Slipp desk – antique desk from a prominent New Brunswick family with a sad connection to a car accident

My husband needed a proper desk to work on. We scoured ads for antique desks for months but my husband is tall and sometimes the older desks just do not accommodate his long legs. Then this beauty came along. It’s a pretty cool desk made almost entirely without nails and all sort of snaps and fits together. It is extremely deep.

I LOVE the little details on the inside where the legs slide in (so does our cat who immediately settled in).

These sort of sunburst details remind me of a similar design I see on either side of the front main window of my neighbour’s home at 212 Douglas Ave.

We bought it from a local man who had himself purchased it from a Tim Isaac auction at least 15 years ago (ca. 2005 but the date of purchase is very much uncertain). The story was pretty great – the lights went out in the auction and when they came back on only one bid bought this piece for a fraction of its worth – the deal of a century. The seller is downsizing and wanted the desk to go to a good home.

All the furniture in our home (except mattresses) is antique or vintage. We often know where it was bought and maybe country of original and rough age. We rarely know who owned pieces before us. When I pulled out the writing surface I found signatures and dates for Donald Slipp (1914 and 1917 inscriptions) and CR Slipp (1929 UNB inscription).

I could not let these tantalizing details go and quickly pieced the family together.

Arthur Reid Slipp was born in Hamstead in 1869 to Reid and Phoebe Slipp. Family history notes “Arthur Reid Slipp admitted to the bar as Attorney General in 1892. Appointed Minister of Lands and Mines in 1917. Appointed County Court Judge for York, Sudbury and Queens in 1921. Retired in 1944. Formed law firm of A R Slipp & Hanson in Fredericton. Buried in Rural Cemetery.” The magnificent UNB Archives houses evidence of Arthur’s attendance – see this 1891 digitized image.

Arthur Reid Slipp and Elizabeth Florence Logan married 5 Sep 1899. They had three children – Arthur Lawrence Hallam, Donald Logan, and Cartleton Reid. The family resided at 115 Church St. in Fredericton – the stunning house still standing and the home of the Anglican Diocesan Synod [apparently sold in 2021].   This home was also mentioned in an article about old homes that indicates it was once the home of John Dickenson Palmer.  

Provincial Archives of New Brunswick/P5-519

Pics below taken Sep 2021.

Currently, I am obsessed with carriage houses – I really hope this one is restored and retained.  It’s a stunner.  

In the 1901 census we find Hallam living with his parents, Arthur and Elizabeth, and grandmother Elizabeth Logan along with cousin John Harrison. Arthur, Elizabeth, and their three sons were living on Church St in the 1911 census along with Elizabeth’s mother Elizabeth Logan and a nephew (same one as in 1901) John Harrison. In the 1921 census on Church St., Arthur was living with his three sons and sister Mary and was newly widowed as wife Elizabeth died at the home on 16 Jan 1921.

Arthur Lawrence Hallam was born 30 Sep 1900. He served in WWI and provided a birthdate that made him 3 years older than he actually was (indicating he was born in 1897 not 1900). For more details on Arthur Lawrence [Hallam] Slipp’s WWI service – see his personnel file. Hallam died in Victoria, BC on 28 Aug 1985. Note – there was another Arthur Lawrence Slipp living in New Brunswick of roughly the same age as Hallam so it is easy to confuse the two when reviewing the vital statistics.

Donald Logan Slipp, the most prolific of our desk inscribers, was born in 1904 and died in 1928 from cystitis and nephritis due to a car accident two years prior in 1926 where his spine was severed.

We know that Donald attended Pictou Academy in Nova Scotia.  A search of the surviving archives indicates he was on the rugby team in 1921, played hockey in 1922, and was a grade 9 student (called first year) through the 1922-1923 school year (much thanks to the McCulloch House Museum and Genealogy Centre in Pictou). I am not sure when and where Donald graduated but records indicate he became an accountant before his 1926 accident.

After the 1926 accident, Donald took over for brother Hallam as notary for York County.

In 1927, Donald settled an insurance case with the driver of the car in the accident. That same year Adeline Elizabeth Mooers died as a result of her spinal cord injuries sustained in the car accident. Adeline is buried in Woodstock.

The third son of Arthur and Elizabeth, Carleton Reid, was born in 1907. Like his father, he attended UNB where the UNB Archives digitized a 1929 photo of him. 1929 was the same year he inscribed his name and date on the desk.

Carleton first married Margaret Annie Jones, born 1907 on Garden St., of Saint John on 5 Dec 1930. I had wondered how the desk made its way from Fredericton to a Saint John auction and this marriage provides the first connection I found to Saint John. According to the Harvard Business School Archives “Carleton Reid Slipp was admitted to Harvard Business School in the fall of 1930. He withdrew before the end of the first term, in December 1930, giving the reason “to enter business.”

We know that by 1938 Carleton had moved on from New Brunswick.

Carleton’s second wife was Edith Edgecombe (nee Townsend) Slipp. In 2004 property in Chamcook was subject to quiet title application and a notation that “BEING the remainder of those lands conveyed by Carleton R. Slipp to Edith Edgecombe Slipp by Deed dated January 14th, 1983 registered January 26th, 1984 by Number 94061 in Book 276 at Page 914 of the Charlotte County records.” This is the second time I came across a connection between the Slipp family and Saint John which provided another opportunity for the desk to make its way to Saint John.

Edith was the daughter of Charles Rowlatt Townsend and Zillah Edgecombe married 1921. There is a great overview of Charles’ life on this UNB site : “Lt.-Col. Charles Townsend came to UNB in 1912, but in 1914, interrupted his university course to enlist in the Canadian Army. While serving in France and Belgium, he was badly wounded in action and decorated for bravery. Upon demobilization he returned to the university to complete his studies in forestry, graduating in 1920. He practised his profession first, at Grand Mere, and later, at Anticosti Island, Three Rivers, and Montreal. Following the outbreak of the Second World War, he enlisted, joined the Canadian Forestry Corps on its organization, and proceeded overseas. While serving with the Corps. in Scotland, he was assistant director of timber operations, and in September 1942, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant-colonel in charge of transport. Shortly after this, he became ill and while en route to Canada, died on board a ship and was buried at sea.” See this photograph from the UNB Archives –

Edith was extremely accomplished and sadly died in 2016. Her obituary notes “SLIPP, Edith Edgecombe (nee Townsend) — Edith Edgecombe Slipp passed away on April 27, 2016 at Kingsway Care Centre. She was born in Trois Riviere, QC, on September 12, 1930 the daughter of the late Zillah G. (Edgecombe) and the late Charles R. Townsend. Her first five years, she lived on Anti Costa Island [probably Anticosti Island], and then moved to Montreal. She graduated from McGill University with a Bachelor of Science, then went on to receive her Masters of Science, and her Ph.D. Her post doctorate work was in Brandeis University, Massachusetts, and the Washington National Institute of Health, Washington, USA. Edith retired in Chamcook, St. Andrews, NB, putting all her energies into a lovely 200 year old house, where she gardened and cared for her pets. At Sudbury Shores, she took up painting. Her artwork was admired by her many friends and relatives. Later, Edith moved to Rothesay (Low Wood Estates), to be with her first cousins Ann King (Barry), and Jill Fanjoy (Paul). –Her relatives would like to say many thanks to the staff of Kingsway Care Centre for their wonderful care of Edith. By her request, no formal funeral services will be observed. The funeral arrangements are under the care and direction of Brenan’s Funeral Home, 111 Paradise Row, Saint John (634-7424). Online condolences may be placed at www.brenansfh.com“

Arthur Reid Slipp later remarried and is buried with his first wife and Donald in the Fredericton Rural Cemetery.

My husband reminded me that across from our home on Alexandra St in 1910, the Slipp family owned a large tract of land. We do wonder if (and hope) they were somehow related to the Slipps from Fredericton.