Edgar, Lady Matilda Ridout: - Matilda Ridout Edgar was a Canadian historian and feminist. She was born Matilda Ridout, married Matilda Edgar, and became Lady Edgar in 1898 when her husband received a knighthood. She had nine children and turned to historical research and writing in her forties. She published three books throughout her lifetime and was working on a fourth when she died. She was involved in a number of Toronto-based organizations and, in her later years, was a staunch supporter of women's issues. Matilda Ridout was born on September 29, 1844, in Toronto, Province of Canada, as the fifth child and second daughter of Thomas Gibbs Ridout and Matilda Ann Bramley. Her grandfather, Thomas Ridout of Sherborne, Dorset, served as Upper Canada's surveyor general from 1810 and 1829. Her father served as the Bank of Upper Canada's first cashier from 1822 until his retirement in 1861. Her father died a few months after retirement, leaving his mother with little money to sustain their family of nine. Matilda married James David Edgar, a barrister, lawyer, and novelist, on September 5, 1865, and took the name Matilda Edgar.