Shirley Spragge


Shirley Spragge was a Canadian archivist and academic who served as the head of the Queen's University Archives from 1992 to 1994.

Early life and education

Spragge was born July 22, 1929, in Toronto, Ontario. She completed a degree in history at the University of Toronto in 1952. While there she was a member of various clubs including modern history, music and athletics. After studying archives administration at Public Archives of Canada, she completed an MA in history at Queen's University in 1974. Spragge obtained her PhD at Queen's in 1986.

Career

Spragge worked at the Cornell University Archives in the 1970s. She joined the Queen's University Archives in 1979, where she worked while completing her PhD. She was named Queen's University Archivist in 1992, succeeding Anne MacDermaid.
In addition to her roles at Queen's Spragge served as the diocesan archivist for the Diocese of Ontario of the Anglican Church. She was the Book Review Editor of Archivaria from 1993 to 1995.

Personal life

Spragge married Godfrey Spragge in November 1953 in Toronto. Together they had two children. Her father-in-law, George Warburton Spragge, was the Archivist of Ontario from 1950 to 1963.
Spragge died August 11, 1995, in Kingston.

Legacy

In 1998 the Archives Association of Ontario established the Shirley Spragge Fund to support educational pursuits in the archival profession. Restructured and renamed in 2014, the Shirley Spragge Bursary is awarded annually to assist a successful applicant with annual AAO conference attendance costs.

Select publications

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