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Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
Hall family fonds
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on content of fonds.
Level of description
Fonds
Repository
Reference code
CA RBD MSG 1299
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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21 January 1719 - approximately 1912 (Creation)
- Creator
- Hall family
Physical description area
Physical description
21.3 cm of textual records
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
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Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
The Hall family was a Montreal and Quebec City-based family of merchants, tradespeople, and farmers. William Hall (1738-1795) was born in England and migrated to Andover, Massachusetts with his mother, Sarah Barker (unknown-approximately 1803) around 1755, upon the request of his uncle, Joseph Gibson. On 16 May 1761, William Hall married Christina Barbara Juncken (1739-1817), the daughter of Christina Dorothea Juncken and Johann Juncken, German immigrants who had arrived in Philadelphia in 1753. After marrying, they moved to Andover and had 7 sons together: Joseph Hall (??-1834), David Hall (1764-1796), William Hall (1768-1854), John Hall (1771-1822), Henry Hall (1772-1804), Jacob Hall (1777-approx. 1819), and Benjamin Hall (1779-1863).
William Hall (1767-1854) and his brother Henry moved to Quebec City in approximately 1791 to open a hat making shop with their uncle, Henry Juncken (died approx. 1802). Soon after, the other members of the family began moving to Montreal - Benjamin arriving in approximately 1793, Joseph and Jacob in 1797, John by 1799, and Christina Barbara in 1804. The brothers worked, at various times, as farmers, tanners, hat makers, bakers, and merchants. Benjamin and John married sisters, Charlotte and Harriet Morrison (1784-1871), the daughters of wealthy Montreal businessman James Morrison and Suzanne Lepallieur.
Family members of the next generation represented in the Hall family fonds include Amelia Hall (daughter of Joseph Hall), Charlotte (1810-1886) and Harriet Ann Hall (1813-1895, daughters of John Hall), and Archibald Hall (1812-1868, son of Jacob Hall). Edward Vennor (1807-1874), who married Harriet Ann Hall in 1834, is also represented in the fonds, as is their daughter, Charlotte Ann Vennor Linsday (1839-1912).
Custodial history
Purchased from Warren Baker in 2020.
Scope and content
This fonds contains documents created by or created for members of the Hall family and their extended family, beginning with Sarah Barker and ending with Charlotte Anne Vennor Lindsay, her great-great-granddaughter. The documents in the fonds represent the personal relationships and activities of Hall family members, as well as some of their business dealings. They date from between 21 January 1719 and approximately 1912, with the majority of the documents representing the period between 1750 and 1890. The documents were created while members of the Hall family and their relations lived in Montreal, Quebec City, and in New England (including Philidelphia, Andover, and Boston). Other documents were created in parts of Ontario (including Kingston, Fort Erie, and York/Toronto) and Germany (Kirchbrak, Durlach).
The fonds is arranged into four series: Diaries, Correspondence, Financial and legal documents, and Other family papers. The Diaries series consists of bound diaries and loose diary entries created by Hall family members. The correspondence series consists primarily of personal correspondence between Hall family members, with some business correspondence and some letters and notes related to genealogy and a financial legacy. The Financial and legal documents series contains a variety of documents related to personal and household expenses, guardianship of minor children, land sale and management, and the execution of wills and distribution of estates. This series includes accounts, receipts and invoices, loans, power of attorney, land surveys, wills, inventories of estates, a marriage contract, and other documents. Finally, the Other family papers series contains documents that did not fit neatly with the other series. These are related to the Hall family's participation in military, religious, and masonic organizations - documented by certificates, official letters, and a religious manuscript - and also includes a recipe.
Notes area
Physical condition
Immediate source of acquisition
Arrangement
Language of material
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
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Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Also described in the McGill Libraries catalogue.
Associated materials
Accruals
General note
An acquisition file with research notes about the family is also available, including photocopies of archival documents held at other institutions, copies of secondary sources, and correspondence. Includes general genealogical information as well as information about specific family members.