Peter Garbutt was born February 10, 1933, while his parents were visiting England. His mother originally from Canada and his father from Coventry, England, spent much of their time in England. Due to this, Garbutt spent a great deal of his former years with his Grandmother in Selkirk, Manitoba.

The family was oblivious to Garbutt’s hearing loss until the age of 2 when it was obvious that his hearing was obsolete and speech had stunted. Garbutt was enrolled in the Manitoba School for the Deaf in 1938. The school was shut down 2 years later due to World War II (1940 – 1965) and deaf students were reassigned to the Saskatchewan School for the Deaf. From 1946 to 1949 Garbutt attended the Mackay School for the Deaf in Montreal, showing interest in athletics and art.

Later, he moved to the United States to attend the Kendall School for the Deaf in Washington, DC where he stayed from 1949 until 1952. Upon graduation, Garbutt moved to Akron, Ohio to work at the Firestone factory, a popular company for Deaf workers.

In July 1953 he married Charlotte Bates, together they had two children. Scope and ContentIt consists mostly of Correspondence between Peter Murray and his family during his stay at various schools.

This collection of two boxes of materials is dated from June 1936 through May 1961 and is arranged chronologically by the schools attended by Peter Murray Garbutt.