neil McKenzie, Ethel, 1880-1952 : Ethel O'Neil was born in Hamilton in 1880. After an education at the Hamilton Collegiate Institute, she studied music under J.E.P. Aldous, founder and director of the Hamilton School of Music. She went to New York in 1899 to further her studies at the Virgil School of Music and subsequently was appointed director of music at Science Hill College in Shelbyville, Kentucky. In 1907, she went to Berlin to complete her music education and became engaged to the sculptor R. Tait McKenzie, who crossed on the same boat, the S.S. "Marquette", from Philadelphia. They were married in August 1907 at Dublin Castle, with the Earl and Countess of Aberdeen, who had known Tait McKenzie earlier when he was household physician to the Governor-General's staff, as part of the wedding party. The couple settled in Philadelphia, where Tait McKenzie taught at the University of Pennsylvania. Ethel McKenzie became very much involved in the cultural and civic life of the city and continued to give music recitals as well as lectures on music. She also wrote poetry and published a collection, "Secret Snow", in 1932. They travelled frequently in Europe.
In 1930, the McKenzies bought the Mill of Kintail in Almonte, Ontario, and restored it, spending the summers there. R. Tait McKenzie died in 1938 and Ethel McKenzie died in 1952.
McKenzie, R. Tait (Robert Tait), 1867-1938 : Robert Tait McKenzie (1867-1938) was a noted Canadian educator, artist and author. He was born in Lanark County, the son of William McKenzie who was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland in Almonte. Tait McKenzie studied at local and Ottawa schools and went on to pursue medicine at McGill University, later instructing there in anatomy and orthopaedic surgery from 1894 to 1904. He was also appointed house physician to the Governor-General of Canada, the Marquis of Aberdeen. In 1904, he accepted the position of Head of the Department of Physical Education at the University of Pennsylvania. His long interest in athletics led him to campaign for the development of national programmes of exercise and the establishment of gymnasiums and playgrounds. During the First World War, Tait McKenzie served with the Royal Army Medical Corps and instituted a plan of rehabilitation for the wounded troops. His orthopaedic surgical methods were adopted for use by the British Army and U.S. Armies and he served as Inspector of Convalescent Hospitals for the Canadian Army. He was well-known for his effective methods of plastic surgery for those with facial disfigurements.
In tandem with his role as an educator, Tait McKenzie, as sculptor, used his knowledge of human anatomy to create over 90 bas-relief portraits, 44 medals and several monumental statues. He is best-known for his works relating to the figure in motion and for his war memorials. A strong advocate of the Olympic Games, he designed a large medallion illustrating over 90 athletes participating in medal events. The work was officially adopted as the Olympic Shield at the 1964 Toyko Games. Examples of his large scale sculptures are installed in Edinburgh and Philadelphia. The Mill of Kintail Museum in Almonte, Ontario, which was the artist's refurbished studio and home at the time of his death, contains some of his original works, memorabilia and furnishings.
