What is a Tweedsmuir?
Tweedsmuir Histories are intensely local, scrapbook style history books, compiled by Women’s institute branches and named after Lord and Lady Tweedsmuir, the Governor General of Canada from 1935-1940 and his wife. Lady Tweedsmuir was an enthusiastic Women’s Institute member in England and, while in Canada, she was made an Honorary Life Member of the Federated Women’s Institute of Ontario. As she and her husband travelled across Canada, they took great interest in all aspects of Canadian life, and she advocated for Women’s Institute branches to compile community and village histories.
In 1940 her suggestion materialized when the Federated Women’s Institute of Ontario began the initiative for branches to compile “Village History Books”. In 1945 an article entitled “Suggestions for Compiling Tweedsmuir Village Histories” was published in Home and Country, the official newsletter of the F.W.I.O., and by 1946 the word “village” was dropped to encourage those branches not covering villages or towns to begin their own histories. Upon hearing of the history books becoming an official project, Lady Tweedsmuir sent this message to the Federated Women’s Institute of Ontario:
I am so glad to hear that the Women’s Institutes of Ontario are going to compile village history books. Events move very fast nowadays; houses are pulled down, new roads are made, and the aspect of the countryside changes completely sometimes in a short time. It is a most useful and satisfying task for Women’s Institute members to see that nothing valuable is lost or forgotten and women should be on the alert always to guard the traditions of their homes, and to see that water colour sketches and prints, poems and prose legends should find their way into these books. The oldest people in the village will tell us fascinating stories of what they remember, which the younger members can write down, thus making a bridge between them and events which happened before they were born. After all, it is the history of humanity which is continually interesting to us, and our village histories will be the basis of accurate facts much valued by historians of the future. I am proud to think that you have called them “The Tweedsmuir Village Histories.”
— Lady Tweedsmuir
Although each Tweedsmuir book follows a basic model for what type of information to include, and how to organize it, they each have their own style. While some volumes have hand-made or decorated covers, and typewritten entries, others have more plain covers, or are handwritten. Some are like photo albums, full of photographs and mementos, while others contain more newspaper articles and still others have many stories and first-hand accounts of events and happenings. Despite these differences, they all contain a wealth of information covering church, school and property histories, as well as branch contributions, community events, local war efforts, biographies of important people and more.
