Collection

McDonell Family fonds

Description Level

Series

GMD

textual record

graphic material

Fonds No.

PF12

Series No.

S1

Accession No.

1984.3

1990.105

2009.22

2017.5

2017.46

Physical Description

12.5 cm of textual records

11 b&w photographs

Date Range

[1910-1960]

History / Biographical

Alexander Roy McDonell (Jr.) was born in Orillia, Ontarion on January 2nd, 1885, to parents Alexander Roy McDonell (Sr.) and Catherine Campbell. While McDonell first worked as a teacher in Ontario, he decided to move west to pursue other career options, moving to Hazelton, B.C., around 1910. Once in Hazelton, McDonell played for the Hazelton Hockey Team (1912-1913) and coached the Hazelton Baseball Team (1913), while also working as a timekeeper for the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway near Hazelton. He later pursued work as a prospector, working in the Rocher de Boule Mine. He returned to Ontario briefly to marry his fiancée, Nellie Geneveive Cavanagh (born January 4, 1886) and together they moved back to Hazelton, B.C. On August 21, 1921, their son John (aka Jack) Donald McDonell was born. On June 8, 1923, the McDonells prematurely lost their daughter, May Geneveive McDonell, one day after her birth. Nellie passed away shortly after, leaving Roy to raise his then two-year old son, John. Thus, McDonell asked his sister, Margaret, a music teacher, to move to Hazelton to help care for his son. Roy McDonell was heavily involved in the local sports teams, coaching hockey teams and umpiring baseball games. He also worked as a fisheries inspector for the Department of Fisheries in Smithers, B.C. until his retirement around 1948. In May 16, 1943, McDonell’s son, John, was killed in a flying accident while serving as a pilot for the Royal Canadian Air Force (R.C.A.F.) in Scotland. On January 1, 1963, McDonell passed away in Smithers, B.C.

Scope and Content

Records primarily reflect McDonell’s time as a Fisheries Inspector and include correspondence, newspaper clippings, receipts, tax records and photographs. This series also includes records collected by McDonell, which pertain to his son, John Donald McDonell. These records include photographs and correspondence. Photographs depict Roy and John together, John in the R.C.A.F. and John’s funeral and grave.

Arrangement

Files 10 and 11 held numerous receipts kept by Roy McDonell. Considering the repetition of purchases and volume of such records, a sample of was taken and the rest destroyed. As well, files 10 and 11 contain tax records related to properties held in Mary McDonell’s name. However, these are arranged under Roy McDonell as the records seem to have been collected and held by him.

Type of Record

Archival Description

Less detail