Prairie Immigration Experience: A.S. Morton Manuscript Collection

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Institution: University of Saskatchewan Library Special Collections

Collection Identifier: MSS C555/1

Title: A.S. Morton Manuscript Collection

Dates: ca. 1911-1960 [predominant 1920s]

Extent: 48 cm of textual and graphic material

Biographical Sketch: Arthur Silver Morton was born on 16 May 1870 at the village of Iere, Trinidad, British West Indies, the son of Nova Scotian missionaries. With a scholarship from the Government of the Island, he entered the University of Edinburgh, eventually receiving both an MA and a BDiv. In 1896, after a summer of study at the University of Berlin, Morton arrived in Canada and was ordained by the Presbytery of St. John, New Brunswick. He served as a minister until 1904 when he started his career as a lecturer in church history, first at the Presbyterian College in Halifax, and later Knox College in Toronto. Morton came to the University of Saskatchewan in 1914 and served both as head of the History Department and University Librarian until his retirement in 1940. Upon arriving in Saskatoon, Morton embarked on the study of Western Canadian History and the preservation of the region's historical documents and historic sites. Over the next four decades he published several books. Upon his retirement he was named Professor Emeritus. Morton died 26 January 1945.

Digitized Material: The digitized material from the A.S. Morton Manuscript Collection includes photographs and documents relating to prairie settlement, including pioneer accounts; manuscripts collected by James Frederick Church Wright relating to the Doukhobours in Canada; statements of pioneer settlers; stories of pioneer experiences in Saskatoon; early settlers' reminscences; documents pertaining to immigration among Hungarians, Mennonites, Icleanders, and Ukrainians; the papers of "New Canadians"; biographies; and the Meilicke papers.

For a full description of the A.S. Morton Manuscript Collection search the databases of
Archives Canada and the Saskatchewan Archival Information Network (SAIN).

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