Fonds
Members of the Bacon family first settled in the Hatley area of the Eastern Townships some time in the 1800s. Charles James Stewart Bacon (1829?-1878) moved his family to the Sherbrooke region in the mid-1860s, after living in South Carolina for many years. It was there in about 1853 that he had married Mary Elizabeth Chapman (1833-1884), a native of Saluda County, South Carolina. The couple had six children: Charles Thomas Stewart Bacon (1867?-1873), Mary Emily Bacon (1862-1940), Sophie Estelle Bacon (1863-1943), Frederick John Abney Bacon (1870-1935), Carolina Amanda Isabelle Bacon (1874-?) and Lilian Eleanor Madison Bacon (1875-?).
In the mid-1860s, Charles James Stewart Bacon worked as a merchant and insurance agent in the areas of Sherbrooke, Hatley and Compton. He apparently continued to work until the end of his life. He was also a major landowner.
In 1871, he was appointed as official receiver for the judicial district of Saint-François, to handle bankruptcy and insolvency cases. In addition, he worked as an estate liquidator. Following his death in March 1878, his widow Mary Elizabeth Chapman took over the administration of the family's property and finances, as well as guardianship of the couple's children (with Samuel Justin Foss as co-guardian).
In April 1884, shortly before her death, Mary Elizabeth Chapman Bacon transferred guardianship to her daughter Mary Emily Bacon, who also began running the family's affairs, a responsibility she shouldered until at least the early 1900s. Her brother Frederick John Abney Bacon studied at Bishop's College School in Lennoxville, then entered medical school at McGill University in 1893. In the end, however, he pursued a career as a teacher before becoming a principal for a school board.
The Bacon family includes various other members, all related in some way to Charles James Stewart Bacon. These include Frederic Bacon (1826-1902), a farmer in the Hatley area; Charles' sisters Sarah Bacon (?-1861) and Emily Bacon (1811-1898); Caroline Bacon (1821-1896), an artist married to John Coleman (1818-1849); Caroline Sarah Bacon (1848-1887), the wife of Ernest V. Norton from Missouri; and John Weston Bacon from San José, California.
Scope and Content
The fonds focusses on the personal and interpersonal lives and professional and financial activities of members of the Bacon family. The documents primarily cover the latter half of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
A large share of the records in the fonds relate to Charles James Stewart Bacon. His personal affairs and relationships with certain family members are illustrated in correspondence written in the 1840s to 1870s. Various legal, financial and accounting documents chronicle the administration of his assets, along with his activities as an insurance agent, official receiver and estate liquidator.
The archives of Mary Elizabeth Chapman Bacon are made up primarily of financial and accounting records, correspondence and legal documents concerning the administration of the family's property after her husband's death. There are also several personal letters.
Mary Emily Bacon's activities as the administrator of the family's property are documented in numerous financial and accounting records, along with a voluminous correspondence. For the most part, these documents were produced between the mid-1880s and the early 1900s. Her personal interests and relationships are chronicled in letters she sent and received during the 1880s and 1890s, mainly with her sisters. Finally, the Mendelssohn Choir by-laws and several programs illustrate Mary Emily Bacon's involvement in this Montreal vocal ensemble.
School work, correspondence, and several financial records make up the documents related to Frederick John Abney Bacon.
The fonds is completed by diaries, account books and letters chronicling the activities of other Bacon family members, notably Caroline Amanda Isabelle Bacon and Frederic Bacon.
Classification Scheme
P025 Bacon
Family
P025/A Charles James Stewart Bacon
P025/A1 Personal and
family correspondence
P025/A2 Finances and
assets
P025/A3 Insurance agent activities
P025/A4 Official
receiver and liquidator activities
P025/A5 Judicial affairs
P026/A6 Death and estate
P025/B Mary Elizabeth Chapman Bacon
P025/B1 Personal and
family correspondence
P025/B2 Finances and
assets
P025/B2,1 Financial and accounting records
P025/B2,2 Letters and notes
P025/B2,3 Legal documents
P025/C Mary Emily Bacon
P025/C1 Personal and
family correspondence
P025/C2 Finances and
assets
P025/C2,1 Financial and accounting records
P025/C2,2 Letters and notes
P025/C2,3 Legal acts
P025/C3 Mendelssohn
Choir
P025/C4 Legal
documentation
P025/D Frederick John Abner Bacon
P025/D1 Personal and
family correspondence
P025/D2 Education
P025/D3 Finances and
assets
P025/D4 Other
P025/E Other Bacon Family Members
P025 F Other Documents
Title variations: Formerly known as the Charles James Stewart Bacon Family Fonds.
Source of title proper: Title based on the creators of the fonds.
Physical condition: Some documents are fragile and brittle.
Language: The documents are in English.
Last update: March 11, 2018
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There are no works to discover for this record.
This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.