Collection
The New France Collection documents the history of Canada from 1610 to the beginning of the English regime that followed the British Conquest of 1763. It covers the economic, social and military administration of France's North American colonies, notably Canada, Acadia and Louisiana. In particular, the collection chronicles the seigniorial system of New France, inherited from the French regime, the commercial organization of the fur trade, the end of the Seven Years' War in Acadia, and the judiciary's role in the affairs of the era's citizenry.
There are approximately one hundred financial records, letters, notarial acts, and civil, religious and military certificates and permits, most of which were produced between 1652 and 1760. The collection also contains a plan of the Château de Vaudreuil and four hand-written notebooks, published in 1838 and attributed to Louis-Léonard Aumasson de Courville, also known as the Sieur de Courville.
Classification Scheme
C003 New
France
C003/A Administration
C003/A1 Correspondence and notes
C003/A2 Pleas for clemency and requests for
compensation
C003/A3 Legal decisions and statements
C003/A4 Edicts, orders and appointments
C003/B Trade and finance
C003/B1 Authorizations
C003/B2 Bills of exchange and payment
receipts
C003/B3 Contracts, bonds and lists of debts
C003/B4 Correspondence and notes
C003/C Military
C003/C1 Correspondence and notes
C003/C2 Memoirs
C003/C3 Appointments and official honours
C003/C4 Orders and summons
C003/D Seigniories and Landholdings
C003/D1 Deeds of sale
C003/D2 Land grants and deeds
C003/D3 Authorizations
C003/D4 Lease agreements, annuities,
listings and obligations
C003/D5 Correspondence and notes
C003/D6 Plans, proposals and survey records
C003/E Civil registration and family life
C003/E1 Acts, certificates, baptismal
certificates and copies
C003/E2 Estate records
C003/E3 Authorizations
C003/E4 Marriage contracts and mutual
donations
Source of title proper: Based on the contents of the collection.
Physical condition: The collection is in good condition, overall, though some documents are crumbling or weakened along the folds.
Immediate source of acquisition: The documents in this collection have various origins. Some came from the original collection of David Ross McCord, while others were donated by individuals or collectors.
Arrangement: In 2016, the documents in the collection were reclassified and integrated into a new classification plan. One document was added from the Canadiana Collection (C002).
Language: The documents are in French.
Accruals: Further accruals are expected.
Related groups of records: Other documents related to the New France Collection are preserved in the Epoque coloniale (S001) and Canadiana (C002) collections, and the Seigneury of Rouville (P107) and Seigneury of Sorel (P109) fonds.
Last update: August 30, 2017
Information about the objects in our collection is updated to reflect new research findings. If you have any information to share regarding this object, please email reference.mccord@mccord-stewart.ca.Information about rights and reproductions is available here.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.