|
Looking for love in a new land? or at least a "respectable man with view to matrimony"?
Before on-line dating services, a young woman might turn to creative sources for a potential mate - why not the Mayor of a respectable town like Halifax, Nova Scotia?
In the spring of 1939, an "attractive 22 year-old Engish girl" wrote to Mayor Walter Mitchell asking him to put her in touch with a "respectable man with view to matrimony".
 |
 |
HRM Archives 102-3B-68.2 (images cropped) |
 |
|
This was an era when the Mayor's Office received all manner of requests, from tourist information to the source for a discontinued china pattern (see HRM Archives series 102-3B Mayor's Office correspondence, 1922-1969). And the Mayor's Office responded to them all!
In response to the letter from England, Mayor Mitchell had this notice posted in the Halifax Mail. Sensitive to the young woman's position, the Mayor offered his Office to be the intermediary, forwarding letters from prospective suitors to her in England.
The mayor also sent along some advice: "I do not know any of these parties, but if you feel like corresponding with any of them, you doubtless could write to the Minister in the locality in which they live to find out who they are." (May 22, 1939 letter from Mayor, 102-3B-68).
And there were many Nova Scotia men who responded to the newpaper publicity. One was so eager that he wrote two months later, asking the Mayor, "Please let me know how long I must wait for an answer to my letter?" (July 25, 1939 letter from Upper Rawdon worker to Mayor, 102-3B-68).
The Mayor's response? : "Replying to yours of July 25th, your letter was sent to the young lady in question, in England, whose name I cannot reveal as she wished it kept confidential, and the rest is purely up to her." (102-3B-68) |
Halifax Mail, May 16, 1939, p. 8 |
|
|
Husband Found?
The Mayor's Office correspondence gives no clue as to the success of the young woman's search. Certificates for Marriages performed in Nova Scotia in 1939 will not be made public for a few more years, but if you have any clues to the ending of this story, please Contact Us.
No more Mayoral Match-making
This romantic venture appears to be the end of the story for Mayor Mitchell acting as matchmaker. See below how his office handled the next similar request. Perhaps his actions were driven by an as-yet-unwritten Immigration Action Plan.
 |
 |
 |
HRM Archives 102-3B-68 (altered and cropped to protect privacy) |
HAPPY VALENTINES DAY! |
|
Match-maker Mayor: dateline 1939 
