The Archives of Mary E. Herbert: A Guide
Collection Number: MS-2-32Fonds-level description created and electronic version prepared by Laurena Fredette, August 2006
Collection Level Description
Title: Mary E. Herbert fonds
Dates: [18--]
Extent: 63 pages of textual records
Mary Eliza Herbert was born in 1829 to Catherine (Eagan) and Nicholas Michael Herbert in Halifax. Raised in a Methodist family, Mary and her half-sister Sarah were actively involved with local religious and temperance organizations. They were also early Maritime writers of poetry and prose whose works frequently concerned social and moral issues. In 1951, Mary Herbert founded and edited a short-lived regional literary publication entitled the Mayflower or Ladies Acadian Newspaper. The Mayflower published works by local authors, including Mary, but ceased publication in 1952 after only nine known issues. Mary Herbert’s poetry and prose also appeared in other local periodicals, including the Acadian Recorder and the NovaScotian. Her other literary accomplishments included a popular book of poetry entitled The Aeolian Harp, or, Miscellaneous Poems, 1857, which also included works by her sister Sarah; Belinda Dalton, or, Scenes in the Life of a Halifax Belle, 1859; Women as She Should be, or, Agnes Wiltshire, 1861; Flower’s by the Wayside, 1865; The Young Men’s Choice, 1869; and the unpublished novel Lucy Cameron. Mary Herbert died in Halifax on July 15, 1872
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Blakeley, Phyllis R. “Herbert, Mary Eliza.”
Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. 10. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1972.
Gwendolyn Davies. “Herbert, Sarah and Mary Eliza.” The Oxford Companion to Canadian Literature. 1997 ed.
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Fonds accessioned in 1970. Custodial history is unknown.
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No further accruals are expected.
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This fonds consists of a hand written manuscript of the unpublished novel Lucy Cameron and a transcription completed by Pilar Cuder.
Dalhousie University Special Collections has copies of Mary E. Herbert’s books.
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[Identification of item], Mary E. Herbert fonds, MS-2-32, Dalhousie University Archives and Special Collections, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
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Original manuscript is fragile and faded.
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