Series GR-0166 - Indigents Fund applications

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Indigents Fund applications

General material designation

  • textual record

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Title notes

  • Source of title proper: Title based on contents of series.

Level of description

Series

Reference code

GR-0166

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Edition statement of responsibility

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1939-1941 (Creation)
    Creator
    British Columbia. Dept. of the Provincial Secretary

Physical description area

Physical description

92 cm of textual records

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Archival description area

Name of creator

(1872-1976)

Biographical history

The Dept. of the Provincial Secretary was established in 1872. Prior to that, the origins of this department was in the offices of the Colonial Secretaries for the Colony of Vancouver Island (1863-1866), the Colony of British Columbia (1864-1866) and the united colony of British Columbia (1866-1871). When British Columbia joined confederation in 1871, the name Colonial Secretary remained in place until April 1872 when a Provincial Secretary was named to assume the duties and functions (SBC 1872, c. 15).

The mandate of the Provincial Secretary included all the powers, duties and functions held by provincial secretaries and registrars in other provinces of the Dominion of Canada. They included being the keeper of the Great Seal of the Province, with the authority to issue letters patent and commissions, and being the keeper of all registers and archives of the province and previous governments of the province. As with other departments, it was also the duty of the Provincial Secretary to make an annual report to the Lieutenant-Governor. The first annual report was produced in 1872.

At various times, different agencies have been under the direction of the Provincial Secretary such as treasury and audit branches, Bureau of Mines, gold commissioners, Returned Soldiers’ Commission, Provincial Library and Archives, Provincial Board of Health, Vital Statistics, Provincial Home, and others. In most instances these agencies were later transferred to the control of new ministries established to administer the specific function or functions.

At various times and for varying periods, the Provincial Secretary was responsible for industrial schools, mothers’ pensions, administration of the Infants’ Act, protection of historic sites, and arbitration of labour disputes. In 1947, the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary administered the Civil Service Commission, Government Printing Bureau, Superannuation Commission, mental hospitals, institution farms, homes for the aged, inspector of hospitals, and the Elections Act.

In 1976, with the addition of travel and tourism functions from the Dept. of Recreation and Travel Industry, the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary was renamed the Ministry of the Provincial Secretary and Travel Industry (OIC 3199/76).

Custodial history

Scope and content

The series consists of Application for Relief forms created by the Dept. of the Provincial Secretary between 1939 and 1941. Each form gives applicants' name, age, place of residence, marital status, financial status and number of dependents.

The forms, which are numbered from 600501 to 604500, were evidently a part of a larger registry. Unfortunately, other application forms from the registry have not survived. Contemporary registers and indexes to the application forms have not survived either.

Most of the forms in this series are from August-November 1939, although a few are dated as late as November 1941. The forms are arranged by community, with a very few discrepancies in the order. Application forms from the city of Vancouver are, for the most part, arranged alphabetically by the first initial of the applicants' surname.

An oath of allegiance was required from those applying for financial assistance from the provincial government. Oath of Allegiance forms from the years 1940-1942 are to be found in Box 7 of this collection. There is no discernible order to the Oath forms, although a number of them refer to the Application for Relief forms noted above.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Transferred from Topaz Avenue vault, 1976.

Arrangement

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Script of material

Location of originals

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

These records are restricted. Please contact the BC Archives for information about access.

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

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Accruals

General note

Accession number(s): 76-G-096

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