[1909-1935]. — 2 cm of textual records, 327 photographs, 75 postcards.
Biographical Sketch
Mr. Harry Tuffill was born in London, England in 1887 and immigrated to Canada in 1906. He worked at various trades in Hamilton and Toronto until 1909, when he was offered a position with Walter McFarlane’s survey crew. McFarlane’s contract, that summer, was to survey portions of the Peace River Country of Alberta.
Surveyor McFarlane’s field notes list Tuffill as one of the three “head Chainmen” in the 30-man crew that first year. The survey party traveled with 12 teams of horses and sleighs loaded with supplies, trailing a cow along for milk. The men slept in tents and bedrolls and did their own washing, but a cook and cook’s helper were hired.
Over the next three years the crew surveyed the south Peace from east of the Smoky to the British Columbia border, and from the Wapiti River to the Burnt Hills. Some work was done north of Dunvegan and some north of Peace River. The 1911 party also helped survey nine townships in the Peace River Block of British Columbia around Pouce Coupe.
Impressed by the potential of the Peace Country, in 1911 Mr. Tuffill filed on NW 33-73-7-W6th, in the Buffalo Lakes area. His intention was to build a home for his fiancée, Maud Shattock. The First Great War interfered with those plans and Harry joined the 91st Highlanders from Hamilton. He served overseas and returned to his homestead in 1919. Harry and Maud were finally married in 1920.
Mr. & Mrs. Tuffill farmed and lived on the land he filed on for the next 45 years. He was active in community events, and secretary of local board of United Grain Growers Ltd. He passed away in 19b5, and Maud died several years later.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of photographs, postcards, and a publication from United Grain Growers. Of the 327 photographs, 110 portray surveying in the Peace Country from 1909 to 1911, 5 picture life on the Tuffill homestead, and the remaining 212 are of Mr. Tuffill’s service in WWI and family and photographs from England. There are also 72 postcards from Canada and abroad.
Table of Contents
Series 056.01 | Photograph Album |
Series 056.02 | Surveying Photographs |
Series 056.03 | Correspondence and Postcards |
Series 056.04 | Family Photographs |
Series 056.05 | Secretary, United Grain Growers |
Series 056.01 | Photograph Album. — [1909-1935]., 204 photographs, 19 postcards.The series consists of one photograph album with glued in postcards and photographs. 78 of the photographs are of surveying in the Peace Country and the remainder are of war service and family in Britain. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Series 056.02 | Surveying Photographs. — [1909-1914]., 32 photographs.The series consists of photographs taken during the time Mr. Tuffill was on Walter McFarlane’s survey crew. Some have been developed as postcards, and may not be Mr. Tuffill’s own photographs. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Series 056.03 | Correspondence and Postcards. — [1906-1935]., 53 postcards.The series consists of colour postcards, many of them sent to Maud Shattock from Harry Tuffill after he immigrated to Canada in 1906. Some of the cards are used for correspondence. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Series 056.04 | Family Photographs. — [1900-1935]., 91 photographs.The series consists of snapshots of family, friends and army mates. Many are developed as postcards and have messages on the back. Included is an albumin photograph, presumably of Maud, and photographs and messages from Maud’s brother Alf. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Series 056.05 | Secretary, United Grain Growers. — 1944. — 2 cm of textual records.The series consists of a letter to Mr. Tuffill as a secretary of a local board of the United Grain Growers Ltd. along with a complimentary copy of the book, The Grain Growers Record 1906 to 1943. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||