Robertine Barry

Robertine Barry was born in L’Île-Verte, Lower Canada to John Edmond Barry and Aglaée Rouleau.[1] The couple had thirteen children.[1]

John Edmond Barry eventually rose to local political prominence.[1]

Aglaée Rouleau was a native of L’Île-Verte.[1]

Barry attended elementary school in Les Escoumins from 1868 to 1873, and was a day student at the Couvent Jésus-Marie in Trois-Pistoles.[1] From September 1880 to July 1882 she wrote for the student newspaper while at boarding school in Quebec.[1] Barry often felt stifled by the rules of convent education and was often reprimanded for bad behavior.[2] Barry graduated at age 20.[2]

Barry was not interested in marriage. As she explained, "I am not among those who consider marriage as the goal to which must be devoted a lifetime of noble efforts."[2]

Inspired by the success of French journalist Séverine, Barry set her sights on a career as a journalist.[2]

In 1891, Barry published her first pieces for La Patrie of Montreal under the pen name Françoise.[1] The name honored Saint Francis de Sales and indirectly honored Barry's sister Evelyn who had taken holy orders on the feast day of Francis de Sales.[3]

Barry's first article was on the importance of female education and it challenged the Catholic Church's control over schools.[2] The article set off a firestorm.[2] Honoré Beaugrand was her editor.[1][2]

From 21 September 1891 to 5 March 1900, Barry wrote a weekly column for La Patrie under her pen name.[1] Barry was the first hired to work full-time by a Quebec newspaper.[3]

During the summer of 1895, Barry vacationed in Halifax and spotted the bell of the Fortress of Louisbourg in a local pharmacy.[3] Barry used her column in La Patrie to organize a successful fundraising campaign to buy the bell.[3] The bell is currently displayed at the Chateau de Ramezay.[3]

Barry published Le Journal de Françoise, a bimonthly review from 1902 to 1909.[2] The magazine, subtitled "Le Gazette canadienne de la famille", offered a wide variety of features intended primarily for women.[3] The magazine also reflected Barry's interest in literature, publishing works of distinguished Quebec writers such as Laure Conan, Juliette Adam, Marie Gérin-Lajoie, Louis Fréchette and Émile Nelligan.[1][2] Many female journalists in Quebec got their first break writing for Le Journal de Françoise.[3]

Barry is one of eight finalists for the $5 polymer bills in Canada.[4]

• Biography at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online
• Library and Archives Canada