Question Number 230
I am a historian of nursing history and looking for provincial records related to the supply and demand for nurses from approximately 1875 to 1920. I am not finding info in your database -- although admittedly, I may not be using effective search terms. I have tried ministry of health as well as combinations of health and welfare. Could you guide me as to whether or not there are any such records at the PA of Alberta?
The Provincial Archives of Alberta was established in 1966. Prior to that time, there was no organized repository for Alberta archival records. Consequently, there is very little by way of government records surviving from the time period 1875 to 1920.
Note that the online database currently includes only a fraction of the holdings of the Provincial Archives. The descriptions are at a very high-level; detailed file lists are not currently searchable online.
The Provincial Archives holds a small quantity of memoirs and personal records from individual nurses, including one who served in the First World War. The Provincial Archives also holds the records of the Edmonton Branch of the VON; these commence in 1912 (PR1989.0188). There may be some references in the Department of (Public) Health fonds, but this would require some research to identify.
You may also wish to contact the:
College & Association of Registered Nurses of Alberta
11620 - 168 Street
Edmonton, AB
T5M 4A6
Phone: (780) 453-0534
E-mail: lmychajlunow@nurses.ab.ca
This organization maintains its own archives that document the history, functions and development of the professional association and professional nursing in Alberta.
|