Collections and Research

M2006.112.18.12.1; II-202851; M2012.69.2.12 © McCord Museum Three generations of Abenakis © Antoine Desilets. Reference: Archives nationales du Québec, Montréal. Antoine Desilets Fonds, P697, 5948.

Our Amazing Families – Three Centuries of Quebec Documents and History

Each document is unique, telling the story of a particular Quebec family or individual, but taken together, they form a part of our collective history.

The Museum’s Textual Archives collection contains unique records that bear witness to the lives of Quebec families. Until very recently, less than 1% of this material could be accessed online. Thanks to the financial support of Sun Life Financial, which has made an extraordinary contribution to preserving and showcasing Quebec’s heritage, the McCord Stewart Museum will describe, digitize, and publish online 37 archival family fonds. These private archives, selected from a vast collection, will shed new light on Quebec’s economic, social and family history.

The goal of this project is to enable everyone to learn more about Quebec history by consulting these remarkable, content-rich textual archives. With this gift, Sun Life Financial is ensuring both the continued existence of these archives and their dissemination to the general public.

Some 400 pages from each fonds were selected for digitization and will be made available online to the public between February 2017 and June 2018. Each archival description includes a memorable excerpt from the documents as well as explanatory notes. We invite you to discover these families and their individual histories by exploring the contents of their archives.

To learn more about the project, watch the conference given by Céline Widmer, Curator, Textual Archives at the McCord Stewart Museum and Éléonore Aubut-Robitaille, Project Archivist.

Unique, digitized documents

Dive into the story of vacationers staying in Quebec between 1932 and 1947! The Club de la Petite Malbaie guest book is part of the Perrault Family Fonds.

By tracing the personal, educational and professional experiences of a young woman in the 1960s, the textual archives given by Murielle Mailloux makes a valuable addition to the history of women in Quebec.

The Baggs played a key role in the development of Mile End. Discover the legacy of this family!

Michèle Audette had an opportunity to look through some unique documents. Watch this short video to see what she found!

Dessaulles, Papineau, Leman and Béique Families Fonds P010 1737-2003
Hart Family Fonds P013 1760-1960
Trent Family Fonds P022 1800-1978
Bacon Family Fonds P025 1841-1907
Racey Family Fonds P057 1802-1964
Bagg Family Fonds P070 1749-1995
Ludger Gravel Fonds P091 1870?, 1889-1986
Maurice-Régis Blondeau Fonds P098 1777-1787
Cuthbert Family Fonds P105 1648-1971
Robillard Family Fonds P106 1739-1943
Seigneurs of Rouville Fonds P107 1695-about 1963
Verdon Family Fonds P108 1788-1890
Hélène Baillargeon-Côté Fonds P132 1960-1989
Sir George-Étienne Cartier Fonds P197 1753-1984
Chartier de Lotbinière and Harwood Families Fonds P292 1740-1875, 1933
Perrault Family Fonds P539 1876-avant 1957
Charles Irénée Douville Fonds P554 1906-1963
Meloche Family Fonds P556 1867-1966
Gilberte Christin de Cardaillac Fonds P573 1906-1978
Guerin Family Fonds P610 1780-1961
Louis-Alexandre Taschereau Fonds P632 1883-1885
Caverhill Family Fonds P645 1761, 1817-1970
Louis-Joseph Cartier Family Fonds P660 1797-1996
William John Watts Fonds P663 1861-1866, 1900
Gordon Bryson Fonds P672 Before 2005
Honoré Beaugrand Fonds P675 1593-1959
Casgrain, Forget and Berthelot Families Fonds P683 1801-2005
Murielle Mailloux Fonds P687 1934-1969
Stanley Ferguson Fonds P693 1968-1985
Leclère (Leclerc) Family Fonds P731 1750-1949
Turgeon Family Fonds P732 1799-1896
Donalda David Fonds P735 1908-1960
Grignon and Guèvremont Families Fonds P747 1892-1974
Léontine Poutré and Hercule Martin Fonds P748 1847-1982
Des Rivières and Taschereau Families Fonds P752 1839-1972
Jérémie Tremblay and Mariette Bergeron Fonds P757 1930-2016
Le Moine Family Fonds P761 1849-1955

Archives and documentation centre

Open to the public Tuesday to Thursday from 9:30 a.m. to noon, and from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. (closed on legal holidays)

By appointment only:
514-861-6701 ext. 1249
reference@mccord-stewart.ca

Not to be missed!

Not to be missed!