Fonds F0683 - Herbert Hunt fonds

Farm record and expense journal - 1927 Diary - 1928 Farm record and expense journal - 1926 Diary entries - October 1929 - March 1930 Account book - 1926 - 1927 Account book - 1930 Diary entries - September 1929 Receipt bundle - 1931 - 1935 Calendar notebook - 1937 Calendar notebook, addresses - 1934 - 1935 Receipt bundle - 1931 - 1932 Diary - 1932 Account book - 1931 Diary - 1933 Calendar notebook - 1936 - 1937 Receipt bundle - 1929 - 1935 Calendar notebook, diary - 1936 Letter of recommendation from the British Empire Service League - 27 May 1926 Land sale agreement - 12 January 1927 Letter from Canada's assistant director of European emigration - 7 May 1926 Winning through: Stories of life on Canadian farms told by new British settlers - 1929 Elegy, draft - between 1926 and 1936 Empire settlement Canada - 1936 Untitled, draft - between 1926 and 1936 Manchester Liners pamphlet - ca. 1936 British family settlement in New Brunswick Canada - 1929 St. Walburg Enterprise - 27 August 1936 Atlas of Canada - between 1926 and 1936 Farm record and expense journal - 1926 Farm record and expense journal - 1927 Account book - 1926 - 1927 Diary - 1928 Diary entries - September 1929 Diary entries - October 1929 - March 1930 Account book - 1930 Account book - 1931 Receipt bundle - 1929 - 1935 Receipt bundle - 1931 - 1932 Receipt bundle - 1931 - 1935 Diary - 1932 Diary - 1933 Calendar notebook, addresses - 1934 - 1935 Calendar notebook, diary - 1936 Calendar notebook - 1936 - 1937 Calendar notebook - 1937 Letter from Canada's assistant director of European emigration - 7 May 1926 Letter of recommendation from the British Empire Service League - 27 May 1926 Land sale agreement - 12 January 1927 Winning through: Stories of life on Canadian farms told by new British settlers - 1929 Empire settlement Canada - 1936 Elegy, draft - between 1926 and 1936 Untitled, draft - between 1926 and 1936 British family settlement in New Brunswick Canada - 1929 St. Walburg Enterprise - 27 August 1936 Manchester Liners pamphlet - ca. 1936 Atlas of Canada - between 1926 and 1936

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Herbert Hunt fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record

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Fonds

Reference code

F0683

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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Physical description area

Physical description

0.08 m of textual records and other material

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(-1985)

Biographical history

Herbert William Hunt served in the artillery for the British Army during the First World War while his wife, Jessica, served in the Voluntary Aid Detachment. Hunt and his wife tried to build an agrarian life for themselves in England for six year after the war, without success. Disappointed, Hunt applied to the 3,000 Family Settlement Scheme, a joint initiative by the governments of the United Kingdom and Canada to resettle British families on farmland in central and western Canada. Canada’s Department of Immigration and Colonization accepted Hunt’s application to participate in the Settlement Scheme in March 1926. By the end of May, Hunt and his wife began their migration to their settlement, which was located north of Spruce Lake and east of St.Walburg in Saskatchewan. After completing the probationary apprenticeship of one year, during which time new settlers were required to demonstrate their fitness by working as farm hands, Hunt purchased 160 acres of farmland from the Soldier Settlement Board. On this farm, Hedgerows, Hunt primarily cultivated wheat. Hunt and his wife struggled to acclimatize to Canada, the harsh prairie weather in particular. His crops also suffered under frost and drought. The family’s financial hardship was compounded by the low market prices of grains during the depression. After spending a challenging decade in Saskatchewan, Hunt and his wife returned to England in 1936. Hunt died in Benfleet, Essex, England in 1985.

Custodial history

After Hunt’s death the records were kept in the custody of his nephew, A. Godfrey Hunt, who reorganized the materials in a rough chronological order.

Scope and content

Fonds consists of diaries, account books, crop records, photographs, publications and drafts written by Hunt, correspondence, contracts, receipts, government documents and publications, newspaper and magazine articles, maps, and ephemera. Hunt’s correspondence with various government officials and travel coordinators documents his enrollment in the Settlement Scheme, and the processes involved in migrating from England to Canada. Hunt’s participation in the scheme is further documented by his accumulation of government publications and legal documents, as well as the journals and receipts that pertained to his farming activities. Photographs and maps depict Hedgerows farm and its location. Newspaper and magazine clippings and other printed ephemera collected by Hunt, while in Saskatchewan and after his return to England, record his continued interest in the fates of his fellow settlers. Although Hunt published an essay recounting his experiences positively, his drafts speak of his ultimate discontent with the Settlement Scheme.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Donated by A. Godfrey Hunt in 2015.

Arrangement

Contents of the fonds were arranged by a practicum student under the supervision of the University Archivist. Documents are grouped by media and activity, and are arranged chronologically within the files.

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

No restrictions on access.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

Associated materials

Records relating to Herbert Hunt’s service in the British army were donated by A. Godfrey Hunt to the Firepower Royal Artillery Museum, Woolwich.

Related materials

Accruals

The fond comprises the following accessions: 2016-006. Further accruals may be expected.

General note

An online exhibit pertaining to the Herbert Hunt fonds is available at http://archives.library.yorku.ca/exhibits/show/seekingthatacreandacow.

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Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

2016/06/10 Natalia Pietrzykowski. Created.
2020/05/01 KCP. Migrated YUDL metadata created by Natalia Pietrzykowski.

Language of description

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Accession area