On April 10th… Louisa “Touie” Hawkins

Louisa Hawkins Doyle

Louisa “Touie” Hawkins was born April 10, 1857. She married Arthur Conan Doyle in 1885; they had two children – Mary and Kingsley.

Conan Doyle was brought in by a fellow physician, William Pike, to consult on on a case of suspected meningitis. The patient was 25-year-old Jack Hawkins. Jack stayed at Doyle’s Home/practice so that Doyle could treat him, though the illness was incurable, and Jack only survived a short time.

While treating Jack and speaking with his family, Dr Doyle met Jack’s sister, Louisa (nicknamed “Touie”). They were engaged in April and married in August of 1885.

In October of 1893, Louise was diagnosed with what appeared to be a fast moving case of tuberculosis. Arthur devoted himself to caring for her, taking trips to Switzerland and Egypt, and he built his estate home in Surrey, at a higher altitude to allow Touie and their family to stay in England. Touie lived nearly 13 years past her diagnosis, until July 4 , 1906.

(I urge anyone interested to research and read and the literature about the relationship. There is so much more to the story then can be listed here. . You will find it quite interesting and worth the time. -Chips)

For more information, check out A Curious Collection of Dates by JWHS members Leah Guinn (“Amber”) and Jaime N Mahoney (“Tressa”).