The Papineau Family preserved within this fonds were extremely connected and influential in the political, legal, social and civil environment of Quebec and Ontario starting from the early nineteenth century. Papineau family members are responsible for civil constructions such as the Montreal Polytechnique School and the Lachine Canal. The Papineau Family was connected by marriage to many other influential families in French Canada, most notably the Trudeaus, Mackays, Cherriers and Bourassas.
The Papineau Family settled in Lower Canada in the 17th century. Joseph Papineau (1752-1841) was born in Montreal and was granted a seigneury in nearby Montebello. Two of Joseph’s sons, Louis-Joseph (1786-1871) and Denis-Benjamin (1789-1854), would become important political figures: Louis-Joseph led the Patriote movement, while Denis-Benjamin served as the joint premier of the Province of Canada after the unification of Upper and Lower Canada. This fonds comprises personal and professional papers of Louis-Joseph and Denis-Benjamin Papineau, their children, and their grandchildren, as well as related family members. Conspicuous persons include Louis-Joseph-Amédée (1819-1903), Auguste-Cyrille (1828-1915), Casimir-Fidèle (1826-1892), and Louis-Gustave (1855-1931, son of Auguste-Cyrille).

William Kitchen Parker was born on June 23, 1823, in Dogsthorpe, Peterborough, Northamptonshire, England.

He was an English physician, zoologist, and comparative anatomist. Growing up on a farm, he was a true lover of nature. Village schooling at Dogsthorpe and Peterborough Grammar School prepared him for an apprenticeship, at the age of 15, to a chemist and druggist at Stamford and later to a medical practitioner. In 1844–1846, he studied at King's College, London. He also attended Charing Cross Hospital in 1846-1847, and, having qualified as L.S.A. (Licenciate of the Society of Apothecaries), he commenced general practice in 1849. In 1873, he became Hunterian Professor of Anatomy and Physiology in the College of Surgeons of England. There are many indications that Parker found writing difficult (possible dyslexia) and dictated his notes to his secretary. He published the book "The Morphology of the Skull" (1877) with G.T. Bettany. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1865 and awarded the Royal Medal in 1866. He was President of the Royal Microscopical Society (1871-1873), and, in 1885, he received the Baly Medal of the Royal College of Physicians.

In 1850, he married Elizabeth Jeffery (1825–1900). He died on July 3, 1890, in Cardiff, Wales.

Archie, John, and James junior were three of the eight children of James Cameron, a Scottish immigrant to Montreal. A tavern keeper and grocer in Montreal from 1842-1859, James Cameron owned the Glasgow Inn tavern on Saint-Laurent Boulevard (see John Fraser, Canadian Pen and Ink Sketches [Montreal, 1890], p. 130). He is listed in the 1842 Lower Canada Census as having eight children. His sons include James junior, John, and Archie. John Cameron resided in Toronto between the 1850s and 1870s. Archie Cameron lived in Toronto during the 1850s, working in factories. He married Lucy, with whom he had four children.