Fonds F2101 - Reginald Sidney Kingsley Seeley fonds

Identity area

Reference code

CA OTTCA F2101

Title

Reginald Sidney Kingsley Seeley fonds

Date(s)

  • 1909-1974 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

85 cm of textual records
11 Photographs
5 rolls of film
1 artefact

Context area

Name of creator

(1908-1957)

Biographical history

Reginald Sidney Kingsley Seeley, administrator, educator, theologian, and Provost of Trinity College, was born in 1908 in Herefordshire, England. He was the son of the Venerable George Henry Seeley, sometime Archdeacon of Rangoon. He attended Marlborough College and Christ's College, Cambridge. He took both parts of a Classical Tripos then studied theology at Ridley Hall, Cambridge, graduating with a B.A. in 1930 and an M.A. in 1934.

He was made deacon in 1932 and priest in 1933 in Coventry Cathedral, and he served for two years as curate of Rugby Parish Church. In 1934 he returned to Cambridge as Chaplain of St. John's College. He assumed additional duties as organizing secretary of the Cambridge Mission to Delhi (1935), and was also examining chaplain to the Bishop of Bristol. He came to Canada in 1938 as Professor of Exegetical Theology at St. John's College, Winnipeg, and as canon of St. John's Cathedral in that city. In 1941 he was appointed Warden of St. John's College, and in 1943 became rector of St. George's Cathedral, Kingston, and Dean of the Diocese of Ontario.

Seeley was appointed Provost and Vice-Chancellor of Trinity College, Toronto, in 1945. In 1952, Seeley oversaw the centenary celebration of Trinity College. His tenure also saw the construction of the chapel, which was consecrated in 1955, and a new residence house at the north-east side of the quadrangle. He was the liaison officer for the Colonial Service of Great Britain, vice-president of the Institute of Public Affairs, and the first president of the Classical Association of Canada. Seeley addressed the public through many radio broadcasts and was the author of The Sign of the Cross: A Meditation on the Place of the Cross in Human Living and The Function of the University.

Seeley married Marjory Peters on 30 July 1955 in St. John's Cathedral, Winnipeg. On 3 Aug 1957 he died from injuries sustained in a car accident in Trenton, Ontario.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

The fond was received in one accession after Provost Seeley’s death.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The fonds consists of lectures, speeches (in person and on radio broadcasts), and sermons given by Seeley in his capacity as priest, religious leader, and provost. Files include programmes from services, events, and conferences, pamphlets written by Seeley, notebooks, and correspondence between Seeley and others. Fonds also includes letters received by Mrs. Seeley after her husband’s death, newspaper clippings and obituaries, official documents, photographs, and a printing plate.
Contains series

  1. Sermons, lectures, speeches, and writings
  2. Documents relating to Trinity College
  3. Speeches and writings relating to education
  4. Personal records

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Materials have been arranged by the archivist in chronological order within each series.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open

Conditions governing reproduction

Various copyright holders. It is the researcher's responsibility to obtain permission to publish any part of the fonds.

Language of material

Script of material

Language and script notes

Physical characteristics and technical requirements

Finding aids

Uploaded finding aid

Allied materials area

Existence and location of originals

Existence and location of copies

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Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

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Description control area

Description identifier

OTTCA-F2101

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Dates of creation revision deletion

2016-07-25

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

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