Francine Collinet
Toronto Daily Star, March 8 1929
I couldn't find Madame Collinet in the 1928 Toronto city directory. But, since she had lived in Toronto for 42 years, I looked her up in the 1889 directory and found her there:
She is listed here as a dressmaker, not a nurse. This suggests that, like Ms. Bernhardt, she was a nurse only during the Franco-Prussian war of 1870.
Looking forward: the 1895 directory lists her as a dressmaker and also lists her as the widow of John M. Collinet. Sadly, she was a widow quite young and was quite likely a widow when she moved to Toronto. The 1900 directory lists a "Frances Collinet" who was the widow of Louis C.; this is likely poor data collection, as she appears in the 1910 directory as Francine Collinet, widow of John. I also found her in the 1920 directory.
Miss M. Latimer, Mme. Collinet's personal friend, is listed as Margaret Latimer at 848A Bathurst in the 1928 directory. I also found her at that address in the 1933 and 1935 directories, but not the 1938 directory. Her name is common enough that I couldn't tell if she had moved or passed away.
Sarah Bernhardt (1844-1923) was an actress who appeared in some of the leading French productions of the late 19th century. She eventually became famous enough to tour the world. She also became one of the first actresses to appear in motion pictures; YouTube has a collection of footage of her. She continued her career to the end of her life despite losing a leg due to a gangrene infection in 1915.
Created September 18, 2025.