7.2A. Administrative history.1

At the highest level of description give information about the history of the corporate body responsible for the creation and/or accumulation and use of the unit being described as a whole. At subordinate levels, give information about the history of the corporate body responsible for the creation and/or accumulation and use of the unit being described.

Do not create an administrative history at subordinate levels unless the creator at that level is different from the creator of the higher level. When primary responsibility for the creation and/or accumulation and use of a unit being described is shared between two or more corporate bodies, create separate administrative histories for each corporate body.

Do not create an administrative history for a collection assembled by an archival repository. Where this information is relevant to understanding the collection, it should be presented as a general note (see 1.8B21).

Give information relevant to the understanding of the creator’s functions, activities, and relations with other corporate bodies as instructed in the following sub-elements. Put information about documentary processes and procedures important to the understanding of the records and of their creation in the Scope and content (see rule 1.7D).

Example administrative history Administrative history: By order-in-council dated 25 August 1987 the Nova Scotia Royal Commission on Health Care was established to undertake a comprehensive review of the health care system, including issues of cost and efficiency. The Commission's primary activities centred around public hearings, research and consultations with a variety of health care officials. Its report was submitted on 8 December 1989 and the Commission was dissolved\ (Administrative history in a narrative form for the fonds level description of the Nova Scotia Royal Commission on Health Care fonds) The Statistics Office began as the office of the Secretary of the Board of Statistics in 1851. The Statistics Office was responsible for conducting the censuses of 1851 and 1861. With the passage of the Registration Act of 1864 it administered the registration of births, marriages and deaths for the colony. After confederation in 1867, it became the local office of the Statistics Branch of the federal Department of Agriculture and Statistics and served as the Nova Scotia administrative office for the 1871 census\ (Administrative history in a narrative form for a series forming part of the Nova Scotia Registrar General of Vital Statistics fonds) The Ontario Advisory Council on Senior Citizens was first established on April 24, 1974 under the jurisdiction of the Provincial Secretariat for Social Development. It consisted of fourteen members appointed by Order-in-Council. In 1985, when the Provincial Secretariat for Social Development ceased to exist, the Advisory Council reported to the Legislature of Ontario through the Minister without Portfolio for Senior Citizens’ Affairs. In 1990, the council was transferred to the Ministry of Citizenship. The Council was abolished in 1996\ (Administrative history in a narrative form of the Ontario Advisory Council on Senior Citizens series where the series is the highest level of description) The Finnish Organization of Canada, Inc. (in Finnish, the Canadian Suomalainen Jaresto) was founded and incorporated under federal charter in 1923. The organization had its roots in the Finnish Socialist Organization of Canada (Canadian Suomalainen Sosialistijaresto) in 1911. The Finnish Socialist Organization was founded by Finnish dissidents expelled from the Socialist Party of Canada. Those Finns were also instrumental in founding a new socialist party: the Canadian Socialist Federation, later reconstituted as the Social-Democratic Party of Canada. From 1911 until 1930, the Finnish Socialist Organization of Canada was affiliated with the Social-Democratic Party of Canada, except for a brief interlude in 1918-1919 when wartime government regulations forced the Finns to operate independently as the "provisional" Finnish Organization of Canada. Since dissolving the last of its formal links with non-Finnish organizations in about 1930, the Finnish Organization of Canada has maintained its independence from other groups. Nevertheless, as in earlier years, it has continued to support the radical working-class movement both within and outside the Finnish community. Through its political, social or cultural endeavours, the Finnish Organization of Canada has provided continuous service, not only as this country's first and oldest active national organization for people of Finnish origin, but also as the central institution of the Finnish Canadian radical left\ (Administrative history in narrative form for collection level description of the Finnish Organization of Canada collection)

7.2A1. Dates of founding and/or dissolution.

Give the date of the founding of the corporate body, and if applicable, the date of its dissolution.

Established in 1920; dissolved in 1945

7.2A2. Mandate/sphere of functional responsibility, etc.

Record the authority of the corporate body in terms of its powers, functional sphere of responsibilities, or sphere of activities, and indicate any enabling legislation or other legal or policy instrument(s) setting them out. Summarize any significant changes in its authority and functions.

The Faculty is charged with administering primary and advanced degree programs in agriculture, forestry, and food science, and a two-year, pre-veterinary medicine program

The company specialized in steel fabrication and construction, especially of bridges and superstructures of buildings and cranes, though it constructed armaments during both world wars. It was also involved in various hydroelectric projects, and undertook numerous other major and minor steel fabrications and constructions for industry and government

7.2A3. Predecessor and successors bodies.

Give the facts of the relationship of the body with predecessor or successor bodies to its mandate, functions, or activities. In cases of corporate or administrative amalgamation, name the administrative or corporate entities involved and summarize the nature of the amalgamation.

The Department of Plant Science was created by the amalgamation in 1944 of the Department of Field Crops (founded 1917) and Horticulture (founded 1935). In 1961, the Department of Genetics separated from the Department of Plant Science to be located in the Faculty of Science

7.2A4. Administrative relationships.

Name any higher body or bodies having authority or control over the corporate body or any corporate body or bodies over which it exercises authority or control, and describe the nature and any change of the authority or controlling relationship.

In 1960, the governments of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick assumed operation of the school, relocated it to Amherst, N.S. and changed its name to the Interprovincial School for the Education of Deaf. In 1975 the four Atlantic provinces accepted responsibility for the education of hearing-impaired children under the auspices of the Atlantic Provinces Special Education Authority (APSEA) comprising the Deputy Minister of each province and two other persons appointed by each province

7.2A5. Administrative structure.

Record any information relating to the way the corporate body organized itself important to an understanding of the conduct of its affairs, including significant branches or divisions.

For administrative purposes, the Adjutant General’s Office for Lower Canada divided the province into two military districts, Quebec and Montreal, but in 1789 the districts of St. Thomas, Trois Rivieres and Bourcherville were created. The colonel commanding the Quebec district acted as Adjutant General for the province, although the office of the Adjutant General of Militia is not mentioned in provincial militia acts until 1796

7.2A6. Names of the corporate bodies.

Record any changes of the official name of the body not recorded in one of the other elements, any popular or common names by which it was known, and name(s) in other languages.

The Canadian Gallup poll was founded under the name of the Canadian Institute of Public Opinion, but has been popularly known as the Gallup Poll

7.2A7. Name(s) of chief officers.

Record the personal name(s) of persons holding the position as chief officer of the organization or corporate body if appropriate.

Ian H. MacDonald occupied the position of University President from 1974 to 1984

7.2A8. Other significant information.

Record information considered important which cannot be recorded in sub-elements 1.7B1a-1.7B1g.

7.2B. Biographical sketch.

At the highest level of description give information about the history of the person(s) or family(ies) responsible for the creation and/or accumulation and use of the unit being described as a whole. At subordinate levels give the information about the history of the person(s) or family(ies) responsible for the creation and/or accumulation and use of the unit being described.

Do not create a biographical sketch at subordinate levels unless the creator at that level is different from the creator of the unit being described as a whole. When primary responsibility for the creation and/or accumulation and use of a unit being described is shared between two or more persons or families, create separate biographical sketches for each person or family.

Give information relevant to the understanding of the creator’s life or activities, as instructed in the following sub-elements. Put information about documentary processes and procedures important to the understanding of the records and of their creation in the Scope and content (see 1.7D).

Example biographical sketch Reta Gueneva Mary Rowan came from England to Manitoba in 1919, then to Edmonton in 1920, where her husband, William Rowan, taught at the University of Alberta. Her interests were varied, ranging from involvement with cultural groups such as the Folk Festival Committee, to involvement with the Alberta Adult Education Society and with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. It was, however, her work with minority groups at the civic and provincial levels that claimed most of her time between 1942 and 1967. These included the Council for Canadian Unity, the Friends of the Indians Society and the Indian Association of Alberta\ (Biographical sketch at the fonds level for the Reta Rowan fonds) Muriel Helena Duckworth (nee Ball) was born in East Bolton, Quebec, in 1908. She received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in French and economics from McGill University in 1929 and afterwards studied with her husband, Jack Duckworth, at Union Theological Seminary. In 1930 they returned to Montreal where their children John, Martin, and Eleanor were born. During their residence in Montreal, Muriel Duckworth was active in the C.G.I.T., the Student Christian Movement, and Notre Dame de Grace Community Centre. She also helped to acquire for Jewish teachers the right to teach in Protestant Schools in Quebec. In 1947 the Duckworth family moved to Halifax, and Muriel joined the Adult Education Division of the Nova Scotia Dept. of Education as a part-time parent education advisor. Between 1962 and 1967 she worked as a program advisor to the Department. From 1967 she dedicated her efforts to groups concerned with the role and rights of women in society, education, pacifism, world development and cooperation and social justice. She was a founding member of the Voice of Women (Halifax) and national president of the Voice of Women (Canada) from 1967-1971. She was also a founding member of the Canadian Conference on Children, the Canadian Research Institute for the Advancement of Women, the Nova Scotia Festival of the Arts and the Junior School of Community Arts. She has received six honourary doctorates and holds the Insignia of the Order of Canada\ (Biographical sketch at the fonds level for the Muriel Duckworth fonds) Peter M. Duff (1876-1949), railroad manager, immigrated to Newfoundland in 1898 from Dundee, Scotland, at the request of Robert G. Reid to work with the Reid Newfoundland Company. Duff married Violet Dickenson, St. John's; they had two sons. He died in St. John's on 30 July 1949. Duff served as railroad manager for 43 years, initially for the Reid Newfoundland Company and later for its successor, the government-owned Newfoundland Railway. He was a member of the Masonic Fraternity, Rotary International, Murray's Pond Country Club and the Curling Club\ (Biographical sketch at the collection level for the Peter Duff collection)

7.2B1. Name(s).

Record the full name, married names, aliases, pseudonyms, and common or popular names of persons; the place and date of birth and death; the facts of marriage(s); and the names of children. For families, give information about the origin of the family and the name(s) of person(s) forming it.

Edgar Allardyce Wood wrote under the name of Kerry Wood. He was also known as Nobby

7.2B2. Place of residence.

Indicate the geographical place(s) of residence of the person or family, and the length of residence in each place.

Born in eastern Ukraine, Vsevolod Holubnychy fled with his family to Bavaria in 1943 to escape the Red Army. In 1951, he moved to New York City where he attended Columbia University. He was professor at the City University of New York from 1962 until his death

7.2B3. Education.

Give information about the formal education of persons, including members of families whose education is important to an understanding of their life.

His primary and secondary education in Moncton, New Brunswick was followed by a business training course. In 1929, he entered Victoria College in the University of Toronto and graduated in 1933 in the Honour course in Philosophy and English, standing first in first class honours each year. He then took the theological course at Emmanuel College, and was ordained in the United Church of Canada in 1936. He attended Merton College, Oxford from 1936 to 1939, graduated with first class honours in the English School and received the Oxford M.A. in 1940

7.2B4. Occupation, life and activities.

Give information about the principal occupation(s), and career or life work of persons, or about the activities of families. Also indicate any other activities important to an understanding of their life of the person or family. Identify important relationships with other persons or organizations, and indicate any offices held. Give information about significant accomplishments or achievements, including honours, decorations, and noteworthy public recognition.

Bruce Braden Peel was appointed chief cataloguer in 1951 and from 1955 until 1982 served as University Librarian, during which time the Library’s collection became the second largest in Canada. On his retirement the rare books room was named the Bruce Peel Special Collections Library in his honour, and in 1991 the University awarded him an honourary doctorate of laws

Kenneth Leslie was a poet, singer and musician, crusading editor, and political activist. He won the Governor General’s Award in 1938 for his collection of poems entitled By Stubborn Stars and Other Poems. His other collections include Winward Rock (1934), Such a Din! (1935) and Lowlands Low (1936). In New York, in 1938 Leslie began to edit and publish the Protestant Digest, a monthly publication devoted to religion and politics. In 1949 Leslie was accused of “un-American” activities. He returned to Nova Scotia and published a smaller version of the Protestant together with privately published editions of his own poems

7.2B5. Other significant information.

Record information considered important which cannot be recorded in sub-elements 1.7B2a-1.7B2d.

Revisions Note

This section incorporates rules from the following sections of RAD 2008: General rules for description (1.7).

  1. If the institution maintains a separate file containing authority records for persons, families and corporate bodies, etc., the biographical information or administrative history may be kept as part of the record for that person, family, or corporate body and, therefore, does not have to be given in the description of the material. This enables the same authority record and the biographical information or administrative history that it contains, to be used for other descriptions and used in finding aids and products, e.g., when the name is associated with a subject index entry, or the same person, family or corporate body occurs in other descriptions. However, if the authority files and descriptive records are not directly linked in an institution’s finding aid system and therefore do not automatically show together, it is strongly recommended that the archivist provide an abbreviated sketch. Since the use of an authority file constitutes an option, rule 0.5 applies. ↩

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