Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Graphic material
- Textual record
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Repository
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Edition area
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Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
8.25 m of textual records
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Archibald McKellar MacMechan was born in 1862 in Berlin (now Kitchener), Ontario, son of The Reverend John and Mary Jean MacMechan. He began his university education at the University of Toronto in 1880 and graduated in 1884 with a Bachelor of Arts. He taught school in Brockville and Galt for the next two years, then entered Johns Hopkins University as a doctoral candidate in modern languages, receiving his PhD in 1889. That same year he married Edith May Cowan, with whom he had had three daughters, Jean, Grace and Edith.
MacMechan was appointed professor of English at Dalhousie University in 1889, where he remained until 1931, helping to establish the Dalhousie University Marine Museum and briefly serving as University Librarian. He also served as president of the Nova Scotia Historical Society (1907-1910) and was awarded a fellowship in the Royal Society of Canada (1926). MacMechan was a prolific writer of essays, articles and books throughout his lifetime. He died 7 August 1933.
Custodial history
MacMechan's papers were donated between 1970-1974 by his daughter, Jean Willets; in 1983 by his daughter, Edith Dobson; and in 1990 by his granddaughter, Joan Cervin.
Scope and content
Fonds contains diaries, correspondence, manuscripts of published and unpublished writings, research notes, materials related to MacMechan's research and teaching and other university-related activities, artwork, memorabilia, scrapbooks, photographs and financial papers.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Arrangement imposed by the archivist.
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script note
English
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
All records are open.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room. Materials may be under copyright. Contact departmental staff for guidance on reproduction.
Finding aids
A detailed inventory is available onsite.
Associated materials
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
General note
Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Archibald MacMechan fonds, MS-2-82, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Alternative identifier(s)
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Sources
This fonds description comes from the Dalhousie University Archives Catalog. The complete, original description is available there.