CACrown ArchivesThe cinema collection
Menu
Research dossier · General Reference

Ann Kirby

Canadian businesswoman

Cross-disciplinary reference desk with index cards, atlas, dictionary and catalogue
General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 1, 2026
Entity authorityQ28004552
Source-derived summary

Ann Kirby (1770–1850) was a Canadian businesswoman. She managed a major trading company in Kingston, Ontario from 1800 until 1850, after the death of her husband. She was a leading public figure in Kingston, and was known as a philanthropist.

Her brother John Kirby was a politician. Her son John Macaulay was also a politician.

References

Jane Errington, "KIRBY, ANN," in Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 7, University of Toronto/Université Laval, 2003–, accessed June 14, 2016, http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/kirby_ann_7E.html.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ann Kirby” as canadian businesswoman. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1770, 1850, 1800, 2003—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1770. The account is most persuasive where Kirby, Canadian and businesswoman can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the general reference register because the source frames it as canadian businesswoman. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Vocabulary and entity names are the principal evidence signals here, because they determine the precision of every later search. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 1, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q28004552. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1770, 1850, 1800 and 2003.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Ann Kirby”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Ann Kirby primary sources, Ann Kirby archive and Kirby research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ann Kirby”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
Subject index

Search terms from this dossier

Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Ann Kirby” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.