Marion Beyea, Founding Fellow 

Highlights

Provincial archivist of New Brunswick (1978-2013), she had a key role in founding ACA (1975) and has served as ACA President (1980); also helped found the Canadian Council of Archives; she is recognized as one of the builders of the Canadian archival system. 

 Education and Background 

Born in Hampton, New Brunswick (NB) in 1945, Marion Cox Beyea studied at Mount Allison University and the University of New Brunswick (UNB), graduating with a BA from the latter in 1967. As a student she worked summers at the NB Museum Archives and during the terms at the UNB Archives.  

Professional Career 

In 1967 Marion Beyea accepted a position in the Private Manuscript Section of the Archives of Ontario, where she worked for several years, where her work mainly focused on acquiring, arranging and describing the papers of Ontario residents and organizations. In 1976 she moved on to serve as Archivist of the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada (based in Toronto). She returned to New Brunswick in 1978 to lead its archives and records management program as Provincial Archivist for the next three decades. At the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick (PANB), Beyea oversaw extensive renovations to the Archives building, and created, in 2003, a state-of-the-art Archives Storage Facility. Beyea significantly expanded the PANB sound and moving images section, established the Archives’ oral history program (in 1987), and initiated community outreach programs. She retired in 2013. 

Contributions to the Profession 

Marion Beyeajoined the Archives Section of the Canadian Historical Association in 1973 and, in that same year, served as establishing co-editor of the first newsletter for Canadian archivists, the Archives Bulletin. Beyea went on to play a key role in establishing the ACA, serving on the three-person “Committee of the Future” that collaborated with archivists across Canada to form the association and develop its constitution. She  served as ACA Vice President and President (1978-1980), also chairing the Publications Committee, the Nominations Committee, and several annual conference program and local arrangements committees.  

Beyea played a leadership role in founding the Canadian Council of Archives (CCA) in 1984-1986, chairing a committee of national, provincial, and territorial archivists that developed a framework and obtained funding; she then served as its founding chair.  She also represented New Brunswick on the Historic Sites and Monuments Board for two terms 1988-1998.Beyeahas also been active in the international archival community, serving the International Council of Archives as a member of the Steering Committee of the Section of Professional Associations and as Chair of the Committee on Best Practices and Standards (2004-2012). 

Since retiring, Beyea has co-edited The Power and Passion of Archives: A Festschrift in Honour of Kent Haworth (2005). She has been active in the Fredericton Heritage Trust, serving as its vice president (2022-2024). As a member of the Association Heritage New Brunswick (AHNB), Beyea chaired the steering committee to form a provincial organization for Built Heritage (2013-2015), then served as the AHNB Vice-President, President, and Past President (2015-2021), and chaired the Built Heritage Committee for a decade (2014-2024). Beyea is a patron of the Hampton John Peters Humphrey Foundation, an organization based in Hampton, New Brunswick which supports human rights education. Beyea is also a director of the Associates of PANB. 

Honours, Awards and Recognition 

• ACA Fellow, 2006 
• Governor General of Canada’s Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee Medal, 2012 
• Association Heritage New Brunswick Founders Award, 2023 

Further Information:  

• Associates of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, “End of an Era”, Silhouettes 38 (Spring 2014): 5 (http://archives.gnb.ca/Associates2014-38-Spring-e.pdf) 

Photo source: Associates of the Provincial Archives of New Brunswick, “End of an Era”, Silhouettes 38 (Spring 2014): 5 (http://archives.gnb.ca/Associates2014-38-Spring-e.pdf)

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