Memorable Manitobans: Nancy Evelyn Sommerville “Nan” Shipley (1902-1990)

Writer.

Born at Glasgow, Scotland on 6 November 1902, she came to Canada at an early age. On 4 November 1925, she married Harold George Shipley (1900-1994) at Winnipeg. They had a daughter before divorcing in 1966.

For many years a student of Canadian and Manitoba history, in 1957 she published the book Frances and the Crees about Frances Elizabeth Eleanor Stevens. In the years thereafter she published several more books, some of them children’s stories, some historical studies, and a biography (The James Evans Story, 1966). Much of her writing focussed on Aboriginal and Métis women.

In 1959 she organized Manitoba’s first Indigenous handicrafts sales centre, and she was elected Woman of the Year in Manitoba by the Women’s Sales and Advertising Council in 1965. She received a Manitoba Golden Boy Award in 1966 and was awarded a Manitoba Centennial Medal by the Manitoba Historical Society in 1970. She was a member of the Historic Sites Advisory Board of Manitoba (1969-1971).

She died at the St. Boniface Hospital on 23 January 1990. Some of her files, manuscripts, and photographs are deposited in the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections. Others are at the Archives of Manitoba and still others are at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Her articles for the Manitoba Historical Society:

Peguis - Friend of the Pale Face
Manitoba Pageant, September 1956

Some of her writing works included:

Title	Publisher	Year
Anna and the Indians	Ryerson Press, Toronto	1955
Frances and the Crees	Ryerson Press, Toronto	1957
The Scarlet Lily	Frederick Fell, New York	1959
Whistle on the Wind	Frederick Fell, New York	1961
Return to the River	Peguis Publishers, Winnipeg	1963
The Railway Builders	Ryerson Press, Toronto	1965
The James Evans Story	Ryerson Press, Toronto	1966
Road to the Forks: A History of the Community of Fort Garry	Self-published, Winnipeg	1970
Wild Drums: Tales and Legends of the Plains Indians (with Alex Grisdale)	Peguis Publishers, Winnipeg	1972
The Blonde Voyageur	Burns & Maceachern, Toronto	1972
Churchill: Canada’s Northern Gateway	Burns & Maceachern, Toronto	1974
International Peace Garden 50th Anniversary	Peguis Publishers, Winnipeg	1982
From Slate to the Computer in the Transcona-Springfield Area 1873-1983	Transcona-Springfield School Division, Winnipeg	1983

See also:

“A sad hiatus in our national history”: Indigenous Representations in the Work of Nan Shipley, 1950s-1970s by Jenna R. Klassen
Manitoba History, Number 88, Winter 2018

Sources:

Marriage registration, Manitoba Vital Statistics.

“10 honored with Golden Boy awards,” Winnipeg Tribune, 7 November 1966.

“15 divorce decrees now final,” Winnipeg Free Press, 23 December 1966, page 2.

“Prolific local writer Shipley dies at age 87 after long career,” Winnipeg Free Press, 26 January 1990, page 35.

Obituary, Winnipeg Free Press, 26 January 1990, page 40.

Obituary [Harold George Shipley], Winnipeg Free Press, 14 May 1994, page 49.

Dictionary of Manitoba Biography by John M. “Jack” Bumsted, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1999.

This page was prepared by Gordon Goldsborough.

Page revised: 8 March 2024

Memorable Manitobans This is a collection of noteworthy Manitobans from the past, compiled by the Manitoba Historical Society. We acknowledge that the collection contains both reputable and disreputable people. All are worth remembering as a lesson to future generations. Search the collection by word or phrase, name, place, occupation or other text: Custom Search Browse surnames beginning with: A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | Y | Z Browse deaths occurring in: 1976 | 1977 | 1978 | 1979 | 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 | 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 Send corrections and additions to this page to the Memorable Manitobans Administrator at biographies@mhs.mb.ca Criteria for Memorable Manitobans | Suggest a Memorable Manitoban | Firsts | Acknowledgements Help us keep history alive!