Collection Mss 480 (A2010-83) - Linda (Hamilton) Klassen Collection

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Linda (Hamilton) Klassen Collection

General material designation

  • Graphic material
  • Records in Electronic Form
  • Object

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Collection

Reference code

CA UMASC Mss 480 (A2010-83)

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

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Physical description area

Physical description

4 photographs : 3 b&w ; 1 sepia portrait
1 CD : 5 digitized images (.jpeg files)

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1873-1935)

Biographical history

Dr. T.G. (Thomas Glendenning) Hamilton was born in Agincourt, Ontario in 1873. In 1883, his family moved west to Saskatchewan and was among the first pioneer families to settle in Saskatoon. After his father died in 1891, his mother moved the family to Winnipeg where young T.G. Hamilton attended Manitoba College. He graduated from medical school in 1903, completed his internship at the Winnipeg General Hospital in 1904, and commenced practice in the district of Elmwood within Winnipeg in 1905. In 1915, he was President of the Manitoba Medical Association. Hamilton also served on the Public School Board for nine years, one year as chairman. He was also elected a member of the provincial legislature in 1914-1915. In 1918, Hamilton investigated paranormal activity briefly, but began in earnest in 1920 after the death of his three year old twin son Arthur. His aim was the investigation of paranormal phenomena such as rappings, psychokinesis, ectoplasms, and materializations under scientific conditions that would minimize any possibility of error. His work became known in the United Kingdom, Europe, and the United States. Between 1926 and 1935, he presented eighty-six lectures and wrote numerous articles that were published in Canada and abroad. Dr. Hamilton's wife, Lillian, carried on his paranormal experimentations following his death in 1935.

Name of creator

(1991 -)

Administrative history

The Survival Research Institute of Canada was founded in 1991. The institute aimed to pursue and promote studies in the field of survival research, which is investigation into whether some part of the human consciousness or personality, commonly referred to as spirit, survives physical death and whether that spirit is able to communicate with the living. Based in Victoria, BC, its representatives carry out the following activities: undertaking research into the history of Spiritualism and psychical research in Canada (including study of the work of Canadian psychical researcher, Dr. Thomas Glendenning Hamilton, and the relationship of Spiritualist table-tilting phenomena documented by Hamilton and others to theories about psychokinesis); taking part in experiments connected to evidence of spirit survival brought through mediumship; sponsoring public education on subjects relevant to survival research through workshops, lectures, and demonstrations of mediumship; participating in media interviews; presenting academic lectures in Canada, the United States and Europe; and directing relevant records of Canadian organizations and individuals to appropriate archival repositories. On May 24, 2000, the institute was federally incorperated and became a registered charity. The founding members were: Walter Meyer zu Erpen and Debra Barr, two noted Canadian archivists, Walter Keoki Quan, Claus Michael Thomsen, Janice Irene Stromgren, Paul Dennis Biscop, and Lolita Nevon Wilson.

Custodial history

The photographs were found in an annotated envelope by Linda (Hamilton) Klassen, the granddaughter of Dr. Thomas Glendenning (T.G.) and Lillian Hamilton. She mailed the envelope and its contents to Walter Meyer zu Erpen (President, Survival Research Institute of Canada (SRIC)) in 2006. In 2008, digitized at the behest of SRIC, and burned onto a CD. The 4 photographs unique to this collection and the CD were then donated to the University of Manitoba Archives and Special Collections in 2010, with Meyer zu Erpen acting as transferring agent.

Scope and content

This collection contains 4 unique photographs that complement the Hamilton Family fonds photograph collection, including a formal portrait of T.G. Hamilton from ca. 1904 (annotated “TGH aged 31”), and three copies of a photograph of T.G. and Lillian Hamilton sitting with spirit photographer William Hope in England in 1932 (2 marked, 1 annotated), as well as the envelope which contained these and other materials. This collection also includes a CD of scanned versions of these 4 photographs and 1 annotated reverse side.

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There are no restrictions on access.

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Associated materials

This fonds is closely related to and provides complementary information for the Hamilton Family fonds.

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No further accruals are expected.

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Description record identifier

A10-81

Institution identifier

UMASC

Rules or conventions

Rules for Archival Description (RAD)

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Created by Samantha Booth, January 2016

Language of description

  • English

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