Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Alan (Al) Roy Stewart fonds
General material designation
- Textual record
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
MS-15-21
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
Physical description area
Physical description
56 cm of textual records and objects
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
(1942-2020)
Biographical history
Alan Roy Stewart was an active member of GAE/GALA, the TightRope Leather Brotherhood, St John's United Church in Halifax, and later Grace United Church in Dartmouth. Stewart played an integral role in attaining "Affirmed" status for St John's through the Affirming Ministries Program offered by Affirm United, an advocacy organization founded in 1982 that supports LGBTQ members of the United Church of Canada. He also helped to organize the first AIDS Vigil in Halifax. He was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, in 1942, and received his early education in Yarmouth and at Riverdale Collegiate in Toronto. As a teenager, he joined the Royal Canadian Sea Cadet Corps Chebogue, rising to become an officer/instructor. In 1966 he graduated from Mount Allison University with a BA in Philosophy and History, earning a BEd the following year. While at Mount Allison he directed the Theological Society Chapel Choir and served on the Student Representative Council. After graduation he served in the Canadian Royal Navy as a sub lieutenant for five years and taught at Dartmouth High School for three years before buying a motor cycle shop on Gottingen Street, Halifax. From there he went to the Provincial Court as a court clerk, retiring in 2007. He was also active in the NSGEU as a shop steward. He died on 10 June 2020, survived by his longtime partner, Michael Sangster.
Custodial history
Records were donated by Alan Stewart's partner, Michael Sangster, after Stewart's death in 2020. Due to restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, materials were housed with Dan MacKay before being transferred to the Dalhousie University Archives in February 2021.
Scope and content
Fonds contains materials collected by Al Stewart as part of his involvement in the Maritime leather community, his LGBT advocacy work at Saint John's United Church in Halifax, and his involvement in the broader LGBT community in Nova Scotia. Leather community records document the activities of the TightRope leather brotherhood, Mr. Atlantic Canada Leather [MACLeather] contests, and other leather groups across Canada and the United States. Materials include administrative records, photographs, promotional materials, correspondence, newsletters, and catalogues. United Church materials primarily relate to Stewart's efforts to attain Affirmed status for St. John's United Church, and include reference materials, correspondence, and newsletters. Fonds also contains objects and ephemera related to the leather community, Affirm, and Stewart's membership in the Nova Scotia Government and General Employees Union [NSGEU], as well as personal photographs, correspondence, and LGBT publications.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
There are no access restrictions on these materials. All materials are open for research.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Materials do not circulate and must be used in the Archives and Special Collections Reading Room. Materials may be under copyright. Contact departmental staff for guidance on reproduction.
Finding aids
Associated materials
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
General note
Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Alan Roy Stewart fonds, MS-15-21, Box [box number], Folder [folder number], Dalhousie University Archives, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number area
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Nova Scotia LGBT Seniors Archive (Collector)