William Wallace was born in Scotland around 1859. In 1881, when William was twenty-two, he emigrated to Canada with his father and brother. Once here they settled near what is today Forrest, Manitoba. The following spring they moved to the northwest margin of settlement in Manitoba, homesteading in the Shellmouth area. Wallace remained a resident of the region for the rest of his life. William Wallace was active in community affairs. He was appointed to the post of Secretary-Treasurer of the Shellmouth Municipality in 1887, and he held the position until 1904. In 1909, Wallace was injured in a railway accident, and he had to give up farming. He moved to Shellmouth and took up the position of postmaster, which he held for twenty-seven years. He died in 1945, and is buried at Shellmouth cemetery, Manitoba.
Custodial History
The letters contained in the fonds remained in the possession of Margaret Wallace, who was the original recipient of the correspondence. She emigrated to Canada in 1904. At some point the letters passed to William Wallace who kept them in his possession in Shellmouth. In 1941, William contacted Professor E. J. Westcott of Brandon College regarding the fonds. He offered it to the College for safekeeping. Westcott accepted the letters. Westcott passed the letters on to various officers and staff at Brandon College and then Brandon University. Since 1982, the collection has resided in the S. J. McKee Archives at Brandon University.
Scope and Content
Fonds consists of hundreds of letters that William Wallace and his brother, Andrew, wrote to their sister, Maggie, from 1881 until 1904. The first letter, dated 22 March 1881, was written by both William and Andrew aboard the S.S. Prussia as they sailed to North America from Scotland. The last letter was written on 4 January 1904 by William. It was written to inform Maggie and her husband that William had reserved a homestead in their name. This letter marks the end of the fonds. Later that spring Maggie and John emigrated to Canada to be with her family.
William was keenly interested in everything going on around him; his letters and Andrew's reveal what life was like for inexperienced settlers on the Canadian agricultural frontier in the last years of the ninteenth century. Fonds touches on a variety of social, political and economic themes.
Notes
CAIN No. 202641. A partial accession of the Wallace collection was completed in 1992 by Eileen McFadden.
Eva Blanche Roddick Davis was born September 20, 1900 at Linkwood Lodge farm in the Brandon Hills area of the RM of Cornwallis. She was the daughter of John Hardy Roddick and Ida Johnson, and spent her childhood on the home farm in the Brandon Hills, which had been settled by her grandfather, the Rev. George Roddick, a pioneer who came to the are in 1879 from Nova Scotia. Eva attended Brandon Hills school and Brandon Collegiate Institute (BCI), before graduating from the Brandon Normal School in 1920. From 1920-1921, she taught at Little Souris. Although her parents moved to Brandon that year, she returned to the Brandon Hills to the Davis family farm, Glenwood Farm, after marrying Meredith William Davis (1897-1968) on February 28, 1931. The Davis family came to the Brandon Hills in 1879 from Palmer, Massachusetts. The couple sold the farm in 1940, and moved into Brandon, where Med worked as a motor mechanic. The Davis' had three children: Georgina, Shirley, and Bill. Eva was involved with the family farm and on a committee for planning the Brandon Hills district centennial in 1979. Additionally, she was a member of the Brandon Hills Busy Bees, the Women's Missionary Society, the UCW at Knox United Church, the Canadian Lady Foresters and the Court Princess Mary L2. Eva Roddick Davis died in Brandon on December 20, 1986. She is buried at Brandon Hills Cemetery.
Custodial History
As part of the Westman Oral History Collection, this collection was accessioned by the McKee Archives in 1998. The original tapes from the Westman Oral History project were deposited in the Brandon Public Library. Copies of these originals were made by Margaret Pollex of the Brandon University Language Lab at the request of Eileen McFadden, University Archivist in the early 1990s. These copies compose the collection held in the McKee Archives.
Scope and Content
Item is an audiocassette tape containing an interview with Eva Roddick Davis about the pioneer years in the Brandon Hills and her family history. Interviewer is Effie McPhail.
Notes
History/bio information taken from the Brandon Hills local history "The Brandon Hills Story" and Davis' obituary. Transcript by Jaclyn Matchullis (2014). Description by Christy Henry.
Language Note
English
Audio Tracks
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Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a man in a three-piece suit with watch fob posing for a studio portait. The man is standing with his left arm drapped on a bench made of driftwood, a woodland scene is painted on the backdrop.
Notes
Writing on back photograph reads: Uncle Edd. [Date range determined from photo studio period.]
Photograph was given to Fred McGuinness by Linda Bilkoski of Lac du Bonnet, MB.
Scope and Content
Photograph shows a family of six posing for a formal cabinet portrait. The father wears a three-piece suit and stands with his four children, two boys and two girls. The mother is seated in a tassled upholstered chair. The boys appear to be wearing the same suit jacket, both girls wear lace collars.
Notes
Advertisement on back photograph reads: Portraits in Oil, Water, Colors, Crayon, Pastel and India Ink. J.A. Brock & Co. Photographers, Brandon, Manitoba. Duplicates of all Photos to be had at any time. [Date range determined from photo studio period. The backdrop is consistent with another cabinet photograph in this collection, see 1-2015.56.]
Item is a mini-chapbook entitled "Portrait" by Michael Dennis. It is series 4, number 3 in the Dollarpoems series. The series was published by DOLLARPOEMS with the aid of a grant from The Manitoba Arts Council.
There are creases along the right side. A piece of the surface of the paper is peeled off along the top edge. Also, there are various smudges all over, including multiple pencil marks in the bottom horizontal register, which are most likely not inherent
Accretion marks in BM and BR corner. Black transfer marks in areas RM, LM and TL. Color transfer mark to area LM, although it may be inherent to picture.
Portrait: J.E. Robbins; Library Reading Room, Library and Arts Building. Naming of the Library, etc. Dr. D.N. Wheeler, Chairman Faculty Library Committee, Georgia Lightbody Whitman, Dr. J.E. Robbins, Dr. A.L. Dulmage, President, Michael Angel, President, Manitoba Library Association
