This fonds contains documents pertaining to the life of William Hespeler, such as confirmation of attending the Polytechnic Institute in Karlsruhe (1847-1849), of deferment from military service in 1850, of immigration to Canada, and of naturalization as a British subject. The fonds includes the items taken to Russia in 1872 (i.e. responses from Ottawa to the Russian Mennonite inquiries about priveledges been sought such as exemption from military service). The fonds also contains various items with the autographs of individuals such as Otto von Bismark, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Prussia, and the British monarch, Queen Victoria. The documents pertain to Hespeler's service to Canada or Germany.
Collection consists of two ledger-sized scrapbooks of theatre-related clippings from Winnipeg newspapers from 1914 to 1927 and one smaller scrapbook listing, alphabetically, the people profiled in J. B. McGeachy’s “I First Saw” column in the Winnipeg Free Press from 1921-1929.