SPECIAL COLLECTION: ANGLICAN CHURCH, MONTREAL, 1760-
In 1760 the first Anglican service in Montréal was conducted by Reverend John Ogilvie for British Troops. By 1790, the local Anglican community had acquired the old Jesuit church as their own house of worship, Christ Church. Between 1811 and 1820, a new Christ Church was constructed on the north side of Notre Dame Street, east of Place D'Armes. When this church burned in 1856, another Christ Church was built, this time on Saint Catherine Street West. From 1787 to 1792, Montréal was part of the diocese of the bishop of Nova Scotia, Charles Inglis. In 1793 Montréal became part of the diocese of the bishop of Québec and was the responsibility of the following bishops; Jacob Mountain (1793-1825), Charles James Stewart (1826-1837) and George Jehoshaphat Mountain (1836-1850). In 1850, Francis Fulford was named as the first bishop of Montréal and held this position until 1868.
McCORD MUSEUM
Originals, Copies, Printed, 1726-1919, 8 cm (M595.1, 631, 1541, 2296, 2312, 2314, 2314.1, 2318, 2323, 3923, 5953, 6511, 5413-14, 6827, 6918, 8438, 8481, 10033, 10694, 11093, 12342, 13869, 14049, 16085, 16087-092, 16095-105, 16109-110, 16113-115, 16117-119, 16122-139, 16162, 17085)
The bulk of the Anglican Church collection concerns the construction of Christ Church, 1811-1820, and includes lists of subscribers, 1807-1815, and receipts, financial statements, 1810-1815. There are some papers of the bishops responsible for Montréal, 1800-1868, including a letter of G.J. Mountain, 1838 and extracts from F. Fulford's journal, 1852-1867. In addition, the collection includes M.H. Sanborn's treasurer's account book for the Church of England's Association for Young Men, 1856-1860, and a notebook of Anne McCord concerning the raising of money for charities and the sending of supplies to missionaries, n.d.
SPECIAL COLLECTION: AUTOGRAPH LETTERS, ca 1580-ca 1970
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, ca 1580-ca 1970, 5 m (A.L.S.)
This extensive collection of autograph letters are from figures of social, intellectual and political importance in Western Europe and North America. The collection includes correspondence from religious leaders and writers such as St. Marguerite Bourgeois, Cardinal H.E. Manning, Cardinal Newman, and Isaac Watts, as well as from leaders of fraternal organizations, such as Sir Robert Baden-Powell. Some figures are represented by a small collection of letters, others by a single item. The Autograph Letters have not yet been fully described; researchers wishing to trace correspondence may contact the Rare Books Department.
SPECIAL COLLECTION: CATHOLIC CHURCH, QUÉBEC, fl 1768, 1804-1810
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1768, 1804-1810, 2 cm (CH163.33, CH312.S272, CH305.S265)
This collection includes "Mémoire sur les affaires ecclésiastique dans la province de Québec. Par un Catholique Romain", 1768; the opinion of Attorney-General Sewell on the right of Roman Catholic bishops to create parishes in Lower Canada 1806; various documents on the building of churches in Lower Canada, 1805-1810; and a petition to the King, signed Pierre Denaut, Bishop of Québec, concerning the civil status of Roman Catholic bishops and priests, 1805.
SPECIAL COLLECTION: CHURCH OF ENGLAND, PROVINCE OF CANTERBURY, PREROGATIVE COURT, fl 1650-1815
The Prerogative Court of Canterbury exercised the Archbishop's jurisdiction in testamentary matters.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1650-1815, 10 cm (H95.Bd242)
This collection consists of 150 letters of administration in testamentary cases issued by the Court.
SPECIAL COLLECTION: FRANCE, EGLISE REFORMEE, fl 1660
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originaux, ca 1660?, 9 cm (H68.Bd33)
"Recueuil des actes de tous les Sinodes Nationaux des Eglises protestantes au Royaume de France, 1559-1660".
SPECIAL COLLECTION: HEMMINGFORD WESLEYAN METHODIST CHURCH, 1852
Hemmingford is situated in Hemmingford Township, about 64 km south of Montréal and 6 km north of the U.S. border.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1852, 8 pp (CH115.S135)
Deed of sale by Samuel Fletcher of Rand for the construction of a Wesleyan Methodist Church in Hemmingford.
SPECIAL COLLECTION: LAPRAIRIE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 1837-1843
The first Presbyterian congregation in the Canadas was organized at Québec about 1765, and the second at Montréal in 1786. Later the first permanent organization in Upper and Lower Canada was the Presbytery of the Canadas, constituted at Montréal in 1818. A congregation was established in Laprairie about 1833.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1837-1843, 6 cm (CH206.S184, CH416.Bd229, CH265.Bd269)
These records consist of minutes of meetings of the Presbyterian Committee of Laprairie, 1837-1843, and two registers of baptisms, marriages, and burials at Laprairie, 1839 and 1842-1843.
SPECIAL COLLECTION: SEMINARY OF SAINT SULPICE, MONTREAL, 1663-
In 1663 Montréal was made over to the Sulpicians who became the Seigneurs of the island of Montréal. The Sulpician Seminary was completed in 1664 on Notre-Dame St. In 1667 the Seminary of St-Sulpice was given judicial rights over the community. The Sulpicians taught the boys and young men of the district in the Seminary. In 1840 Lord Sydenham gave the Sulpicians legal title to their seigniorial lands.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1796-1840, 2 cm (CH301.S261, CH300.S260, CH302.S262, CH372.S332)
The material in this collection largely concerns the estates of the Seminary, and falls into three chronological divisions. The first spans the period 1796-1804, and includes a letter from the Superior to Lord Dorchester expressing the Seminary's loyalty (1796), a survey of the Seminary's revenues from 1795 to 1799 (1800), and a report by Attorney-General J.Sewell to Sir R.S. Milnes on the Seminary's property (1804). Documents from the 1826-1828 period comprise a legal consultation on J. Molson's liability to pay dues on property purchased from the Sulpicians (1826), and Attorney-General Sir James Stuart's opinion on the Seminary's corporate status. Finally from the period 1839-1840 come extracts from government ordinances respecting the seminary, reports of a citizen's committee on the Seminary's land titles, and documents concerning a petition against the establishment of a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical community in Montréal.
SPECIAL COLLECTION: VITE DE PONTIFICI, ca 1650
OSLER LIBRARY
Originals, ca 1650, 106 pp (Acc. 278)
Le vite de vintidue Pontifici, principiando d'Alessandro sesto fino al presente Innocenzo Decimo (1492-1655), ca 1650, includes engravings, portraits and an index by W.W. Francis.
William Abbott, brother of Joseph Abbott, was born in Little Stickland, Westmoreland, England, and came to Canada with his brother in 1818. In 1824 he was ordained deacon by the bishop of Québec, and sent to the mission at Yamaska Mountain (later named Abbotsford). In the following year he exchanged parishes with his brother, at that time Rector of St. Andrews. Under William Abbott's direction, the building of Christ Church, St. Andrews, was completed and the parish consolidated.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Originals, 1824-1825, 3 cm (M.G. 4042)
Six manuscript sermons were composed by Abbott in 1824-1825 but, as annotations indicated, delivered on a number of occasions thereafter.
Acquariva was a Catholic priest from Rome.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, 1571, 364 pp (M104.Bd292)
Esercizi spirituali...
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, 1604, 159 pp (M111.Bd105)
Many of the poems in Ansovinus' commonplace-book (Libercarminum diversorum auctorum datum Macerate) are religious in nature.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1614, 24 pp (New MSS)
These papers comprise eight letters from Nicolo dell'Antelle to Cardinal Cammillo Guidi.
BALDWIN, MAURICE SCOLLARD, 1836-1904
A native of Toronto, Maurice Scollard Baldwin was a graduate of Upper Canada College and the University of Trinity College (M.A. 1859). In 1861, he was ordained as a priest of the Church of England. In 1872, he was named to the position of rector of Montréal's Christ Church Cathedral and in 1879 became the dean of Montréal. In 1883 he became bishop of the Anglican diocese of Huron, a position which he held until his death. Baldwin was quite active in local church societies and related organizations such as the Lord's Day Alliance, the Bible Society, the Young Men's Christian Association and the Missionary Club. He also attended two Lambeth Conferences for Anglican bishops. Baldwin's first wife, Maria Ermatinger, died in 1863 and in 1870 he married Sarah Jessie Day. Sarah J.D. Baldwin was actively involved in the church's Women's Auxiliary and the Mission Society.
McCORD MUSEUM
Originals, 1866-1904, 8 cm (Unaccessioned)
The majority of these papers are incoming correspondence concerning Maurice S. Baldwin's and Sarah Jessie Day Baldwin's interest in the missionary work of the church. Baldwin also received correspondence from church officials concerning his attendance at the Lambeth Conferences, 1887, 1897.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, 1844, 17 pp (M229.Bd Box V)
This is Banister's copy of his note to F. Madan, Bodley Librarian, concerning his manuscript of Wyclif's translation of the New Testament.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1716, 2.5 cm (M105.Bd291)
This rough draft of Bedford's Collection of Devotions for the Hours of Prayer, composed for Queen Anne, was given by the author to Thomas Rivet.
BELLASSIS (or BELASYSE), JOHN BELLASSIS, BARON, fl 1680
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, ca 1680, 40 pp (M146.Bd140)
This "spiritual testament" dedicated to his sisters, Lady Vavasor and Lady Ingram, was written while Bellassis was prisoner in the Tower of London.
BOMPAS, WILLIAM CARPENTER, 1834-1906
A native of London, England, William Carpenter Bompas was ordained a priest of the Church of England in 1865. He engaged in missionary activities in the Mackenzie River area of northern Canada and was named the first Anglican bishop of the following dioceses: Athabaska (1874), Mackenzie River (1884) and Selkirk (1891). In 1888, he wrote a .ul all History of the diocese of Mackenzie River and was also the author of some translations of religious works into Indian dialects.
McCORD MUSEUM
Originals, 1865-1900, 3 cm (M12952)
The William Carpenter Bompas papers concern his role as a missionary and bishop in northern Canada and, to a lesser extent, his interest in languages. Correspondence, 1865-1900, to his brother James, and other members of his family in England, describes his travels, the socio-economic life of native peoples, the climate, flora and fauna of the region and gold mining in the Yukon. Also there are sermons in English and Indian languages, 1877-1891, n.d., and two volumes of notes on Indian languages, n.d.
BOOTH, WALTER PETER, 1883-1965
Born in Tilly, Ontario, Walter Peter Booth graduated from McGill in arts in 1912, and with a Bachelor of Divinity from the Wesleyan College (Montréal) in 1915. Prior to graduation he served as a probationer and student assistant in Presbyterian and Methodist Churches in Québec, Ontario and Vermont (1903), and thereafter as pastor of Congregationalist churches in the United States. For most of his professional life he worked not as a clergyman but as an insurance salesman and elocutionist: he was the author of the "Booth Daily Intelligence Test" (ca 1932).
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Originals, Printed Materials and Photographs, 1912-1965, 1 cm (M.G. 2052)
Booth's autobiographical notes, ca 1949, apparently prepared for a Congregational Yearbook, are supplemented by sixteen photographs, printed notices of Booth's performances as an elocutionist, and diplomas.
Ordained as a priest in Ireland, Edmund Burke came to Québec in 1786. He served as a missionary on Ile d'Orléans (1791-1794) and in the area of Detroit and Ohio (1794-1796).
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, 1797, 1 p (CH76.S94)
A warrant for payment of 50 pounds to Burke 'being for six months salary as Missionary to the Indians in the district of Amherstburg' is signed by Robert Prescott.
CANADIAN BAPTIST MISSIONARY SOCIETY, fl 1850
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1850 (CH309.S269)
These notes on the case of J.B. Forsyth vs the Canadian Baptist Missionary Society were probably made by F. Griffin.
CATHOLIC CHURCH. DIOCESE OF MONTREAL, fl 1850-1909
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1850-1909, 3 cm (New MSS)
These three volumes contain accounts, lists of clergy and diverse memoranda concerning the diocese of Montréal.
Born in London, England, Abraham De Sola was called to Montréal in 1847 to serve as rabbi for the Congregation Shearith Israel, the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue. He also helped to found the Hebrew Philanthropic Society in 1847. De Sola joined the staff of McGill University as lecturer in Hebrew in 1848 and later became professor of Hebrew and Oriental Literature in 1853, a position he held until his death. He was very interested in science and was the author of many articles on Oriental languages and Jewish history and theology. He was also the president of the Natural History Society of Canada for several years.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Printed, Photocopies and Microfilm, 1928-1946, 1960 (M.G. 2053)
The greater part of the De Sola papers consists of incoming correspondence from 1845 to 1882, documenting his career as Rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue in Montréal; academic work at McGill University; public engagements and lectures before various societies, such as the Natural History Society of Montreal; activities in Jewish benevolent societies, and the de Sola Lodge. The correspondence contains some family letters, business correspondence and a large number of requests for de Sola's advice on Jewish religious customs and rituals. Other materials include de Sola's exercise books, examination papers, prayers and addresses, telegrams, invitations, posters, programmes, receipts for household expenses and tuition fees of de Sola's children. Among printed materials are prayer books and newspaper clippings. The collection also contains a few papers, largely sermons, of his son Rev. Mendola de Sola, 1887-1906.
DIONIGI, GIOVANNI MARIA, ca 1700
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, ca 1700, 45 cm (H55.Bd11)
This text of Sacra storia dell inclito mart. S. Vito. contains pen and sepia sketches and a folding map of Mazara, signed Guardino.
Born in England, Edward Feild was educated at Rugby and Queen's College, Oxford where he received his B.A. (1823) and M.A. (1826). Ordained as a priest of the Church of England in 1827, he served as a parish priest in England before being named the Bishop of Newfoundland in 1844. As Bishop of Newfoundland, Feild frequently travelled to the outports to provide religious services. A staunch high churchman, Feild was an adept administrator who solidified the church's financial base. He also served as an inspector for the Newfoundland School Society. Feild's diocese also included Bermuda and he often travelled there.
McCORD MUSEUM
Originals, 1813-1875, 3 cm (M1330-1332, 1334-1336, 1338, 2297-2298, 8221, 8225-8226, 9221, 9226)
The Edward Feild papers include a commonplace book from his student days, 1813-1817, a journal, 1844 and letters to family members, 1837-1862.
FRENCH CANADIAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY, fl 1840
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, 1840, 64 pp (CH364.S324)
This report dated 15 April 1840 is by James Court, an agent to Europe for the French Canadian Missionary Society.
Louis Guyon était probablement un prêtre à Québec.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originaux, 1839, 1850-1893, 3 cm (New MSS)
"Notes sur les Rubriques" de Guyon,(1839) et documents comptables paroissiaux de 1850 à 1893.
KEATING, GEOFFREY, ca 1570-ca 1644
Born in County Tipperary, Ireland, Geoffrey Keating was educated abroad, where he was ordained to the Catholic priesthood. Returning to Ireland some time after 1621, he gained fame as a popular preacher and writer. His most important work was a history of Ireland up to the time of the English invasion, Foras Feasa ar Eirinn (1629). His Tri Bioghaoithe an Bhais ("Three shafts of Death"), a theological treatise on the conduct of life in relation to the advent of death, contains many anecdotes on Irish history and fragments of Irish verse. Like Keating's other works, it circulated widely in manuscript, and was printed in 1890.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Copy, ca 1650, 3 cm (M128.Bd122)
This manuscript of Tri Bioghaoithe an Bhais is written in three or four hands.
Edward King was born in Norfolk and educated at Clare Hall, Cambridge and Lincoln's Inn. Though he practised law, a private fortune enabled him to pursue a literary career for most of his life. He was an antiquarian, but his major obsessions were public policy and religion, and he wrote a large number of proposals and tracts on subjects ranging from naval education to the angelic ancestry of John the Baptist.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, ca 1790, 1793, 1.5 cm (M213, M275.Bd248)
King's papers comprise his manuscripts of Considerations on the Utility of the National Debt and on the Present Alarming Crisis (1793), and "Enquiries Tending to Investigate the History of the Deluge" (ca 1790). The first appeared in print in 1793, but the latter was never published.
Charles Kingsley was born near Dartmoor and educated at King's College, London, and Magdalene College, Cambridge. He took holy orders, and eventually held canonries at Chester (1869) and Westminster (1873). His enormous literary output is varied, comprising poetry, fiction, history, and children's literature (The Water Babies, 1863). His profound concern with social reform is reflected in pamphlets and in his novel Alton Locke (1850), while his enthusiasm for patriotic historical fiction produced Westward Ho! (1855) and Hereward the Wake (1866). Kingsley was Professor of modern history at Cambridge from 1860 to 1869, where his controversy with John Henry Newman provoked the latter's Apologia. Kingsley also published numerous sermons.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1842-1852, 10 cm (M198.Bd191, M234.Bd Box V)
Manuscripts of 43 of Kingsley's sermons.
MILLEDONNE, ANTONIO, 1522-1588
Antonio Milledonne, secretary of the Council of Ten in Venice, was the Republic's observer at the Council of Trent (1545-1563). His account of the Council was never published, though a French translation appeared in Paris in 1870.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Copy, ca 1680, 2.5 cm (H80.Bd119)
Manuscript copy of Milledonne's "Gionale del Concilio Tridentino".
A member of the Baptist Church, Edward Mitchell attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire in the 1820s. Later, he served as a minister for the Calvinist Baptist Society in Georgeville, Québec.
McCORD MUSEUM
Originals, 1822-1897, 20 cm (Unaccessioned)
The great majority of the Mitchell family papers are those of Edward Mitchell and concern his student days and his subsequent career as a minister. There are student compositions, 1824-1930; sermons and notes, n.d.; a manuscript describing his religious experiences and another of "Social Friends", n.d.; and manuscripts of various poems. There are also deeds to land owned by other family members, 1837-1897.
NEWMAN ASSOCIATION OF MONTREAL, 1929-1972
The Newman Association of Montreal, comprising the Newman Club of McGill University, the Roman Catholic Chaplaincy at McGill, and the Newman Alumni of Montreal, was founded in 1929 and incorporated in 1951. Though there is no direct organizational link, the Loyola Club (1897-1907) and the Columbian Club of McGill (1907-1926) may be termed forerunners of the Newman Association. Newman is a social club and religious counselling and educational service for Roman Catholic students, and a member of the Canadian Federation of Newman Clubs.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Originals, Copies and Printed Materials, and Microfilm, 1946-1983, 3.5 m (M.G. 4053)
The files of the Newman Association contain minutes of director's meetings from 1965 to 1974, and correspondence and memoranda concerning finances and fund-raising; Newman House and its operations; events such as speakers, retreats, parties, and liturgical celebrations; membership and statistics on Catholic students; liaison with the ecclesiastical administration and with the Canadian Federation of Newman Clubs; the "Pax Romana" movement; and issues of concern (ethical, political and religious).
The papers of the Newman Club of McGill University include executive minutes, 1946-1983, some accounts, 1967-1969, a scrapbook of clippings, 1955-1956, and a series of historical files containing lists of past officers with some materials from the Columbian Club. The Roman Catholic chaplaincy is represented by the chaplain's reports from 1963 to 1972, and the Newman Alumni by executive committee minutes from 1958 to 1963. The Archives also holds a number of newsletters and magazines published by these groups.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1778, 3 cm (M137.Bd131)
This collection consists of "Hiel's letters. Thirty letters on theological subtleties". Upton, 1778. A note by E. Dowden ascribes the authorship of this work to Okely.
PORTIER, FRANCOIS R., fl 1835-1859
Portier fut curé de Terrebonne et ensuite curé de Pointe aux Trembles.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originaux, 1835-1859, 4 cm (New MSS)
Carnet des comptes et notes paroissiales.
ROBSON, JOHN M.D., OF WARRINGTON, fl 1840
Robson's collection of books formed the nucleus of the McGill University Library.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Printed, Originals, ca 1840, 3 cm (M216.Bd129)
This Greek New Testament, without the four Gospels is interleaved and heavily annotated in Robson's hand.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, 1797, 2.5 cm (M152.Bd136)
"Cours de religion en vers" 1797.
SCOTT, FREDERICK GEORGE, 1861-1944
Frederick George Scott, a son of Dr. William E. Scott, Professor of anatomy at McGill University, was a graduate of Bishop's University. Ordained in the Church of England in 1886, he became a canon of Holy Trinity Cathedral, Québec in 1906 and during the First World War was the senior chaplain of the Canadian First Division. His son, Henry Hutton Scott was killed during the war. He wrote several books of poetry and other literary works including his wartime reminiscences, The Great War As I Saw It (1922). He was elected F.R.S.C. in 1900. In 1887, he married Amy Brooks and they had six children including William Bridges Scott (b.1888), a judge, and Francis Reginald Scott (b.1899) the McGill University professor, lawyer and poet.
McCORD MUSEUM
Originals, 1818-ca 1963, 3 m
The bulk of the Frederick George Scott papers concern his activities as a clergyman but to a lesser extent also deal with his work as a writer and poet. The papers contain correspondence, 1875-1943; sermons, 1900-1941; addresses, 1901-1941; transcripts of radio talks, 1926-1941; manuscript poems, 1886-1942; manuscript of "Four Years After", 1922-1923; diaries, 1883, 1899-1943; and personal bills. Other materials include correspondence of other Scott family members: William E. Scott, 1818-1883; Henry Hutton Scott, 1912-1916; William Bridges Scott, 1938-1960; and Francis Reginald Scott, 1914-1943.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Originals, 1869, 4.5 cm (M134.Bd128)
"Kedem, or the Garden of Eden, by Symkabeta", 1869. The manuscript includes an article on Mountain worship by W. Simpson, and critical letters from Thomas Scott, 1869.
ST. GABRIEL STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 1792-1909
The original St. Gabriel St. Presbyterian Church was built in Montréal in 1792 and was located on the south-west corner of St. Gabriel and Champs-de-Mars. In 1886 the church moved to another building located on the south side of St. Catherine St. This building was sold in 1909 when the St. Gabriel St. church merged with Chalmers' Presbyterian Church to become the First Presbyterian Church. The first minister was the Rev. John Young (1792-1802) and among the early supporters of the Church could be found some of the most prominent merchants in Montréal, including James McGill, John Richardson, Beniah Gibb and Simon McTavish. Some of the ministers of the church were: Henry Esson (1815-1844) who was also a chaplain of the St. Andrew's Society (1835-1844); Alexander Ferrie Kemp (1855-1866) who was a Vice-President of the Natural History; Society and Robert Campbell who wrote A History of the Scotch Presbyterian Church, St. Gabriel St. in 1887.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Microfilm, 1796-1869, 8 reels (M.G. 2054)
This microfilm contains the Registers of births, marriages, and deaths, 1796-1869 and the minute books of the Presbytery of Québec, 1831-1842.
John Strachan was born at Aberdeen, Scotland where he attended the Grammar School, and King's College. He received his M.A. in 1797 from St. Andrew's University. Coming to Canada, he was ordained to the priesthood by Jacob Mountain, Bishop of Québec in 1804. In 1812 he was named Rector of York (Toronto) and the rest of his life was spent in Upper Canada (Ontario). Strachan was a member of both the Executive Council and Legislative Council of Upper Canada. In 1839 he was appointed to the new see of Toronto.
RARE BOOK DEPARTMENT
Original, 1829, 6 pp (CH199.S177)
An abusive character sketch of Strachan dated 29 December 1829.
UNITED CHURCH OF CANADA, MONTREAL-OTTAWA CONFERENCE, 1925-
In 1925, all the Methodist churches in Canada, virtually all the Congregationalist churches, and approximately two-thirds of the Presbyterian ones joined to form the United Church of Canada. This amalgamation culminated a number of unification movements within the three denominations, which had earlier produced the Presbyterian Church in Canada (1875) and the Methodist Church (1884). The organization of the United Church is presbyterial, and membership in its boards is composed of an equal number of lay and clergy representatives. Individual congregations are governed by sessions, and these are grouped into regional presbyteries which exercise supervision over ministers and pastoral charges. Presbyteries are in turn grouped as conferences, with powers to ordain clergy. Legislation and policy are determined by the Church's General Council.
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES
Originals, Copies, Printed Materials, 1824-1978, 99 m (M.G. 2056)
The records of the Montrea-Ottawa Conference of the United Church are arranged in the following series:
1. Denominational records prior to Union, 1824-1925
Records of each of the three parent denominations follow the same general pattern. There are minutes, usually printed, of the national executive body, and original minutes of the local unit corresponding to the geographical boundaries of the present Conference. Papers of associations at this level generally include the files of Sabbath School associations, ministerial associations, missionary societies, and theological colleges. A number of interdenominational clergy and mission groups are also represented; while a special series of correspondence, minutes, and conference reports covers the debates concerning union, 1906-1925. The Methodist materials begin in 1824, and the Presbyterian in 1841, and the Congregational in 1842.
2. Conference records, 1925-
Minutes of the Conference, and of the Conference-based Women's Missionary Society, Women's Union and United Church Women, are extant from the time of Union. The Montreal Presbytery maintains a record of proceedings, and supports a number of groups and associations (Minister's Wives Association, young peoples' groups, camps, missionary societies, United Church Women) whose work is documented by minutes, financial records and, occasionally, correspondence files. Also included are records of the Joint Theological Colleges of McGill University and of the United Theological College, 1912-1948.
3. Local Churches, 1832-
Many local churches retain their historical records, including civil registers. The Archives' holdings include records of approximately 75 individual congregations in the Montréal and Québec-Sherbrooke Presbyteries, consisting of minutes of governing bodies, communion rolls, minutes of organizations, accounts, annual reports, and occasionally photographs and architectural drawings. The most substantial and significant records are those of the Erskine and American (from 1832), including records of Canada Education and Home Missionary Society, 1833-1848, St James (from 1820), Zion Congregational (from 1832), and Odelltown (from 1829) congregations.
4. Missionary Work in French Canada, 1848-1861, 1876-1969
The importance to the United Church and its parent denominations of mission work in French Canada is documented by minutes of the French Canadian Missionary Society (1848-1861), and papers, including sermons, notebooks and correspondence of the French Evangelical Church of Canada (1876-1969).
5. Papers of individuals, 1822-1925
Papers of individuals include the correspondence, essays and sermons, 1870-1917, of Calvin E. Amaron; the Bieler Family; J. Armitage Ewing (largely concerning the controversies surrounding Union in 1925); William Mair, sermons, 1827-1855; Richard Robinson, diaries, personal records, sermon outlines, 1857-1912; Henry Wilkes, 1822-1878, and others.
NOTE: Civil registers documenting baptisms, marriages and deaths are NOT kept in this archives, but are retained at the United Church Centre in Montréal.