Letters and post cards comprising incoming and outgoing correspondence with Baylis covering such topics as Baylis's lecture at the Montreal St. James Literary Society on the topic of Simon McTavish (20th February 1923) and pleads for and estimated cost associated with the restoration of the McTavish monument and plot.
Among the correspondence is also an excerpt from the 20th February 1923 minutes of the St. James Literary Society where it is resolved to submit demands to the Historic Sites Commission to assume the repairs of the McTavish monument and tomb.
A sizable amount of incoming and outgoing correspondence between Baylis and a variety of associates and organizations mostly on the subjects of restoring the McTavish monument and tomb and restoring the burial site of Hon. Chief Justice James Reid and Elizabeth McGillivray.
11 incoming and outgoing correspondence (handwritten or typed) between Baylis and a variety of associates and organizations on the restoration of the McTavish monument and tomb at the head of Peel Street, Montreal. There is also a brief back and forth with a fellow McTavish researcher, R. Harvey Fleming of Toronto, Ontario.
A copy of Baylis's lecture "Simon McTavish: Merchant, Fur-Trader, Adventurer-Unafraid" and list of photograph for slides illustrating lecture. Lecture was delivered at the Montreal St. James Literary Society on 20th February 1923.
3 copies of a petition prepared by The Antiquarian & Numismatic Society of Montreal and sent to the Mayor and Aldermen, of the City of Montreal on the restoration of the McTavish Tomb and Monument (2 English; 1 French).
Copies of legal documents from the life of Simon McTavish and his family including his Real and Personal Estate (including values) and bequeaths (52 pages), Inventory of his Estates, death certificates of his 4 children (Chiswick, London, England), his Last Will and Testament, a 'Condition de mariage' for Simon McTavish and Marguerite Chaboillez, Petition and Act of Tutorship for Marguerite McTavish, and 4 court documents (George Selby vs William McGillivray 1811; George Selby vs William McGillivray et al. 1839; Emily Caton vs Hugh Allen 1861; Hugh Allan vs Emily Caton 1869)
A mix of handwritten and typed notes, interview transcripts, and drawings produced by Baylis to accompany his research on McTavish. Includes notes on Simon McTavish funeral and burial, the McTavish monument and tomb, the McTavish house (cost, legends of haunting), legal battles over estate, interview notes with Miss Reid-Taylor, drawings of property lines, and important dates for the McTavish children. There are typed transcription of a lease agreement, Elizabeth McGillivray's 1863 deposition, and the funeral notice for Simon McTavish (1804).
File contains 2 handwritten manuscript copies of the personal writings of Joseph Hadfield and his observations during his time in the fur trade. Hadfield mentions the role of traders making expeditions to the West and North West to barter with Indigenous communities for furs. He describes in detail how voyages were made from Montreal through Lake Ontario and Erie to Detroit by traders. Handfield provides lists of trade goods that he judged necessary for these traders to carry for barter and lists the skins received in exchange for goods. He lists the particular details of one cargo carried by canoe, with quantities and weight and value of goods transported. He also details which geographical regions are good for fur trapping (including Detroit, Michilimackinac, and Grand Portage) and provides pricing information for different types of animal skins, and distances traveled by traders. Includes very brief descriptions of activities of Indigenous community in the Northwest Canada/Detroit region and European fur trader settlements.
Also included the file are two letters written by Hadfield's granddaughter, Miss A. Hadfield, to Dr. G. R. Lomer of McGill University. The letters explain that Miss Hadfield had in her possession these accounts of her grandfather and she was inquiring to their informational value.
