James DeMille

1833-1880

James De Mille (writer and professor) was born 23 August 1833 in Saint John, New Brunswick and died in Halifax, Nova Scotia on 28 January 1880. He first studied at Horton Collegiate Academy in Nova Scotia. In 1854, De Mille received his MA from Brown University in Rhode Island. After obtaining his Master’s degree, De Mille spent a year in Cincinnati, Ohio. He then returned to Saint John and attempted to establish a bookselling business. He later returned to Nova Scotia and married Elizabeth Ann Pryor, the daughter of the first president of Acadia University. De Mille taught at Acadia from 1860 until 1865, working in the Classics Department. After that, he taught history, literature, and rhetoric at Dalhousie University in Halifax until his death. He produced more than 25 books, most of which were published during the ten years before his death.  His children’s literature was predominantly defined by the Brethren of the White Cross, a series for young boys. The Elements of Rhetoric, De Mille’s only scholarly work, was released in 1878. His best-known work today is the posthumously and anonymously released A Strange Manuscript Found in a Copper Cylinder (1888).

Predominant New Brunswick Residences:

Saint John

Archival Material

• James De Mille and family fonds
  ⌄
  Location

  Dalhousie University

  Website/Catalogue Record

  View Archival Record

  Retrieval Number

  MS-2-21

  Date Range of Material

  1834-1942

  Extent

  15 cm of textual records (21 folders). - 3 photographs.

  Scope and Content Note

  Fonds consists of records created and collected by the DeMill family, including Arthur DeMill, Anna DeMill, Nathan DeMill, Elisha Budd DeMill, Frederick E. DeMill, and Alfred DeMill. Materials include scrapbooks and journals, correspondence, business papers, photographs, and literary manuscripts by James De Mille.