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For the Birds
Queens County Heritage
69 Front Street
Gagetown, New Brunswick
E5M 1A4
Telephone: (506) 488-2483
E-mail: info@queenscountyheritage.com
The Collector
Leora Jane Simpson
23 July 1856 - 12 November 1951
The Taxidermist
Leora Jane Simpson was born 23 July 1856, the daughter of Edward Simpson, a Gagetown merchant and postmaster and Elizabeth Ebbett, a Loyalist descendent. The exact inspiration for her interest in natural history and science, and taxidermy and birds specifically, remains a mystery. At various times throughout her life she listed herself as a taxidermist on official documents, perhaps signifying some formal training, a chosen profession or a small business and she continued working in the field well into her 70s. By the 1950s, the collection consisted of over 100 specimens featuring several species of hawks, owls, ducks, geese, songbirds, shorebirds and others. The only labeled and dated specimen in the collection is a Merlin Hawk, dated September 1882.
In addition to her work as a taxidermist, Miss Simpson worked with her sister, Ella, as post mistress for many years. Leora and her sisters, Ella and Ida, a nurse, have been described as possessing "old time virtues, innate refinement and a love for the better things of life". Leora and Ella both received the George V Jubilee Medal in 1935 for their distinguished services to the community of Gagetown.
Miss Simpson died 12 November 1951 and the collection of birds and original cabinets were bequeathed to the Gagetown Grammar School then moved to the current Gagetown School in the late 1960s.
As a reflection of the natural heritage of Queens County, the Simpson Bird Collection is a premier example. It showcases not only the talents of a woman in a period when females did not seek employment outside the home, but also captures the environmental heritage of our region. For the Birds enhances our understanding and appreciation of our natural heritage, highlighting an exceptional selection from the collection around the habitat themes of fields and forests, interval lowlands and islands, and lakes, rivers and wetlands.
