Mina Benson Hubbard Ellis (1870-1956)
- Shelley Irving
- May 1
- 1 min read
Submitted by: Shelley Irving
Hike references: 9.4 km Vimy Ridge and 13 km View of Two Lakes
Mina Adelaide Benson was born April 15, 1870, on an apple farm near Bewdley. She was the seventh of eight children to parents of English and Irish descent. Mina later became the first white woman to explore and map Labrador.
Mina was educated in Bewdley and taught school in Cobourg. She graduated as a nurse in 1899 and began working at Staten Island Hospital in New York, where she met journalist Leonidas Hubbard, who was being treated for typhoid fever. They married in 1901. In 1903, Leonidas led an expedition to explore Labrador. Tragically, the party became lost and he died of starvation.
In 1905, Mina organized her own expedition to complete her late husband’s mission. The team covered 576 miles in 43 days, successfully mapping the Nascaupee and George River systems. Mina documented the topography, geology, flora, fauna, and Indigenous peoples of the region.
She later published, “A Woman’s Way Through Unknown Labrador”. Mina became recognized as a pioneering figure in Canadian exploration and is studied in women’s and exploration history programs at universities. Mina moved to England and remarried after her exploration of Labrador. In 2018, Mina was designated a National Historic Person by the Government of Canada. Near Bewdley, Benson Road was named after her, and a commemorative plaque was installed on Cavan Road.
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