Fonds F2224 - Clarkson Family fonds

Identity area

Reference code

CA OTTCA F2224

Title

Clarkson Family fonds

Date(s)

  • 1904-1963 (Creation)

Level of description

Fonds

Extent and medium

32.5 cm of textual records
32 photographs
13 artefacts

Context area

Name of creator

(1881-1963)

Biographical history

The Clarksons were a prominent Toronto family associated with the accounting and stock brokerage firm, Clarkson Gordon. The majority of the records in this fonds pertains to Alice Amelia Clarkson (née Baines, 14 December 1881 - 10 March 1964), daughter of Mary Louise Baines (née Conventay, 1858-1933) and Christopher C. Baines (b. 1846), and her descendants. Alice Clarkson, sometimes referred to as Vally, attended Bishop Strachan School before enrolling at Trinity College in 1901. She graduated with a B.A. in 1904. Alice Clarkson’s sister, Marguerite Baines (1884-1951?), a frequent and constant correspondent of her sister, never married and lived with her mother. Marguerite and Alice would often accompany Mary Baines on her frequent travels to Europe, Asia, and the United States. By the 1920s, Marguerite and her mother would take up permanent residence in Vancouver.

Alice Clarkson married Frederick Curzon Clarkson (3 December 1880-6 August 1951), son of Amy Lambe Clarkson (1852-1925) and Edward Roper Clarkson (1852-1931) on 7 October 1909. For the majority of their married life they lived at 58 Admiral Road in Toronto. Frederick Clarkson worked for his father’s accounting firm, E.R.C Clarkson and Sons, later Clarkson Gordon & Co.

Alice and Frederick Clarkson had three children, Margaret Eleanor Clarkson (b. 8 May 1912), Frederick Curzon Clarkson (1914-1973?), and Cuthbert B. Clarkson (b. 1920). Margaret (Margot) Clarkson studied at Ovenden College, Barrie, before attending Trinity College in 1929. She graduated with a B.A in 1933. She never married and became a social worker based in New York City in the 1940s. Like her mother and grandmother, she travelled extensively in her youth during the 1930s.

Curzon Clarkson attended Lakefield Preparatory School as a child and entered Trinity College in September of 1933, where he stayed until May of 1934. In September 1934 he transferred to a vocational training school in Detroit, Michigan, most likely the General Motors Institute. Curzon married Mary Louise Porter with whom he had two children: Frederick (Rick) Clarkson (1944?-1998) and Pegi Clarkson (d. 2014). He settled in St. Catharines, Ontario, with his family.

Cuthbert Clarkson attended Upper Canada College and Queen’s University. In 1941 he joined the Royal Canadian Ordnance Corps and served overseas in Britain most likely from 1943 to 1946. His marital status is unknown. He appears to have resided with his mother, Alice Clarkson, during the final two decades of her life.

Archival history

Immediate source of acquisition or transfer

Helen Slade, Nursing Don at St. Hilda’s, Trinity College, brought the records to the Trinity College Archives in the 1980s. They were accessioned and ownership was formally transferred by Pegi Clarkson in 1991.

Content and structure area

Scope and content

The fonds is largely a collection of correspondence between various members of the Clarkson family, spanning most of their lives from 1904 to about 1963. A substantial amount of the material focuses on their travels and the primary recipient is Alice Baines Clarkson. The fonds also contains family and Trinity related photographs, diaries, records from the Women’s Musical club, and other memorabilia.

Appraisal, destruction and scheduling

Accruals

System of arrangement

Arranged by the archivist.

Conditions of access and use area

Conditions governing access

Open

Conditions governing reproduction

Public Domain

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

Related units of description

Related descriptions

Notes area

Alternative identifier(s)

Access points

Subject access points

Place access points

Name access points

Description control area

Description identifier

OTTCA-F2224

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Dates of creation revision deletion

2016-07-22

Language(s)

  • English

Script(s)

Sources

Accession area

Related subjects

Related people and organizations

Related places