Valuable Resource: Women's Institute Tweedsmuirs

An overview of a valuable local history resource, Women's Institute Tweedsmuir scrapbooks.

By Megan Lockhart, Archives Technician

Our Archives is filled with many community records that are invaluable resources for researchers in search of local history information. One such resource that may sometimes be overlooked by the average researcher are the Women’s Institute Community Tweedsmuirs. For those who do not know, a Women’s Institute is a community-based organization for women. It is an organization for women to join together, socialize, learn new skills, contribute to local charities and philanthropic work, and aid in the development of children’s education and community safety and health. In the past, Oxford County had several Women’s Institutes, it was common for a Women’s Institute to exist for each community or geographical area such as a Township. Over the years, Women’s Institutes have slowly been dissolving due to waning membership.

Another important task that Women’s Institute members take on is the preservation of community history, often rural history in particular. The Tweedsmuir Community History Books in our collection are primarily scrapbooks, compiled into a series of volumes and contained with a binder, or bound in leather, wood, or a gold and blue cover. Some of the scrapbooks are organized by theme or are organized chronologically by year. Often one of the scrapbooks in the series will contain a history of the local Women’s Institute branch that compiled the history. The other scrapbooks will focus more on community history. These community history books contain valuable information including a history of the early settlers of the area, local farm history, history of businesses and industry, church and school histories, biographies of war veterans, village and town histories, and information on local events. The types of records included in the scrapbooks are written histories, maps, photographs, newspaper articles, letters, obituaries, birth and marriage announcement, anniversary and memorials programmes and more.

So how did this community history scrapbook initiative begin? Women’s Institutes in Canada began taking on the task of recording the history of communities, farms, and buildings in the 1920s. The Committee for Historical Research and Current Events was established in 1925. Susan Buchan, Baroness of Tweedsmuir, also known as Lady Tweedsmuir, was the wife of John Buchan, Baron Tweedsmuir, and Governor General of Canada from 1935 to 1940. By the 1930s, Lady Tweedsmuir took an interest in the Women’s Institutes of Canada. She was also an adamant supporter of the Women’s Institutes preserving community history, and she encouraged Ontario Women’s Institute branches to compile local histories into books similar to the projects undertaken by Women’s Institutes in England at the time. In 1940, Lady Tweedsmuir was widowed and the Women’s Institute community history books were named after her husband, which led to the creation of the “Tweedsmuir Community History Books” that we know today.

Susan Buchan, Lady Tweedsmuir

Lady Tweesmuir Image Source: https://fwio.on.ca/tweedsmuir-history-books