
Identity area
Reference code
Title
Date(s)
- 1840-1945, predominant 1885-1904 (Creation)
Level of description
Fonds
Extent and medium
50 cm of textual records
220 photographs
Context area
Name of creator
Biographical history
Charles Selby Haultain, 1862-1903, was born in Ontario, the son of Isabella and Francis Mitchell Haultain. He studied medicine in Toronto, but took a break during his third year to serve as a medical officer in the 1885 Riel Rebellion (North West Rebellion). He then completed his medical courses in Toronto, and subsequently obtained his LRCP in England. He set up practice as a physician in Winnipeg, Manitoba. He spent the summer of 1888 as a doctor at the North-West Mounted Police post at Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan, and when offered a commission in the NWMP as assistant surgeon in 1890, he accepted.
In 1890 he also married Henrietta Eleanor "Etta" Dennistoun, 1866-1945, the daughter of Kate Kirkpatrick and James Dennistoun of Castleknock, Peterborough, Ontario. They had five children, Robert Mitchell "Robin", 1891-?; Frederick, 1893-1894; Norman, 1895-?; Henrietta, 1897 or 1898-?; and Charles Frederick, 1901 or 1902-?. In 1890 the Haultains were stationed in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan. They were subsequently stationed at Regina, Saskatchewan, 1891-1894; Fort Macleod, Alberta, 1894-1902; and Battleford, Saskatchewan, 1902-1903. Charles and Etta spent the summer of 1901 on leave in Pacific Grove, California. Charles died of influenza in Battleford in 1903, and was buried at Fort Macleod.
In 1904 Etta and the children returned to Port Hope, Ontario, where Etta spent the rest of her life. Charles' brother, Theodore Arnold Haultain, was a well-known essayist, who fought in the South African War. For further information, Etta's memoirs were published as With the Mounties in the Boot & Saddle Days : An Original Account of Life in the early West / Henrietta Dennistoun Haultain; foreword by Alexander Cameron Macdonnell; edited by Gord Tolton; afterword by Doran Degenstein. -- Fort Macleod : Riders of the Plains Commemorative Troop Association, 2006.
Repository
Archival history
Immediate source of acquisition or transfer
Purchased from Barbara Loucks, 1996.
Content and structure area
Scope and content
The fonds consists of correspondence between Charlie and Etta (1885-1890); correspondence with T. Arnold Haultain (1897-1908); correspondence with friends and relatives (1870-1935); Etta's extensive memoirs (1938); Charles' record of expenses (1892-1901); poetry collected by the Haultains (1883-1909); list of wedding presents (1890); Etta's recipe books (1840-1930s); Charles' sketches (1883-1887); and newsclippings about Charles' cousin, Frederick W.G. Haultain (1904-1905, 1942). Includes photographs of the Haultains, North-West Mounted Police life, and towns in which they lived (especially Fort Macleod).
Appraisal, destruction and scheduling
Accruals
System of arrangement
Conditions of access and use area
Conditions governing access
The negatives are extremely fragile, and are not available for public use.
Conditions governing reproduction
Language of material
Script of material
Language and script notes
The material is in English.
Physical characteristics and technical requirements
Finding aids
Allied materials area
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Digital content is available
Related units of description
Notes area
Note
Title based on contents of records.
Alternative identifier(s)
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Haultain, Etta (Subject)
Genre access points
Description control area
Description identifier
Institution identifier
Rules and/or conventions used
Status
Level of detail
Dates of creation revision deletion
Friday, May 29, 2015