This series contains records created and accumulated by the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton, Ontario during their mission in Arthur, Ontario. The records include annals, historical summaries, meeting minutes, financial reports, correspondence, postcards, an offer to purchase property, two photograph albums, a booklet from the 150th anniversary of St. John the Evangelist Church, and The Way We Were Stories and Illustrations Vol. 1 No. 1 which records highlights of Arthur's early history. Arthur, Ontario is located within the Saugeen Anishnaabek of the Saugeen Ojibway Nation people which includes the Chippewas of Saugeen and the Chippewas of Nawash. It is the traditional territory of the Anishinabek Nation: The People of the Three Fires known as the Ojibway, Odwaa, and Pottawatomie Nations. On January 6, 1873, Sister M. Joseph Galvin, Sister Scholastica Mannix, and Sister M. Celestine Burns of the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton, Ontario arrived in Arthur, Ontario. Father Laussie, a priest in Arthur, had requested their assistance to meet the needs of the area. Sister M. Joseph was appointed as the local Superior. St. Joseph’s Convent was erected in 1887. In Arthur, the Sisters’ main ministry was to teach, but other apostolates were also undertaken such as that of sacristan, organist, music teacher, homemaker, parish ministry, and the visitation of the ill. The last Sister left in 1995.
