Thursday 25 June 2015

Tweedsmuir Thursday #1

Above: Photo of Lady Tweedsmuir from the first page of the Dunvegan Tweedsmuir History Book
 
 

Welcome back to the weekly blog! This year we are introducing Tweedsmuir Thursdays, one of two weekly blogs. Tweedsmuir Thursday will feature fascinating stories, photographs, clippings, etc. from the museum’s Dunvegan Tweedsmuir collection. What is a Tweedsmuir? Tweedsmuirs are local histories that were compiled by Women’s Institute branches beginning in the 1940’s. They were named after the Governor General of Canada from 1935-1940 and his wife, Lord and Lady Tweedsmuir. Lady Tweedsmuir was a member of the Women’s Institute in England and while visiting Ontario, she took great interest in the Women’s Institutes and was made an Honorary Life Member of the Federated Women’s Institute of Ontario. She became very passionate about preserving the history of the Canadian people and advocated for the WI branches to compile village history books in order to preserve the history of each community.


Tweedsmuirs resemble scrapbooks because they contain historical information in various formats like newspaper clippings, photographs, handwritten histories, etc. Every Tweedsmuir is different and styled in a unique way. Despite this, they all contain various historical information on the community including; churches, schools, land and property, events, war effort, biographies, and earliest settlers, etc. In January 1942, a motion was made and seconded by the Dunvegan Women’s Institute that the history of Dunvegan be written.


What is the Women’s Institute? The WI was founded in 1897 by Adelaide Hunter of Hamilton, Ontario. After the death of her first child from drinking unpasteurized milk, she dedicated her life towards the education of women. Adelaide gained a large following which led to the development of the first branch of the Women’s Institute.
 

The Dunvegan Women’s Institute began on April 2, 1935 with a meeting of twenty ladies. Mrs. Mary Chisholm and Mrs. Mary MacIntosh thought it would be enjoyable to have an organization that every woman, regardless of race or faith, could attend.


In May 2001, the Dunvegan Women’s Institute disbanded. Their contribution to the community and dedication to the preservation of our local history will not be forgotten.


Stay tuned for exciting stories from the Tweedsmuirs that will be shared with you this summer.

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