Elsie Reford picnicking near Metis, c. 1950, Photograph by Robert Wilson Reford
© Reford Gardens, Les Amis des Jardins de Métis Collection, NAC 1997.10.84.18
Mary Elsie Stephen Meighen (1872‒1967) was born in eastern Ontario, but lived for most of her life in Montréal. Her father, Robert Meighen, born in Ireland, was a prosperous businessman, president of Lake of the Woods Milling (the largest milling company in the British Empire) and a close colleague of George Stephen’s.
In 1895, Mary Elsie Stephen Meighen became a Reford when she married the son of Robert Wilson Reford (1831‒1913), who owned a summer residence at Little Metis. Her husband Robert, named after his father, was a mainstay in the family business of rice milling and shipping. He was also a photographer and an amateur painter.
Elsie and Robert Jr. continued the family tradition of spending holidays at Grand-Metis, specifically, at Estevan Lodge. This was their base for enjoying numerous outings, such as picnics, like the one shown in this photograph, riding, fishing and hunting.