Georgina King: Three degrees of separation

by William Albritton

William Albritton is a professor of pediatrics and former dean of the College of Medicine. He became interested in the legacy of Georgina King, one of the first female students in the College of Arts & Science, after discovering a surprising connection to her story.

Three degrees of separation

In 2002, I returned to the University of Saskatchewan after a 12-year absence. I had been working in Pensacola, Florida at the Children’s Medical Services Pediatric HIV Clinic and was preparing to take up a new role as Dean of the College of Medicine at the U of S.

As I was leaving, the HIV team had a get-together. When I shared that I was returning to Saskatchewan, I learned that one of the nurses, Jane Gonzalez, RN, was the granddaughter of Georgina King, the first woman to register at the University of Saskatchewan.

Jane was a very special nurse and our Pediatric HIV team took care of some very special children, so when I got here in 2002 I began to look into archival material regarding her grandmother to share with her, since Jane had never been to Canada.

The following is Georgina’s story as told to me by her granddaughter Jane.

Georgina Esther King

Georgina Esther King was the first female student registered in the University of Saskatchewan. She graduated with a degree in English in 1913, the first year for students who completed their entire time at the U of S. The April 1913 Convocation issue of The Sheaf indicates she was a member of the Glee Club, a councillor in the Arts and Science Literary Society Executive, and president of the Pente Kai Deka Society. The class prophecy: “Miss G.E. King, teacher of art, will give lessons in china painting at her studio on Tor Hill.”

Georgina was born April 28, 1887 near Regina, Northwest Territories on the family farm (Tor Hill) on Boggy Creek. Georgina’s parents were from Ontario. Their three-storey house was made of native stone and the family raised Clydesdale horses and grew mainly oats and wheat on their acreage.

Georgina married Edmund Sears Mandeville in 1916. They met while Edmund was working with the Regina Water System on the King property. Their first child, Janet Frances Mandeville (Jane’s mother) was born August 20, 1917 and her siblings Esther Mandeville (1918) and Malcom King Mandeville (1922) soon followed.

Janet often told her daughter Jane about going to Regina in a sleigh loaded with heated bricks, hay and lap robes. The children were told to stay under the robes, but Janet disobeyed and developed frostbite on one of her cheeks. She often recalled stories of climbing out the second story of the house after a snowstorm to clear the doors.

The family relocated to Florida in 1925 after Malcolm suffered a stroke and a physician recommended he find a milder climate. He visited the west coast of Canada but found it too cold, and after eleven trips by train they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida.

In January 1926, Georgina and her three children went down to Coffee Pot Bayou and while wading got caught in the water. Janet and Esther were able to get out, but Georgina and Malcolm were pulled under and drowned. Janet almost went under going back into the water to retrieve her doll. The two sisters, age eight and seven, were found wandering in the area by workmen and taken home.

The girls were reared by Georgina’s older sister, Janet Catherine King, and their father.

Jane had only heard stories about Saskatchewan, but during the University of Saskatchewan Centennial, I invited her to come for a visit. We were shown the old Boggy Creek site, which is now a park and golf course, by Margaret Hryniuk (author of a 2007 series in the Leader Post about Boggy Creek). We also visited a distant cousin who lives in an old stone house on the property adjacent to Tor Hill.

In a follow-up letter to me, Jane brought closure to the story by saying, “The University of Saskatchewan provided Georgina with an opportunity to learn, to enrich her life, and to pass it on to her children. Her life may have been cut short but she obviously made the most of what she was given. May all the traditions continue and may the university continue to provide that opportunity for many years to come.”

The tradition of education so dear to Georgina has extended to her grandchildren and great grandchildren. What a remarkable legacy for the first female student registered in the University of Saskatchewan, and what a remarkable story passed down several generations in a family. American southerners, even those now or previously Canadian, are an oral people. We are the stories we tell.

Related Articles