Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1919-1935 (Creation)
Level of description
Extent and medium
1 box
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Born in 1864, John Joseph Kelso, better known as J.J., was an Irish immigrant who, though a school dropout, eventually landed a full-time job at the Globe newspaper in 1887 as a police reporter. It's his role as a community activist, however, that Kelso is best known. Responding to the misery he saw among the destitute children of Toronto, he founded the Toronto Humane Society, which was orginally meant to prevent cruelty to animals, women and children. In 1891, he organized and became the first president of the Toronto Children's Aid Society. He was also the first provincial superintendent for neglected and dependent chilrden. He died in 1935.
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The collection consists of a scrapbook of newspaper clippings on child immigration to Canada as well as other miscellaneous items related to Kelso's work in social work. It also includes a typescript copy of Kelso's biography.
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
Material may be requested in person at the Fisher Library Reference Desk, or in advance using our online stack retrieval request form: https://aeon.library.utoronto.ca
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
- English