F. Mabel Dedrick first appears in the Deaconess Appointment list in 1913, but seems to have been a Deaconess in 1912.  In a record in the archival collection of Charles William Gordon (Ralph Connor)* it is reported that she presented a report to the Social Service and Evangelism Board of the Presbyterian Church on “Winnipeg Outside Work” (presented by F. Mabel Dedrick, deaconess, between 1912 and 1913) .  An examination of that report migh give some clues into Mabel’s story.  Perhaps she attended Manitoba College, the Presbyterian School in Winnipeg and it is possible that the Presbytery of Winnipeg designated her. (The Deaconess Program at Manitoba College didn’t begin until 1920). What is known is that she appears on the Historic List of Presbyterian Deaconesses in 1924, with an indication that she is not a graduate of one of the training schools.  Sometimes this note is applied to women who only completed one of the two years of the program and were designated on the strength of prior experience, but she does not appear in the lists of students preceding 1912.

Her name appears on the Appointment list for only one year.   It is unknown what happened to her in 1914.  She might have married, died or withdrew from the Order.  The records in 1924 sometimes indicate what happened to women who are not active, but there is no notation with her name.

* Charles William Gordon (Ralph Connor): An Inventory of His Papers at the University of Manitoba Archives & Special Collections

Biography written by Caryn Douglas, October 2012