Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
- Textual record
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on provenance of the collection.
Level of description
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1939 (Custody)
- Custodian
- Morse, William Inglis
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1787 - 1939 (Creation)
- Creator
- Rowley, Owsley Robert
Physical description area
Physical description
2 m of textual records and other material (777 letters, 13 licenses, 5 postcards)
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Owsley Robert Rowley was a Canadian banker, churchman, and author. He published two works, the first in 1907, titled The House of Bishops: portraits of the living archbishops and bishops of the Church of England in Canada, in order of consecration, with short historical notes concerning them and their dioceses, together with the portraits of the Lord Archbishop of Canterbury, the Lord Bishop of London and the first colonial bishop, and the second in 1928, titled The Anglican episcopate of Canada and Newfoundland (which also had three supplements published, the latest in 2008).
Rowley was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia in 1858, and was educated there. He began a career in banking in 1884 at the the Bank of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, and would move on to work for the Merchants Bank of Canada and the Bank of British North America, until 1900. He would then work as an accountant for two years in Halifax, Nova Scotia, until he became an Inspector of branch returns in Montreal, Quebec in 1902. He was married to a woman named Mabel Treacher in 1905, in Windsor, Ontario, and would have a daughter named Grace. In 1912, he was promoted to Chief Inspector of branch returns, and in 1916, to Chief Inspector and Superintendent of eastern branches of the Bank of British North America, Montreal. In 1918, he became an Inspector of the Bank of Montreal, which had taken over the Bank of British North America.
Rowley was also a military man, having served from the 1880s to 1909 in the Canadian Militia. He was a Lieutenant with the 77th Wentworth Battallion in Dundas, Ontario, and served with the 13th Royal Regiment in Hamilton. From 1887 to 1902, he was part of the 66th Princess Louise Fusiliers in Halifax, and then was a Captain of the 5th Royal Scots of Canada in Montreal. From 1905 to 1909, he was honourary captain and paymaster, 2nd Regiment, Canadian Artillery in Montreal, and was awarded the Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long officers' long service medal.
Rowley's involvement with the Anglican Church was similarly long-standing. He first became a people's warden of the Church of St. James the Apostle in Montreal, from 1905 to 1905, and then Rector's Warden from 1911 to 1912. He was Lay delegate to the Synod of the Anglican Diocese of Montreal from 1905 to 1932, and for two years was honourary secretary of the Diocese of the Arctic from 1933 to 1935. In 1934 and 1935, he was Lay delegate to the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada, representing the Diocese of the Arctic. Finally, from 1934 to the 1940s, he was a member of the executive council of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada.
Owsley Robert Rowley passed away in November of 1949, from injuries sustained in a car accident.
Custodial history
The collection was assembled by Owsley Robert Rowley, a noted Anglican scholar, who used the letters when doing research for his landmark text, The Anglican Episcopate of Canada and Newfoundland and Canada, which was published in 1928. Dr. William Inglis Morse, a Nova Scotia-born clergyman, bibliophile and collector, bought the collection from Rowley in 1939. Dr. Morse donated the Rowley collection to the University of Kings College Library on August 17, 1939.
Scope and content
Fonds consists of correspondence written by 93 Anglican bishops from dioceses across Canada. Most of the letters were written during the bishops' episcopates, although a few date from before the bishop's consecration. Most of the letters are manuscript, but 95 are typewritten originals. Several of the letters were written to Owsley Robert Rowley, relating to his requests for data and photographs of the bishops for Rowley's book, The Anglican Episcopate of Canada and Newfoundland. The letters range in date from those written by Charles Inglis, the first Bishop of Nova Scotia, in the late 18th century, to letters written in the late 1930s by Archibald Lang Fleming, first Bishop of the Arctic. Subjects discussed in the letters include the mundane, such as arrangements for visits or acknowledging receipt of a book, to those of major significance, such as the development of the Church in the West. The bishops wrote of missionary work, clerical appointments; establishment of new parishes, and political and business figures. Topics include colonial politics; missionary work in the North in harrowing conditions that required travel to remote areas by snowshoe, canoe, motor boat and airplane; debate concerning surplice usage while preaching; Bishop Medley's opinion on church architecture; residential schools; missionary work; financial difficulties; mining; railroads; Lambeth Conferences; Synods; Governor Schultz [John Christian], who was involved in the Louis Riel rebellion; Lord Mount Stephen and Lord Strathcona, prominent figures in Canadian railway history; canon law; elections of bishops; and the University of King's College. The bishops' letters were written in locations spanning Canada, including St. John's, Newfoundland; Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia; Carcross and Dawson City in the Yukon; Halifax, Montreal, Toronto and Winnipeg. In addition to the 777 letters in the collection, there is a poem written by Aubrey George Spencer; a writing sample and autograph from Bishop Stanser; a letter from Charles Ingles, rector of Sydney, Cape Breton, Nova Scotia; a letter from J. How to Dr. F. W. Vroom attached to letter of John Inglis; a printed proclamation from John Medley announcing Bishop Kingdon's consecration; a letter from Rowley to Archbishop Matheson; a lease; and an advertisement. These documents are filed in the relevant bishop's series.
Notes area
Physical condition
- The collection consists of 2 m of textual records. In addition, during the course of the arrangement and description project, each letter was photocopied and the copies placed in three-ring binders. About 90 per cent of the letters are handwritten, many of them on diocesan letterhead. Ninety-five letters are typed. Most of the letters are short, one or two pages, although a few extend to five or six pages.
- Some letters are fragile, ripped and torn. Many are difficult to read due to handwriting style. Morse applied his “Ex libris” rubber stamp to every document in the collection, obscuring handwriting in some instances.
Immediate source of acquisition
Dr. William Inglis Morse, who acquired the letters either directly from Owsley Robert Rowley or another source, donated the collection to the University of Kings College on August 17, 1939. Before this arrangement and description project, the letters were known in the University Library and Archives as ANG 43. Pamphlet Box. Episcopal letters (754), 1785-1938. MSS. The collection arrived at Kings College in 19 manila envelopes (31 cm x 24 cm), each stamped with Morses Ex libris rubber stamp. Morse labeled the envelopes by diocese and also listed the names of the bishops whose letters were in each envelope. The entire collection had been stored in one small file box for the past several decades.
Arrangement
Rowleys arrangement scheme for the letters is unknown. His book, Anglican Bishops of Canada and Newfoundland, is organized by date of the bishops consecrations. However, after Rowleys book was published, some bishops moved to other dioceses, thus making it difficult to organize the letters according to consecration dates. Morse sorted the letters by diocese, presenting them to Kings in large manila envelopes on which he had written the diocese, bishops names and signatures, and number of letters from each bishop in the envelope.
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script note
The bishops' letters are signed using the long-standing practice of a bishop's first name or initials plus his diocese name as his signature, e.g., Charles Nova Scotia.
Location of originals
- All of the letters are originals, with the exception of one letter by Rowley to Bishop Matheson.* ORR.[series no.].[item number]
Availability of other formats
Eighty-nine of the letters were transcribed during the arrangement and description project and are available in digital format from the University Librarian and Archivist. All of the Nova Scotia bishops' letters were transcribed, as were all the letters of John Dart, Jacob Mountain and John Strachan. Some letters of John Medley and George Jehoshaphat Mountain were transcribed. All of the letters have been photocopied. The binders of photocopies may be consulted in the University Library.
Restrictions on access
There are no restrictions on access.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
- The most recent letters may be under copyright. Permission of the University Librarian and Archivist is required to reproduce any of the materials.
- Written permission of the University Librarian and Archivist is required for publication of any of the materials.
Finding aids
A hard copy finding aid with series and item lists is available in the University of King's College Library and Archives.
Uploaded finding aid
Associated materials
Correspondence from or to bishops represented in this collection may be available in other institutions, such as diocesan archives.
Accruals
No further accruals expected.
General note
William Inglis Morse referred to the collection as “Episcopal Letters” on a list he sent to Dr. Stanley Walker, President of the University of King's College, on August 19, 1939, shortly after donating the letters to King's.
Alternative identifier(s)
Standard number
Standard number
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- University of King's College Library (Subject)
Genre access points
Control area
Description record identifier
Institution identifier
Rules or conventions
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation, revision and deletion
2014-12-09
Language of description
- English