Fonds 2014-037 - George Edward Buckley

2.2 meters of textual records
146 photographs: b&w, mounted; 36 x 30 cm or smaller.

Consists of business records in daybooks and ledgers and photographs of family members, including himself. The financial records document his 69 year medical practice as a family doctor for Guysborough and surrounding areas (Intervale, Riverside, Manchester, Glenkeen, Canso, Salmon River, Boylston). The daybooks (1867-1936) record daily activities of Dr. Buckley including date of doctor visit, patient’s name, community name, medicine prescribed, the doctor’s fees, and any immediate payments made. This information was then transcribed into the ledgers of patients’ accounts (1867-1936), organized by patient’s last name, to track payments and methods of payment over time. Daybooks for 1908 to 1929 also have a separate section entitled “Indian Accounts”, referring to members of first nations communities, that list a specific health condition, doctor’s fee, and patient’s name. While the ledgers have indexes (either as part of the book or as a separate small book numbered with the ledger), the daybooks are generally not indexed except for included or small separate books which only record patients who paid and were consequently not entered in the ledger at that time.

The photographs include formal family portraits and informal groups, mostly of men and children, taken by several professional photographers including William Notman, W.G. Hadley, The People’s Gallery, W.D. O’Donnell, and Gauvin & Gentzel. Few are identified and dated, most are not. Photographs of houses, scenery and landscape are also included.