Hours: Tuesday to Friday, 9:00am-4:00pm
Location: CE 267, 1250 Grand Lake Rd., Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. B1P 6L2.
Contact: (902) 563-1329; beaton@cbu.ca
Access: Open to the public.
Website: http://www.cbu.ca/campus/beaton-institute/
The Beaton Institute Archives has strengths in Aboriginal history with records of local associations, private papers, and federal records. This archive has strengths in Aboriginal studies, mining history, Scottish settlement and history, and political records. There is a guide to the holdings available online.
While this archive has strengths in the social sciences, there are some records directly related to the study of medicine. The university houses the papers of Dr. Hugh Cameron (1862-1915), Dr. Donald MacKenzie (1869-1972), and Dr. Weldon Patton (1881-1966). There are the related political papers of Alexander MacKinnon (1915-1971), Minister of Health, Mines, and Labour from 1940-1953. There are also relevant papers of local organizations, such as the charitable housing group, Seton Foundation (1975-1989) and the Atlantic Foundation for Occupational and Environmental Health (1976-1985). Within private papers, there are discussions of medical facilities, such as information about the Cape Breton Mental Health Centre in the fonds of Angus Day (1933-1973) and the Canadian National Institute for the Blind in the fonds of Gordon Elman (1921-1972).
This institute has many holdings related to the history of the Mi’kmaw tribes with strengths in Mi’kmaw history, music, education, medical services, folklore, and religion. The university has the 15 cm of textual records of A.J. Boyd, then Inspector of Indian Agencies (1919-1932). There are many records of Mi’kmaw tribal members, such as the correspondences of the chief between 1918-1964, Gabriel Sylliboy (1918-1964). This university has collections of local associations such as the Union of Nova Scotia Indians (1970-1971) and interest groups like the Micmac Language Institute (1981-1983), the Mi’Maq General Council (1977-1984), and the Marshall Inquiry fonds (1987-1988). The archive additionally has important federal records such as those of the Mi’kmaq Grand Council (1977-1984), records of the 1725 Treaty between King George I of England and the Aboriginal tribes of New England and Nova Scotia, and 1761 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between the Jediak Tribe and the government of Nova Scotia. The university additionally has audio-visual records such as an interview with John MacLellan on Mi’kmaw activity in the Brickyard Road Area (1969) and an audio recording of land issues around the Membertou and Eskasoni reservers (1978). Most pertinently, some of these records discuss medicine such as an interview with Maisil Donovan on folklore medicine (198?) and interviews with Jeanette Denny (1986) and Thomas Stevens (1977) on Mi’kmaw home remedies (1986). The university published a “Guide to the Mi’kmaw Holdings at the Beaton Institute,” which is available online.
There are important political records in these archives. There are notable papers like those of Sir John A. Macdonald (1869-1878), Canada’s first Prime Minister. There are the private papers of William Miller (1860-1895) who was appointed to the Senate in 1867, Conservative leader Robert Muir (1961-1973), Liberal Leader Vincent J. MacLean (1973-1986), Labour party representative William T. Mercer (1937), and of Angus L. Macdonald (1917-1965), premier from 1933-1940. This archive has many records related to the political history of mining in the province. There are papers of politicians who advocated for miners, such as Clarence Gillis (1940-1960) and William Steven Fielding (1892-1893). There is also information on mining in the personal papers of Donald MacInnis (1967-1974), Michael Kelly (1918-1952), and Richard Brown (1864-1918).
It is noteworthy that there are numerous records of ethnic groups in the province. There are papers related to Scottish settlement from 1567-1999, including the fonds of the Gaelic Society of Cape Breton (1969-1979), the Joint Committee for Gaelic in Schools (1981-1982), the Cape Breton Highland Society (1951-1975), and numerous personal papers. There are also records of the Italian Community Club (1936-1974).
The archive has census records and cemetery listings. More information is available in the genealogy guide online. There are also many photographic records on topics like mining, cultural history, and medical, religious, and political buildings available in the digital archive.