Series 1 - Medical notebooks

Dr. Thomas Alfred Patrick was born near Ilderton, Ontario on December 23, 1864, the son of George B. and Alecia (née Hobbs) Patrick. Patrick attended Strathroy High School, and taught school in Byron, a village then on the outskirts of London. He became engaged to be married to Marion June Griffith (b. 21 Jan. 1864) of Byron in 1885. Patrick then attended the University of Western Ontario's medical college; he heard lectures in the morning and saw patients in the afternoon at London General Hospital (later re-named Victoria Hospital). Patrick graduated with honors in April, 1888.
After he had completed his medical education, Patrick spent several months practicing in Saint Ignace, Michigan, waiting to write his physicians' examinations in Ontario. After becoming licensed in 1889, Patrick moved to Saltcoats, Saskatchewan, where he set up his medical practice. His fiancée Marion joined him in 1890, and they were married March 8. The couple had four children:
Mabel Patrick (5 Jan. 1891 - 1974)
Gertrude Patrick Sommervill (18 Aug. 1893 - 1964)
Edith Patrick Fraser (22 Aug. 1894)
George Griffith Patrick (18 Aug. 1899 - 1976)
In 1894, the Patrick family moved to Yorkton, Saskatchewan. In 1897, Dr. Patrick was acclaimed in a by-election as an independent member of the Legislative Assembly of the North West Territories; he was acclaimed again in the 1898 election, and he won the seat in the election of 1902. Dr. Patrick is credited with being the first person to suggest that two new provinces be created (Saskatchewan and Alberta), rather than the one that was being advocated by Premier Frederick Haultain. The boundaries he suggested were implemented by Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier in 1905.
Dr. Patrick continued to practice medicine until the late 1930s, when his own health began to deteriorate. Dr. Patrick died on September 6, 1943; he is buried, with his wife, in the Yorkton Cemetery. The City of Yorkton named a park in his honour, and erected a cairn there in July 1982.