Charles McNaught Family fonds. — 1908-1980. — 29 cm of textual records. — 116 photographs. — 46 negatives. — 20 postcards. — 1 artwork.
Biographical Sketch
Charles and Eliza McNaught arrived in the Peace Country from Glen Morris, Ontario in 1912 with Marion and Betty, two of their five children. Son John was then teaching at Carberry, Manitoba, and daughters Margaret and Isabel had stayed behind in Ontario to continue their education.
The McNaughts had come on the recommendation of Charles’ brother Samuel McNaught, who settled in the Beaverlodge district in 1909 with a Methodist group called the Bull Outfit. Charles and Eliza purchased land with South African Scrip in the Halcourt area south of Beaverlodge. In 1913 Charles’ sister Jane McNaught brought the girls Margaret and Isabel west, traveling by train to Edson where Charles met them, and then continuing up the Edson Trail. John McNaught joined his family after serving in World War I, traveling over that same trail.
Charles, Samuel and Jane were the three surviving children of Samuel McNaught Sr. and his wife Euphemia “Jane” Crosby, who had immigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1834. They had purchased land on Burford Rd. in Glen Morris, Ontario, and were living there when Jane was born ca. 1845, Samuel in 1855 and Charles in 1857. Jane McNaught never married and passed away in Beaverlodge. Samuel McNaught’s family consisted of his wife Elizabeth Brown and their two children, Mary and Crosbie. Mary married Percy Hunkin in 1932. In 1936 Crosbie was president of the Monkman Pass Highway Association, led by Alex Monkman. Elizabeth McNaught died in 1958, and Crosbie moved to the Northwest Territories for work. He died there in 1962.
The McNaught family was very involved in the establishment of the communities of Appleton and Halcourt, south of Beaverlodge, as well as many of the local groups and societies associated with those communities.
Custodial History
The original (accession 2011.25) was deposited by Kathy Pfau, a friend of Noel McNaught, in 2011. She had received this material (consisting mostly of correspondence received by John McNaught, financial records from the farm, and family photographs) from Noel before she returned to New Zealand after John’s death. In 2012, an accrual was deposited by Gary & Marilyn Snell, tenants of the McNaught homestead house. The accrual (accession 2012.57) consisted of McNaught family letters, written or received by the other McNaught family members.
Scope and Content
The fonds consists of the correspondence, personal records, financial records, and photographs of the Charles McNaught family. The material is arranged in files for each member of the family and general files for photographs and miscellaneous records. The correspondence is mainly from one family member to each another, but also includes extended family members and friends. The financial records for the McNaught farm are with John and Noel McNaught’s records. There is one artwork, a pencil sketch done by Euphemia (Betty) McNaught when she was about 11 years old.
Notes
Title based on the contents of the fonds.
Related records: Beaverlodge Cultural Centre fonds 431, South Peace Regional Archives
Source of historical note: Beaverlodge to the Rockies, McNaught Homestead Heritage website http://www.mcnaught-homestead-heritage.com/ , Art of the Peace publication on http://www.artofthepeace.ca/issue-01/preserving-the-mcnaught-homestead .
Accession Numbers: 2011.25, 2012.57
Table of Contents
| Series 586.01 | Charles and Eliza McNaught |
| Series 586.02 | John and Noel McNaught |
| Series 586.03 | George and Marion (McNaught) Martin |
| Series 586.04 | Margaret McNaught |
| Series 586.05 | Isabel (McNaught) Perry |
| Series 586.06 | Euphemia (Betty) McNaught |
| Series 586.07 | McNaught Family Photographs |
| Series 586.08 | Miscellaneous Papers |
| Series 586.01 | Charles and Eliza McNaught. — [ca 1911-1950]. — 1 cm of textual records.Charles McNaught and Eliza Jane Conner were married in Brantford, Ontario on April 11, 1888. They farmed at Glen Morris, Ontario where five children were born to them: John in 1889, Jane Marion in 1891, Margaret in 1893, Isabel in 1899 and Euphemia (Betty) in 1901. In 1911 they left Ontario and established a farm in the Peace Country in northwestern Alberta. Here they lived for the remainder of their lives. They were very involved in the social and organizational life of their community. Charles passed away in 1937 and Eliza in 1952. Both are buried in the Beaverlodge Cemetery.
The series consists of correspondence regarding Appleton School District 2818, for which Charles was the Secretary-Treasurer; bills from Credit Foncier F.C., with whom they had a loan in the 1920s; three letters written by Eliza from Glenmorris Farm to daughter Margaret, first in Beaverlodge, then in Delia, Alberta; a 1928 letter from The Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire addressing Eliza as Madam Regent; a 1938 letter of condolence from Nurse Olive Watherston to Eliza after the death of Charles; and a notice from the Government of Alberta regarding tax arrears on their land in 1938. |
| Series 586.02 | John and Noel McNaught. — 1908-1971. — 25 cm of textual records.John McNaught was born in 1889. He attended the University of Toronto where he received a degree in Education. John taught in Quinlan, Saskatchewan and Carberry, Mantoba, and in 1913 started teaching in Pilot Mound, Mantoba. In 1916 he signed up for WWI with the 196 University Battalion of Winnipeg and was later gassed near the front at Vimy Ridge. Upon his return from the war he helped his father on the farm and was the principal at Lake Saskatoon consolidated school and late the Beaverlodge High School. John also served as secretary for the Monkman Pass Association. In 1959 John married Noel Cameron from New Zealand and they continued on the family farm. John died March 19, 1970 in Beaverlodge.
The series consists of three sub-series: Personal Papers, including a diary written by John when he came in to the Peace Country over the Edson Trail in 1912, and his World War I Pay Book containing records from 1915-1919; correspondence with his wife, his family, his students, and various friends from 1908-1971; financial records, mostly for the farm, from 1912-1968; and some miscellaneous papers. |
| SubSeries 586.02.01 | Personal Papers. — 1912-1919. — 1 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of a World War I pay book and three copies of a diary written by John when he was traveling into the Peace Country over the Edson Trail. The diary begins Sunday, July 14, 1912 when he arrived in Edmonton, and ends on Friday, August 2, 1912, when he forded the Smoky River. There is a rough, pencil copy on onion-skin note paper, assumed to be the one carried on the trail, a good pen copy on foolscap written soon after the trip, and a transcription of the good pen copy typed by donor Kathy Pfau ca. 2000. The World War I pay book for John McNaught, Regtl No. 910229, opens on March 31, 1918 and is described as a New Book, with the Old Book on file. There are, however, entries dating from August 14-November 13, 1915 showing previous payments. The Units listed are Epsom and Bramshott. |
| SubSeries 586.02.02 | Correspondence. — 1908-1971. — 15 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of correspondence received by John from his mother, Eliza McNaught; his sister Marion (McNaught) Martin; his sister Margaret McNaught; his sister Isabel (McNaught) Perry; his firend and wife Noel (Cameron) McNaught; his cousin Crosbie McNaught; and various friends. Most notable among the correspondence from friends are H.K. Mortwedt from 1912-1968; Nelson Brown, who became a Prebyterian minister, from 1910-1914; cousin Grace and her husband Mac from 1912-1962; the Inksaters and L.E. Mans. Some of the earlier letters have been transcribed. The letters from his mother include a series written while Charles and Eliza were traveling into the Peace Country over the Edson Trail. The letters from Isabel are signed from Bell, as are some from their cousin Bell, so all letters from Bell and from Aunt Nim (with whom Bell was living) are in one file. The file on Crosbie McNaught contains a few letters from Crosbie to others as well. There is also a file of miscellaneous correspondence from business dealings and students when he was teaching in Carberry, Manitoba. |
| SubSeries 586.02.03 | Financial Records. — 1912-1968. — 9 cm of textual records.The sub-series consists of financial records from John McNaught’s farming activities and personal life from 1912-1968. From 1912-1950, there are seven small booklets which detail expenses, income, customers, and activities on the farm. These contain sporadic, sometimes undated and rough notes. From 1959 to 1968, the records consist of bank statements and receipts filed according to the year. There is also a file of miscellaneous papers which contains assessment and insurance papers, and a booklet about farming the prairies called, The Canadian Desert published by the Albertan Publishing Co. Ltd., Calgary (n.d.). |
| Series 586.03 | George and Marion (McNaught) Martin. — 1918-1930. — 1 cm of textual records.Jane Marion McNaught was born in 1891 and trained as a teacher. When her parents moved to the Peace Country in 1912, she came with them and became the first teacher at Halcourt School, which at that time was being held in the Methodist Church. She also taught at the one-room Wapiti School and the consolidated school at Lake Saskatoon. During World War I she married George Martin at St. Mark’s Anglican Church at Appleton, just south of the McNaught farm, when he was on leave from the 66th Battalion in Edmonton. After George returned home they lived in Delia, then Monitor, Alberta before returning to Beaverlodge. They had two children: Margaret and Janet.
The series consists of two letters written by George Martin to Marion’s mother, Eliza, and one to Marion’s sister Effie (Euphemia) from France during World War I; several letters from Marion to her mother from Delia and Monitor; and several letters from Marion’s children Margaret and Janet to their grandmother and aunts in Beaverlodge. |
| Series 586.04 | Margaret McNaught. — 1922-1926. — 1 cm of textual records.Margaret McNaught was born in 1893. After completing her high school in Ontario, she went on to Normal School in Calgary. Upon graduation, she joined the family at Beaverlodge and began her teaching career at the newly built Appleton School near the farm. She taught at many one and two-room schools in the County and later became the principal at Clairmont School and then Wembley. She also spent some years in Delia, Alberta, where her sister Marion was living. Her last teaching position was in the Junior High School at Hythe.The series consists of about a dozen letters written to Margaret from various correspondents, including E.C. Weber, Bell, Chrissie Bigelow, JMW, Jack, Jean MacIntosh, Helen Blaney, and Marion. |
| Series 586.05 | Isabel (McNaught) Perry. — 1923-[ca. 1940]. — 1 cm of textual records.Isabel was born in 1899 and remained behind at school in Paris, Ontario when the McNaught family moved west in 1912. In 1913, she journeyed across Canada with sister Margaret and aunt Jane McNaught, and traveled up the Edson Trail to join her family at Beaverlodge. After teacher training she taught in various schools from Clairmont to Craigellachie. She married Judson Perry in 1938 and the couple had one daughter, Eliza. Judd died in 1942, and Isabel settled back in the Beaverlodge area with her daughter Liza.
The series consists of correspondence from Credit Foncier F.C. regarding a loan on the NE 15-71-10-W6 from 1923-1925. There is also one letter regarding medicinal herbs ca. 1945. |
| Series 586.06 | Euphemia (Betty) McNaught. — 1912-1939. — 1 cm of textual records.Euphemia (Betty) was born in 1901 in Ontario, where she spent her elementary school years before moving to the Beaverlodge area with her parents in 1912. As a child, she was called “Effie” and later “Betty”. From the homestead, she attended and then taught at Appleton School, before travelling back to Ontario to focus on her art. She attended the Ontario College of Art and received A.O.C.A. standing (Associate of the Ontario College of Art). She taught at Mount Royal College and the Ontario Ladies’ College in Whitby. Betty came back to Beaverlodge following the passing of her father in 1935. At the start of WWII, Euphemia and Evy McBryan received a commission from Mackenzie King to capture the building of the Alaska Highway in paintings. Euphmia also founded the Grande Prairie and Beaverlodge Art Societies. Euphemia passed away in 2002, and in 2003 the McNaught Homestead was declared a historical site. The McNaught Homestead is host to various events throughout the year which give tribute to Euphemia as an artist as well as to the McNaught family’s contributions to the area.
The series consists mainly of letters written by Betty to her family while she was studying in Toronto in 1928-1929, and from Mount Royal College in 1931. There are also a few letters to Betty in Toronto from her family and friend Cliff in 1928, from friend Lisle and Alex Watt in 1939, and from Leon Brooks (California) in 1955. The file contains one pencil drawing done in 1912, called Crossing a Stream. It shows a woman on a horse accompanied by three dogs. On the back is written, Bell and Margret from Effie. It had been sent to John McNaught in Carberry, Manitoba. |
| Series 586.07 | McNaught Family Photographs. — [ca. 1900-1910]. — 116 photographs. — 46 negatives. — 20 postcards.The series consists of two small albums of undated and unidentified photographs and a collection of loose photographs and postcards. These were preserved with the records of John McNaught, and are presumed to be the McNaught family, mostly from Ontario. Item descriptions are included with the finding aid. |
| Series 586.08 | Miscellaneous Papers. — 1931-1980. — 4 cm of textual records.The series consists of an insurance policy, tax records, a 1951 Beaverlodge graduating class program, and a certificate of recognition to Noel McNaught for her contribution to Alberta’s heritage. There are also 5 scribblers with school work possibly belonging to John McNaught, Answers to Arthmetic Work Books Seventh Year belonging to Margaret McNaught, 7 poems for recitation, and some teachers notes. |