Identity area
Type of entity
Authorized form of name
Parallel form(s) of name
Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules
Other form(s) of name
Identifiers for corporate bodies
Description area
Dates of existence
History
Established July 10, 1915, the Vellore Women’s Institute is one of the many branches of the Federated Women’s Institute of Ontario (FWIO). Adelaide Hunter Hoodless organized the world’s first Women’s Institute in 1897 at Stoney Creek, Ontario as a means for women to gather, discuss their problems, and work together to improve their standard of homemaking and citizenship. Today, through various charitable and philanthropic activities, the Federated Women’s Institute seeks to foster a sense of community while working towards the growth and empowerment of all women. Each branch of the FWIO compiles Tweedsmuir Village Histories (named after Lady Susan Tweedsmuir, the wife of the Governor General of Canada from 1935-1940), which record the local history of each branch’s village, hamlet, enclave, etc. as well as a history of the branch itself. The Vellore branch differs from other branches, however, in that it chose to record the histories of many of Vaughan’s communities, such as Kleinburg, Maple, Teston, Edgeley, Purpleville, Sherwood, Langstaff, and Woodbridge, rather than just Vellore itself. The Vellore Women’s Institute disbanded on April 5, 1988.