Helen Elizabeth Leslie (“Lizzie”) was born in Elzevir Township, in Hastings County, Ontario (then called “Canada West”) on February 6, 1882. Elzevir Township is near Belleville. Her parents were William Leslie (1822–1904) and Flora McDonnell Campbell (1829–1905). Both families were of Scottish ancestry.
Lizzie was an accomplished concert cornetist who, in the 1890s, soloed to much acclaim at a number of prestigious venues in Toronto, including the then-new Massey Hall. She was billed as “Mrs. Price” or “Mrs. Helen Price.”
Lizzie died in Toronto on September 8, 1917, at the age of 55, and is buried at St. John’s Norway Cemetery in Toronto. You can view her headstone here.
Helen Elizabeth Leslie before her marriage. The photo was taken in the early 1880s when she was in her early twenties.
“Mrs. Helen Price” or “Mrs. Price,” as she was billed in advertisements proclaiming her upcoming concerts. She holds her cornet, so we can speculate that this was taken either to promote or to honour her musical career. The photo was taken in the mid-1890s when she was in her early thirties. It is a digitally enhanced version of the photo at the top of this page.
“Mrs. Price, cornet soloist” at Massey Hall: advertisement in the Toronto Globe, December 25, 1896, p. 4
Helen Elizabeth (Leslie) Price (sitting, third from left, looking down). Joseph Price (standing centre), Lizzie’s mother, Flora (Campbell) Leslie (standing, right),Others not identified. Kew Beach at the foot of Lee Avenue, summer of 1903 or 1904.
Left to right; Joe, Lizzie, Leslie, Earl and Hazel about 1914-1915, in Joe’s 1911 Russell motor car.
Lizzie in her early fifties (undated photo)
Left to right: Frances, Earl, Lizzie (wearing veil), and Helen, at Ontario Ladies’ College in Whitby (now Trafalgar Castle School) where Helen was a boarding student. The photo was in probably taken in 1917, judging by the apparent age of the toddler (believed to be Lizzie’s grandson Ted, Leslie’s son). Lizzie would die in September 1917.
I created this website for my children and grandchildren, my brother and his children and grandchildren, and my various first and second cousins, all of whom are descendants of Joseph “Joe” Price (1860–1934) and Helen Elizabeth “Lizzie” Leslie (1862–1917).
You can jump to any of Joe and Lizzie’s descendants by using the Family Tree link in the menu bar at the top of each page or the Search tool directly above.
For privacy reasons, the pages of living persons are identified by their initials only. Information about living persons is only visible to registered family members and friends.
Many of the pages are still under construction, so please be patient.
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