Fonds
Originally from Scotland, the Drummond family marked the history of Montreal through its achievements in industry, finance and the military and its involvement in various charities. George Alexander Drummond (1829-1910) moved to Canada in 1854 to work for John Redpath's sugar refining company. In 1857, he married Redpath's daughter, Helen Elizabeth (1827-1883); the couple went on to have seven children, five of whom reached adulthood: Maurice (1859-1906), Huntly Redpath (1864-1957), Edgar Lorne (1866-1891), Arthur Lennox (1868-1916) and George Lawrence Patterson (1869-1893).
Drummond became a very successful businessman and influential figure in the world of finance. He was a member of the Montreal Board of Trade, sat on the board of directors of the Bank of Montreal, and was appointed a senator in 1888, a position he held until his death in 1910.
His three sons, Maurice, Arthur and Huntly, followed him into business. All three became directors of the Canada Sugar Refining Company, and Huntly was eventually named president of the Bank of Montreal, a position he held at the beginning of the Second World War.
After Helen's death, George Alexander Drummond married his second wife Grace Julia Parker (1860-1942) on September 11, 1884. Known as Lady Drummond, she was a prominent Montreal philanthropist and champion of women's rights. The couple had two children, Julian St. George (1885-1886) and Guy Melfort Drummond Sr. (1887-1915), who was killed in combat during the First World War.
The third generation of the Drummond family in Canada is composed primarily of the four children of Arthur Lennox Drummond and his wife Elisabeth "Bessie" Cornelia Dowling (1871-1950): Mary Dorothea "Dot" (1900-1985), Helen Elizabeth (1902-1993), Jean Lesley (1905-1957) and George Arthur (1909-1948). It also includes their cousin, Guy Melfort Drummond Jr. (1915-1987), the son of Guy Melfort Drummond Sr. and Mary Hendrie Braithwaite (1893-1974).
Mary Dorothea Drummond married Eric Albany Millar (1890-1962), with whom she had Dorothea "Dora" Finlay Millar (1922-2016), Agnes Fiona Millar, Huntly Drummond Millar (1927-2016) and Helen "Nell" Elizabeth Millar (1934-2005). Mary Dorothea was involved in the Canadian Patriotic Fund, studied at university and helped fund research in the field of psychiatry. Dorothea Finlay Millar married John “Jack” Laidlaw McNiven (1917-1994) in 1946. Together, they enlisted in the Canadian army during the Second World War.
Patrick McGillycuddy Stoker (1920-2014), one of the donors of this fonds, is the son of Tom Thornley McGillycuddy Stoker (1885-1937), who married Mary Hendrie Braithwaite, the widow of Guy Melfort Drummond Sr., in 1919.
Scope and Content
The fonds focusses mainly on four generations of the Drummond family of Montreal, with the bulk of the documents covering the period from the 1880s to the 1970s. There is a lot of information about the family patriarch, George Alexander Drummond; his second wife, Julia Drummond; his sons, Huntly Redpath Drummond and Guy Melfort Drummond Sr.; his granddaughter Mary Dorothea Drummond and her family; and his great-granddaughter Dorothea Finlay Millar’s family. The fonds contains more limited information about the other members of the Drummond clan, along with some information about families related to the Drummonds, namely the Braithwaites, Hendries, Stokers, Millars and McNivens. The fonds chronicles the personal activities, family lives, and academic, professional and military activities of these individuals, as well as honours and awards they received. It also includes materials of a more general nature about the family, including genealogical information and a guest book with the names of friends and visitors. In addition, the fonds holds numerous photographs documenting the Drummonds' family life and the military careers of some of its members during the two World Wars.
Finally, the fonds recounts the activities of the Island Land Company, a management company formed to manage real estate owned by George Alexander Drummond, from 1905 to 1983.
The fonds is composed primarily of letters, financial records, scrapbooks, diplomas and certificates, as well as a smaller number of administrative documents associated with the Island Land Company.
Source of title proper: Based on the creators of the fonds.
Physical description: The fonds also contains 2299 photographs, 22 maps, 9 plans and 1 technical drawing.
Physical condition: The majority of loose press clippings in the fonds have been photocopied, and the very fragile originals have been discarded.
Immediate sources of acquisition: Patrick McGillycuddy Stoker made an initial donation to the McCord Museum in two lots: one in 1989, and a second in the fall of 2004. In 2018, the fonds received additional documents originally compiled by Mary Dorothea Drummond, donated to the McCord Stewart Museum by the Drummond Foundation.
Language: The documents are primarily in English, though some are in French, Latin or German.
Related group of records: See RB-1727 for the auction catalogue describing George Alexander Drummond's art collection. The St. Margaret’s Home fonds (P808) and the John Redpath fonds (P085) are also kept in the collection of the museum.
General note: The photographic records from the first donation were catalogued under the number MP-1989.11.
The fall 2004 donation also contained various objects, including several medals, some locks of hair and a silver commemorative plate presented to Lady Drummond, which can be found in the database under the number M2004.160.*. These items complement a series of objects associated with the Drummonds held by the McCord Museum, such as three paintings depicting George A., Grace Julia and Guy Melfort Drummond Sr. (see M988.98.1-3). Objects included in the 2018 donation can be found under the number M2018.53.*.
Last update : February 24, 2023
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.