Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Edith Archibald (MacMechan) Dobson fonds
General material designation
- Textual record
- Graphic material
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
MS-2-707
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
25 volumes ; 19 x 22 x 3 cm and smaller
1 photograph : b&w ; 20.5 x 25.5 cm
1 photograph : b&w ; 20.5 x 25.5 cm
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
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Numbering within publisher's series
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Archival description area
Name of creator
(1897 - 1990)
Biographical history
Edith "Polly" Archibald Dobson was born in Halifax on 17 November 1897, the youngest of three daughters of Edith MacMechan and Dalhousie professor Archibald MacMechan. Educated at Wakefield Girls' High School in Yorkshire, England, and then Halifax Ladies' College, she became the social secretary to Mrs. Alexander Graham Bell, at times living with the Bell family at Beinn Bhreagh, their Cape Breton estate. It was there that she met her husband, Commander C.C. (Tommy) Dobson, a member of the Admiralty Commission sent to evaluate Bell's hydrodrome invention. The couple married in 1920 in England and had twin daughters. They traveled extensively, following Dobson's posts. After his death in 1940, Edith returned to Canada and served in the Women's Royal Canadian Naval Service. In 1947, she settled in Nova Scotia and founded the Red Cross Lodge at Camp Hill Hospital, which she ran until her retirement in 1972. She died in 1990 following a short illness.
Custodial history
Records were donated to Dalhousie University Archives by Dr. Cathy Cervin, granddaughter of Edith Dobson, in accession (15-97) in 1997.
Scope and content
Fonds contains 23 volumes of Edith Dobson's personal diaries, written between 1948-1989, as well as two volumes of her travel diaries and a photograph of her at the time of her engagement in 1920.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
- English
Script of material
Language and script note
English
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
There are no 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
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
Further accruals are not expected.
General note
Preferred citation: [Identification of item], Edith Archibald (MacMechan) Dobson fonds, MS-2-707, 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
- MacMechan, Archibald McKellar (Subject)