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Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
James Morrison papers
General material designation
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Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on content of collection.
Level of description
Collection
Repository
Reference code
CA RBD MSG 1310
Edition area
Edition statement
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Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
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Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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18 September 1651 - approximately 1912 (Creation)
- Creator
- Morrison, James
Physical description area
Physical description
6.3 cm of textual records
Publisher's series area
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Archival description area
Name of creator
(Died 1807)
Biographical history
James Morrison was a Montreal merchant and fur trader. Born in England, Morrison had migrated to Montreal by 1762. He was very involved in the fur trade in the 1760s, going on canoe journeys to buy and sell furs and other goods. In Montreal, he traded more generally in goods including wheat, sugar, and textiles, and had connections with other merchants in Quebec City, England, and parts of the United States. He enslaved at least one Black woman who worked in his household. He married Susanne LePallieur on 30 March 1772. They had 8 children together: Susan, Nancy, Charles James, Samuel Morrison, Charlotte, Polly, Catherine, and Harriet Ann. He died on 30 March 1807.
Custodial history
Purchased from Warren Baker in 2021.
Scope and content
The James Morrison papers are a collection of documents chiefly related to James Morrison's activities as a trader and merchant in Montreal. The papers also include some material related to Morrison's family, including legal documents and genealogical research conducted by his descendents. The documents in the James Morrison papers cover a period beginning 18 September 1651 and ending in approximately 1912, but focusing primarily on 1767 through 1800. The fonds represents Morrison's business dealings in Quebec, Ontario, the northern United States, and England, as well as his family life in Montreal and connections with relatives in Baltimore, Ontario, and Jamaica.
The papers are arranged into three series: 1 - Journals, 2 - Correspondence, and 3 - Financial and legal records. Documents in these series include a bound journal, correspondence, contracts, deeds of ownership, power of attorney, birth and marriage certificates, bills of sale, invoices, accounts, descriptions of political and military events, and genealogical notes.
Notes area
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Finding aids
Also described in the McGill Libraries catalogue.