DOMINION OF CANADA REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ARCHIVES FOR THE YEAR 1926 ARTHUR G. DOUGHTY Keeper of Public Records OTTAWA F. A, ACLAND PRINTER TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1927 Price, 10 cents. DOMINION OF CANADA REPORT OFTHE PUBLIC ARCHIVES FOR THE YEAR 1926 ARTHUR G. DOUGHTY Keeper of Public Records OTTAWA F. A. ACLAND TRINTER TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY 1927 Il REPORT FOR THE YEAR, 1926 The Honourable The Secretary of State, Ottawa. OTTAWA, May 20, 1927. SIR,—I have the honour to submit to you the accompanying report on the work of the Public Archives for the year 1926. It will be observed that large additions have been made in each of the departments. The work of the copyists in the Public Record Office in London, and in the Archives des Colonies, the Bibliothèque Nationale and other repositories of historical papers in Paris has made available a considerable amount of additional documentary material to students of the history of Canada. Two exceptionally valuable collections received during the past years are the papers of the eminent banking houses of the Baring Brothers and Glyn, Mills & Company. These institutions financed many of the most important undertakings in both Canada and the United States, and their papers are a mine of information on the economic and political history of both countries. Access to these papers was gained by Dr. Adam Shortt in 1925. Representations as to the desirability of having these papers accessible to Canadian and American students were made to the head of the Baring house, Lord Revelstoke, who is, happily, related to the families of two former Governors General of Canada, Lord Minto and Lord Grey, to 'both of whom Canada is largely indebted for the present standing of the Public Archives. * Lord Revelstoke willingly agreed to the Public Archives having the custody of all the papers of these banking houses which related to their transactions in North America down to the year 1871, and notified the Prime Minister to that effect. Another notable gift is that of the late Earl Amherst of Montreal, Sevenoaks. It is a copy of the Atlantic Neptune, which was a possession of his famous ancestor Jeffrey, Lord Amherst, who received the capitulation of Canada from Governor Vaudreuil, on September 8, 1760. It was presented to Lord Amherst by the author, Colonel DesBarres. There are three volumes in the set, each fourteen inches wide by thirty-four inches in length. The first two volumes contain charts of the sea coasts of Nova Scotia, and the third of the sea coasts of New England. Besides the charts the volumes are enriched by one hundred plates of views along the Atlantic coast. Many of these plates do not appear in any other known copy of this work. The absence of the appendices, which have usually accompanied the reports' of the Archives, is accounted for by the fact that the papers which form the material of these appendices were last year published as separate volumes. The report on the Northcliffe Collection which contained the Monckton papers; the two volumes on Currency and Exchange; and the Catalogue of Pictures in the Public Archives were all published since the last report was issued. Attention may be drawn to the increasing interest of scholars in the material held in the Public Archives. Many students, American as well as Canadian, spend the whole or a large part of the long vacation in the institution. A large, comfortable room has been furnished for them, conveniently situated between the Manuscript Room and the Library, and the assistance of the staff is at all times at their service. 43096—14 4 REPORT FOR THE YEAR, 1926 Criticism has been directed to the delay which has ensued between the publication of the English and French versions of the reports. But this delay is in the interest of scholars as it requires a great deal of time to make a correct translation. A comparison of the early English and French versions of Govern­ ment publications is sufficient to prove the need of greater accuracy. It is suggested in future that whichever report is ready first shall be held until the translation is ready. In this way the French and English documents will appear at the same time. Jn future, therefore, the Archives will publish a brief report of the work of the department similar to the present one and documents will be published when they are ready in both languages. I have the honour to be, sir, Your obedient servant, A. G. DOUGHTY, Deputy Minister. CONTENTS P.V3 3 Index and Information Division Manuscript Division 9 Map and Chart Division 16 Paintings, Drawings and Prints 24 iff* REPORT OF THE PUBLIC ARCHIVES FOR THE YEAR, 1926 INDEX AND INFORMATION DIVISION Since the last report, 71,119 cards of the index of manuscripts were typewritten, classified and placed in their respective drawers. The index of the Quebec Gazette was also continued up to the year 1794 and 49,000 cards were added to it. Thirty years of this interesting old paper, the only newspaper published at that time, have now been indexed. 24,000 cards have also been received from our Montreal office, being the index of old registers of baptisms, marriages and burials in that city; the whole making a grand total of 144,119 cards added to our general index. CLASSIFICATION MILITARY RECORDS SECTION The assembling and classification of the old military records in the custody of the Public Archives have been pursued with renewed vigour. The services of two employees of the Department of National Defence have been loaned and the work is proceeding under the direction of the chief of the branch. I. Correspondence and Military papers of Upper and Lower Canada. The classification and preparation for an index of the military corre­ spondence and documents of Upper and Lower Canada dating from 1770, are now in progress. There are approximately a thousand portfolios of these documents, which are of great historical value. II. Old Militia Books of Departmental Records and Registers of Militia. Books of military records numbering over a thousand volumes, cover departmental records and the activities of the militia, volunteer and permanent forces. Some of these units date back to 1793 and the registers of officers are now classified and ready for reference. HI.'Militia Pay-Rolls, Active Militia and Permanent Force. Over 1200 portfolios of vouchers have been gone through and all the military pay-rolls extracted therefrom. The classification of these pay-rolls is proceeding; they are being placed in portfolios and are now easy to consult Many requests are received for verification of services from the Department of National Defence and old militiamen. These pay-lists date back to the year 1811 and cover all Canadian service from the War of 1812-15 to the South African War. They are now in order and ready for reference. IV Militia Department—Abstracts and Vouchers. There are on file about 1,600 packages and portfolios of Militia Department abstracts and vouchers dating from 1898; these are now on the shelves ready for reference. V. Records of the Great War. The Department of National Defence has begun the transfer of the records of the Great War Three thousand files of deceased officers are already m this section and placed in portfolios. It is expected that the balance of about seven thousand of these files will be received shortly. ém* PUBLIC ARCHIVES S. SERIES The reclassification of the S. Series containing the internal qfficial corre­ spondence of Lower Canada, 1760-1841, has also been undertaken and is now completed. CUSTOMS DEPARTMENT The records of the Customs Department, from 1846 to 1867, are now being examined, classified and put into portfolios; they will number about 200. PUBLIC WORKS The records of the Department of Public Works covering the years 1844 to 1867, which were transferred to the Public Archives some years ago, have now been sorted and placed in 321 portfolios; they are now ready for reference. SEARCHES Applications for information and copies of documents continue to pour in from all quarters. Since the last report, 1,609 searches have been made and they have proved successful in nearly all cases. MANUSCRIPT DIVISION TRANSCRIPTS FROM FRANCE Archives des Colonies— Series F3. Collection Moreau St. Méry. Vols 6-16. Canada, 1681-1791. 54. Descriptions et Historique, Saint-Pierre & Miquelon et Terre-Neuve. Fisheries, 1640-1803. 55. Historique de Sainte-Lucie, 1605-1785. 62. Description et Historique, Trinité (Trinidad), 1751. 67 -72. Instructions aux administrateurs, 1665-1788. 74-77. Repertoire des Notions Coloniales (Dictionary of Colonial matters). 78. Canada, 1663-1749. 79. Colonies en général, Collège Martinique 1680. Mémoires du Roi 1741. Louisiane Collège 1742. 80. Mémoire sur les bœufs Illinois. 81. 1725-1729. 82. Bégon mémoire, 1685. 83-84. " " Commerce, 1704-1766. 85. Conseils, 1727-1752. 89. • Ecclesiastical MSS. 1685-1725. 91. " " Canada et Louisiane, 1699-1734. 92. " Louisiane, 1742-1744. 93. Hôpital de Montréal, 1687. 94. « Nègres, Canada, 1720. 95. Sauvages, 1702-1790. 142-147. Canada, 1615-1778, Lettres historiques. 154. Canada, 1604-1713, Lettres historiques. 159. Etats, Listes, Services, Historique 1739-1764. 160. Terres, Titres, Troupes, 1697-1730. 163. Manufactures coloniales, Machines et Produits, 1787. 164-201. Historique, St. Domingue, 1492-1798. 213-219. Code, Cayenne, 1579-1803. 224-228. Code, Guadeloupe, 1726-1768. 236. Recueil des loisrparticulières, Guadeloupe, 1671-1777. REPORT FOR THE YEAR, 1926 9 Ministère des Colonies— Bfniîf Series C12A. Correspondance Générale. Vols. 10-16. St. Pierre et Miquelon, 1786-1844. Series C32B. Lettres du Ministre. Vols. 1-4. St. Pierre et Miquelon, 1763-1792.