Mary Wood Collection
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MG 10 Mary Wood Collection. 1820-1989, predominant 1900-1984 City of Vaughan Archives 2141 Major Mackenzie Dr. Vaughan, Ontario Aug. 1993 Updated: 2013 1 CONTENTS Mary Wood Collection. – 1820-1989, predominant 1900-1984. ........................................................... 3 Sous fonds A: Wood/Hollingshead Family Fonds, 1896-1964. ............................................................ 4 Series I: Wood/Hollingshead family papers. - 1896-1964. ................................................................ 4 Series II: Wood family photographs. – ca. 1915-1958. ..................................................................... 5 Sous fonds B: Mary Wood Collected Matter, 1820-1889, predominant 1900-1984. ............................ 5 Series I: Scrapbooks. – 1800-1897. .................................................................................................... 5 Subseries i: Scrapbooks, Alphabetical. - 1880-1987. ................................................................. 6 Subseries ii: Scrapbooks, Chronological. – 1933-1986. ............................................................. 6 Series II: Monographs and Essays. – 1820-1981, predominantly 1971-1951. .................................. 6 Series III: Printed Material. – 1867-1983. ......................................................................................... 6 Subseries i: Printed Matter, General. – 1867-1970. .................................................................. 6 Subseries ii: Printed Matter, Village of Woodbridge Local Government and Businesses. – 1876-1985. ...................................................................................................................................... 7 Series IV: Local Government, Business and Organizations Original Records. – 1917-1944............ 7 Series V: Photographs. – ca. 1880-1990. ........................................................................................... 7 Subseries i: Photographic Copy Prints of Transparencies Depicting Vaughan/Woodbridge. – ca. 1880-1990. ............................................................................................................................. 7 Subseries ii: Photographic Copy Prints of Vaughan/Woodbridge Scenes. – 1900-1978, predominant 1900-1950. ................................................................................................................ 7 Subseries iii: Photoprints of Vaughan/Woodbridge Scenes and Personalities. – ca. 1880- 1984. ............................................................................................................................................... 8 Series VI: Photograph Albums. – 1930, 1982. ................................................................................... 8 Series VII: Slides. – ca. 1837-1984. ................................................................................................... 8 Subseries i: Mary Wood Slide Show. – 1837-1983. ................................................................... 8 Subseries ii: Architecture and Landscape. – 1878-1983. .......................................................... 8 Subseries iii: Senior Citizens’ Excursions. – 1960-1983. ........................................................... 9 Subseries iv: Churches. - 1874-1984. .......................................................................................... 9 Subseries v: Miscellaneous. – 1959-1983. ................................................................................... 9 Subseries vi: Cemeteries. – 1956-1978. ....................................................................................... 9 Subseries vii: Burwick Women’s Institute. – 1946-1983. .......................................................... 9 APPENDIX 1: FILE LISTS................................................................................................................. 10 2 APPENDIX 2: INDEX TO SCRAPBOOKS ....................................................................................... 71 M990-30 (MG-10) Mary Wood Collection. – 1820-1989, predominant 1900-1984. 2.6 m of textual records. ca. 933 photographs, most b & w, 12.5 x 17.5 cm and smaller. 1118 slides. 6 microfiches (239 frames); 16 mm. Biography: Born Mary Isabel Hollingshead on 14 September 1908, to Charles and Isabel Hollingshead (nee Duncan), Mary Wood was best known as “Woodbridge’s Unofficial Historian,” an appellation she well deserved. A life-long Vaughan/Woodbridge resident, she attended Weston Collegiate, graduating in 1923. She married James Alvin Wood in 1931 and worked from this point to March 1944 on the family dairy farm located on Lot 2, Concession 8. At a latter date, various circumstances conspired to force the Woods to liquidate their farm’s assets; they then moved to Woodbridge proper. Mary Wood was an extraordinarily civic and community-minded individual. She was a member of the Woodbridge Horticultural Society, the Woodbridge Senior Citizens, Burwick Women’s Institute, and the King-Vaughan Support Services; additionally, Mrs. Wood was a member of the Woodbridge Branch of the Canadian Red Cross and the Canadian Cancer Society, receiving, respectively, 20 and 25 year service certificates. Moreover, as noted by her grandson, Jim Wood, “she was…a main driving force in a lot of community programs.” Notwithstanding the above, it was to the task of preserving her community’s past that Mary Wood dedicated much of her effort. She was a charter member of the Vaughan Township Historical Society (formed in 1971), and a member of the Tweedsmuir Committee of the Burwick Women’s Institute; the Tweedsmuir Committee was responsible for compiling and maintaining a history of the locality which it represented (Woodbridge in this case). Moreover, Mary Wood played a significant role in the compilation of the books by G. Elmore Reaman A History of Vaughan Township (1971, reprinted in 2004) and C. Macfarlane and P. Somerville eds. A History of Vaughan Township Churches (1984). In 1984 she authored Pictorial Woodbridge. Indeed, much of the graphic material in the Mary Wood Collection was utilized in the compilation of Pictorial Woodbridge. Mrs. Wood’s contributions to her community were so significant that in 1986 she received the provincial award of Senior Citizen of the Year from Lieutenant-Governor Lincoln Alexander in recognition thereof. Mary Wood died on 22 Feb. 1989, aged 81. Custodial History: The collection of Mary Wood grew out of the former’s life-long fascination with the history of Vaughan. The material constituting this body of records was, with small exception, collected by Mrs. Wood from a multitude of sources, local and otherwise. The first accession of the Mary Wood Collection was received in 1987, with another arriving in the Archives in 1990. The collection was fully arranged and described in August 1993. Access Restrictions: None. Copyright, Use and Reproduction: Copyright for this collection lies with the City of Vaughan Archives. Credit must be accorded the latter in the event of any portion of this collection being utilized in the written, audio-visual, or digital format. The following citation is acceptable: City of Vaughan Archives, Mary Wood Collection, M990-30, MG-10, sous fonds and series name, and number or letter (as applicable). 3 Scope and Content: The Mary Wood Collection spans the years 1820-1989, with the bulk of the material documenting the period 1900-1984. The collection is divided into two sous fonds: the Wood/Hollingshead family fonds, 1896- 1964; and Mary Wood collected matter, 1820-1989, predominantly 1900-1984. The collection reflects the activities and principal areas of interest of Mrs. Wood and to a lesser extent provides evidence on the Wood and Hollingshead families. Accordingly, collected material relating to the history of Vaughan Township, with a special emphasis on Woodbridge, predominates. The core of the collected materials sous fonds is the scrapbook series, which provides a wealth of information on a wide range of subjects relating to Vaughan’s past. Equally significant are the graphic materials series, which provide extensive visual evidence pertaining to Vaughan. The remainder of the collected materials sous fonds consists of essays and articles, school text books, local government records, and the records of certain local businesses. The Wood/Hollingshead family papers sous fonds, in addition to elucidating upon the said families, provides evidence of early education in Vaughan Township through the school records of Alvin Wood. The collection, upon receipt of the City of Vaughan Archives, was discovered to be in relatively good order. Therefore, with minor exception, constituent series were identified and the existing file arrangement merely refined to enhance accessibility. Also, where possible, Mrs. Wood’s original subject terminology has been utilized in description. Thus, arrangement and description by the Archives reflect Mary Wood’s eclectic conception of these topics, events, persons, places, etc. constituting the history of the Vaughan area, and all significant internal relationships between the records, insofar as was possible, have been preserved. Sous fonds A: Wood/Hollingshead Family Fonds, 1896-1964. 12 cm. of textual records. ca. 119 photoprints. Biography: Mary Wood, whose biographical sketch is recorded earlier, was a descendant of the Hollingshead family, United Empire Loyalists who took an active part in the defense of Upper Canada against the American onslaught during the War of 1812. The Hollingsheads