The Mount Allison University Archives is pleased to maintain the papers of Ella L. Smith. She is a member of the first cohort of women to earn a degree from Oxford University in 1921 when women were finally allowed to matriculate. She is the first Canadian woman to earn her MA there. In addition to papers and correspondence related to her speaking tours and research, the fonds includes photographs and postcards documenting her travels throughout Europe during years of great upheaval in the period before the Second World War. Many of the records were accumulated and compiled by Prof. Smith to be used as teaching aids for her speaking tours.
She was a woman ahead of her time making trips into Soviet Russia, Eastern Europe following the end of the First World War and Spain during the civil war in the 1930s. She wanted to be a part of history and used what she learned to inform her lecture tours in North America. In many cases she had to hire local chaperones to escort her and offer language translation to get first hand accounts of what was happening.
This virtual exhibition is designed as an introduction for researchers interested in Ella L. Smith. A biographical sketch of her life is included with related information on selected members of the Smith family; details about her travels; recent projects focused on her life and work; and anecdotal information about this unique member of the Sackville community.
A fonds level archival description is provided to outline the extent and scope of the holdings. For further finding aids, details about copyright as well as information on terms and conditions of access or use of this fonds please contact the Mount Allison University Archives directly.
The Mount Allison University Archives hopes that this virtual exhibition will expand interest in the legacy of this trailblazer and noted member of the Allisonian community.