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| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Fonds | | No.: | PR0206 | | TITLE: | James Grierson MacGregor fonds | | CREATOR: | James Grierson MacGregor | | DATE RANGE: | 1792-1983, predominant 1870-1983 | | EXTENT: | 6.15 m of textual records and other material
Also includes ca. 749 photographs, ca. 118 negatives, ca. 189 maps, 13 transparencies and 1 audio cassette. | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | James Grierson MacGregor was born at Dornoch, Scotland in 1905. In 1906 the MacGregor family moved to Canada and settled on a homestead west of Westlock, Alberta. James MacGregor attended the University of Alberta and graduated in 1926 with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Three years later he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the same university. MacGregor then joined Canadian Utilities Limited as a professional engineer, rising to the position of general manager in 1950. In 1952 he resigned from the company to become Chairman of the Alberta Power Commission. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1970. In 1949 MacGregor began writing and released his first book entitled Blankets and Beads. Over the course of his writing career he wrote 20 books about the history of Alberta and Western Canada including The Land of Twelve Foot Davis, Behold the Shining Mountains and Northwest of 16, an autobiographical account of his parents’ experiences homesteading near Westlock. His writings have brought him awards from the Historical Society of Alberta, the Canadian Historical Association and the American Association for State and Local History. MacGregor was granted an honourary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta in 1971 and the Medal of Service of the Order of Canada in 1973. He also served a term as Governor of the Glenbow-Alberta Institute.James MacGregor died in Edmonton on October 10, 1989. At the time of his death he was survived by his wife Francis, his son, Jim and his two daughters, Helen and Jean. | | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | Fonds consists of records pertaining to MacGregor’s career as a writer and an engineer as well as records reflecting his historical interests and involvement with various organizations. These include research notes, manuscripts, photographs, diaries, correspondence, daily calendars and maps. The fonds has been divided into the following series: Personal records; Professional and cultural organizations; Publications; and Reference material. | | RELATED RECORDS: | Other records pertaining to MacGregor are located in accession PR1980.179 at the Provincial Archives of Alberta. | | GENERAL NOTE: | Some of the information in the Biographical sketch was obtained from the Edmonton Journal, October 13, 1989. | | RELATED ITEMS: | A21816 (Unidentified men with canoe on a river bank.)
A3008 (Water Wheels in Alberta)
A3009 (Water Wheels in Alberta)
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