Mrs. Florence Baillie-Grohman

Florence Nickalls was born in 1861 in Bromley, United Kingdom. She married William Baillie-Grohman in England in 1887 when she was 26. The couple established a home in Victoria, where their son Harold was born in 1888. William’s business dealings led to considerable wealth, making his family prominent members of Victoria society during the years they lived on Vancouver Island. Florence’s personal calling card is part of the collection at Point Ellice House, which suggests that she was friends with Caroline and Kathleen O’Reilly. After leaving Victoria for London in 1890, Florence gave birth to her second child, Olga Florence, that year. Florence likely shared her husband’s passion for writing, as she is listed as a collaborator on some of his published works. She died in Middlesex, U.K. in 1945.

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List of Calling Cards

The Point Ellice House collection contains hundreds of calling cards left for the O’Reilly family by visitors. This initial research was conducted by Public History students at the University of Victoria, and these biographies constitute only a portion of the individuals represented by the calling cards within the collection.

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