The collection contains an account written by a Major Gilbert of the 1757 Rochefort expedition during the Seven Years' War. During this conflict, known as the Raid of Rochefort, British amphibious troops attempted unsuccessfully to capture the French port of Rochefort on the Atlantic coast.
Collections includes records relating to the Montreal Night Patrol, to which many prominent Montrealers subscribed. Files include lists of expenses incurred by the patrol, minutes from sessions, accounts and receipts, and subscription lists.
Collection consists of minutes of a meeting of the Committee of Ladies for the Relief of French Immigrants, Ladies and Female Children, 7 June 1796, as well as papers concerning relief of French clergy and laity.
William Badgley's papers form the bulk of the family's papers and consist of a book of legal notes and judgments, 1801-1826; legal commissions, 1823-1866; as well as circulars, petitions and correspondence for the Constitutional Association, 1834-1839. Other papers include family correspondence, 1823-1829, and deeds of sale, 1831-1852, of James Thompson Badgley.
Fonds contains the log of the H.M.S. Bellerophon kept during a voyage from Spithead, England, to Italy and the Aegean. Inscription on front flyleaf: "Log of the proceedings of H.M.S. Bellerophon 18 Guns, R. L. Baynes Esq. CB Capt. Commencing October 7th, 1840 and ending April 21st, 1850. Kept by John P. Gardiner, Naval Cadet and Midshipman.
Correspondence 1921-1931 concerning Simon McTavish; official copies of legal documents including estate inventories, lawsuits over the McTavish estate, and Simon McTavish’s will; notes for Baylis’ study of McTavish; numerous petitions and newspaper clippings on the state of the McTavish monument and tomb (Peel St., Montreal), and a typescript of his text concerning Simon McTavish. Also two letters from Ignatius Donnelly, 1899, and a letter 1895, from J. Middleton to John Doyle about 19th century gardening in Montreal and the funeral of Judge James Reid.