McDonald's correspondence, 1791-1860, mostly concerns business and property matters, but also includes personal correspondence. There are statements of account with McTavish, Frobisher & Co., 1799; with McTavish, Fraser & Co., 1803-1804; with McTavish, McGillivray & Co., 1808-1809. There are two volumes of autobiographical notes assembled in 1859 and covering the period 1791-1816.
There is a second copy of the autobiography, probably transcribed in the late 19th century. Written on the front fly leaf is the name: A.E. MacDonald. It has 63 leaves, and there are minor textual variants.
Fonds consists of one manuscript album of poetry, belonging to the Marchioness Townshend. Contains various genres of poetry in English, written between 1769 and 1771, including "comic poems on various occasions." Quarto manuscript written on laid paper in a neat scribal hand in brown ink throughout.
Fonds relates to a dining club, the Philogastric Institute of McGill, and include correspondence, principally from Richard Pennington to John Bland, as well as printed menus.
Fonds consists of six letters, with four manuscript letters from Rilke written between 1896 and 1922 and two discussing letters discussing these. The four letters from Rilke are addressed to various correspondents, including on 8 November 1896 to the author Gabriele Reuter regarding her book, 15 October 1904 to Anette Vedel, and 9 July 1907 to an unidentified correspondent. The fourth letter dates likely from August or September 1922 and is addressed to Elfriede Nicolaus. The two later letters which discuss the Rilke letters include one dated 13 December 1954 from Hedvig Wahlgren regarding the date of the 1922 letter to Nicolaus and one dated 29 November 1955 from Ruth Fritzsche (née Rilke) to McGill Librarian Richard Pennington.
Typed copies of the official and private correspondence, 1814-1821, held in the McCord Museum in the William MacKay Papers. They consist mainly consist of military records such as commissions, 1813-1814, correspondence between members of the British Indian Department, including Lt. Col. Robert McDouall and his description of the siege of Prairie du Chien, with reference to the Omaeqnomenew (Menominee), Hocak (Winnebago), and Meskwaki (Fox) warriors who fought alongside British forces, as well as to the Potawatomi leader Main Poc (referred to as Marpock), 1814-1815 and copies of correspondence of Capt. Thomas Anderson with Lt Col. Robert McDouall on military actions, supplies and Indian relations, 1814-1815. There is also a newspaper clipping about Alexander MacKay and the partnership agreement admitting William MacKay and David Mackenzie into the North West Company in 1796.
This collection consists of contemporary copies of letters written by T. Blackwood from Michilimackinac to James and Andrew McGill & Co., to Ch. Chaboillez, and to T. and J. McGregor.
There is business correspondence, 1792-1800, with letters from among others Alexander Mackenzie, Joseph Frobisher, Alexander Henry, Simon Fraser and Roderick Mackenzie. There are also minutes and resolutions of the Executors of McTavish in a bound volume; and a contemporary copy of the minutes of the executors of his will, 1805.
The collection contains business correspondence, including letters to William Grant and Grant, Campion & Co. from Brickwood, Pattle, & Co., 1792-1793, and letters from Brickwood & Daniell, John Blackwood, and McTavish, Fraser and Co., 1799-1800. There is also a bound letter book for Grant and Laframboise, Montreal, 1800-1801 with additional loose leaves of letter copies dating between 1798 and 1800.
Frobisher's papers comprise a letterbook of the North-West Co. containing copies of letters written by Frobisher from April 1787 to October 1788, two original letters to Simon McTavish, 1796, and one from him, 1787, business and legal documents, largely concerning the estate of James McGill, 1810-1834, and a diary, 1806-1810, mostly a record of where he dined.
