This fonds contains five personal volumes of mid- to late-19th century sheet music belonging to female members of the Adams and Bowlby families of Canada West/Ontario. It has been organized into two series, reflecting the two family lines from which the women came: Series I (Adams family) and Series II (Bowlby family). Each volume bears the name of its owner and contains an assortment of vocal or instrumental music designed for domestic use. For the middle-classes of 19th century North America it was common practice to conclude a young woman’s years of musical training by compiling her sheet music into a personalized bound volume. Each volume therefore reflects the owner/performer’s tastes, training, and proficiency, which songs, composers, and social dance styles were popular during the years of her training, and what music was available to her either through purchase or as a gift. The resulting volumes were used in subsequent years for home or community performance among family, friends, and neighbours, as well as for personal entertainment. As such, the Adams/Bowlby volumes offer snapshots of Victorian musical culture in their owners’ small communities during southern Ontario’s late-colonial/early-Confederation period. They also provide a glimpse into one means (musical accomplishment) by which young middle-class women could improve their chances of economic security: either by demonstrating a degree of gentility that resulted in a desirable marriage or by acquiring skills that would allow them to find employment as music teachers. The finding aid contains detailed lists of the content of each volume.

This fonds contains publications, along with a small amount of correspondence and ephemera, relating to graduates (alumni) of Assumption College and University dating back to 1870. All items were produced in the 20th c. but may include information related to 19th c. alumni as well. Publications present in the fonds include the Catalogue of Assumption College, Kaleidoscope, Alumni Times, and Alumni Chatter. Also present are several 1990s issues of the University of Windsor’s Emeritus Society News. Of note: words and music for Assumption fight songs.

This fonds principally contains records connected with the Congregation of St. Basil (Basilian Fathers) whose members administered Assumption College and Assumption University from 1870 onward. Secondarily, it contains varied records that document the history of Assumption and its evolution over time. Included are legal documents, memos, correspondence, ephemera, constitutions and rules, historical narratives and memoirs, reports, and a variety of Basilian publications and formal histories of Assumption. Some items pertain to Catholic education broadly, or to the history of the Catholic Church in Southwestern Ontario. Of special note are Assumption fight songs and a victory song, and the Second World War war diary of Rev. Mike Dalton, a military chaplain.

This fonds contains records of students and student activities at Assumption College and Assumption University, ca. 1870s-1980s. It also includes some records from Assumption High School in that period, and for the University of Western Ontario during the years of Assumption’s affiliation with Western. Included are roll books and testimonials; minutes of the Literary Society; newsletters, yearbooks, and student publications; handbooks for students, residents, and faculty; promotional and recruitment brochures for Assumption; ephemera relating to special events, convocation, dramatics, and athletics; program and course listings; and news clippings. There is a small amount of material relating to student grades or schoolwork, alumni, Second World War servicemen, and deceased Basilian Fathers. Of special note: correspondence relating to the Assumption victory song, a history of Holy Names College, and brochures for 1940s summer school offerings listing Wyndham Lewis and Marshall McLuhan as faculty.

This fonds contains records connected with 22 Superiors or Presidents of Assumption College and University, ca. 1861-2009. For the most part it is organized chronologically by individual, although later accruals to the fonds have led to some quirks in file numbering or arrangement. Much of the fonds consists of administrative correspondence connected with institutional matters. There are also photographs, reports, publications, statistics, and notes on various subjects.