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Fonds - Guerin Family | McCord Museum
Image Not Availablefor Famille Guerin
Famille Guerin

Fonds

Guerin Family
Date 1780-1961
Dimensions121.1 cm of textual records. - 840 photographs. - 8 cartographic documents
Object NumberP610
CollectionMcCord
CreditGift of Carroll Guerin
Biographical Sketch

Following the Wars of Religion that ravaged France, some Huguenot (Protestant) members of the Guerin (Gueren) family immigrated to Ireland. In 1843, one such individual by the name of THOMAS GUERIN I (1818?-1887) chose to settle in Montreal. In 1848 he married MARY MAGUIRE (1822?-1906), a Montrealer of Irish ancestry, with whom he had five children: Mary Ellen (Bellelle), Michael, James John Edmund (Jas or Jemmy), Edmund William Patrick (Neddy) and John Maguire (Jack).

Thomas Guerin worked first as a professor, then a surveyor, before becoming a civil engineer in 1847. Although called to the Bar in 1852, he never practised law. Over the course of his engineering career, he carried out numerous projects in Canada as well as outside the country, notably in California and Australia.

MARY ELLEN (Bellelle) GUERIN (1849-1929) was a writer, poet, and the first president of both the Catholic Women's Club (1917) and the national association that grew out of it, the Catholic Women's League of Canada (1920). As a child, when her parents temporarily moved to Ottawa, Bellelle was a boarding pupil with the Congregation of Notre-Dame in Montreal. Although she never married, she did raise the children of her brother James John Edmund when he became a widower.

MICHAEL GUERIN (1852-?) was an estate agent. He never married.

JAMES JOHN EDMUND GUERIN (1856-1932) was a physician, politician and businessman. After completing the classical curriculum at Collège de Montreal, he obtained a medical degree from McGill University. He then continued his studies at the Royal College of Physicians in England before returning to Montreal to teach medicine at Université de Montréal. Taking an interest in politics, James was elected to the provincial legislature, representing Montreal Centre from 1895 to 1904. He also represented the riding of St. Ann in the federal House of Commons from 1925 to 1930. From 1910 to 1912, he was the thirtieth mayor of Montreal. His business activities included being Vice-President of Standard Gold Mines Limited. He married Mary Carroll O'Brien (1864-1888) in 1883, with whom he had two children: Thomas and Mary Carroll.

EDMUND WILLIAM PATRICK GUERIN (1858-1934) received a law degree from McGill University. Specializing in criminal cases, he became a Crown attorney before being appointed a judge in 1907. He also tried to enter politics, running as a candidate for the riding of Montreal Centre in 1891, but he was not elected. In addition, he was an officer in the Victoria Rifles Regiment. Edmund married his first wife Mary Evans in 1895, but she died in 1902. He then married Mary Catherine Sexton (1881-1913) in 1904. Neither of these marriages produced any children.

JOHN MAGUIRE (Jack) GUERIN (1868?-1936?) never married.

THOMAS GUERIN II (1886-1963) was the eldest son of Dr. James John Edmund Guerin. On August 18, 1928, in East Hampton, New York, he married ALICE CUDDIHY (1900-1984), the daughter of Robert J. Cuddihy, editor of the Literary Digest and the Standard Dictionary. The couple settled first in Montreal, then in Mont St. Hilaire. They had two children: Alice Theresa (1932-1986) and Mary Carroll (b. 1936).

Thomas Guerin received a PhD from Université de Montréal in 1948. He taught English at this institution from 1952 to 1955. He also held the position of consul general in Montreal for various countries, including Austria (1930-1938), Greece and Montenegro. In the field of business, he was a director and comptroller of Siscoe Gold Mines, Siscoe Metal Ltd and the Harricana & Gatineau Telephone Company. He was also a member of the Montreal Catholic School Board from 1953 to 1961.

Moreover, Thomas was active in politics and very involved in the military. A literary man and author, he published several works over the course of his life, notably studies on family history and genealogy. At the end of his career, he was awarded several honorary titles and founded the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in Canada, of which he was president from 1957 to 1961.

Thomas Guerin died in Montreal on January 6, 1963, at the age of 76. He was buried in Notre-Dame-des-Neiges cemetery on January 9, 1963.


Scope and Content

The Guerin Family Fonds covers three generations of this Irish family of French origin, which immigrated to Montreal in the first half of the 19th century.

Containing information about Thomas Guerin I, the first member of the family to settle in Quebec, it includes documents related to his personal life and professional activities as a civil engineer in Canada and elsewhere. In particular, the fonds contains diaries and travel journals, along with maps and plans associated with the construction of railways and bridges. Numerous letters also chronicle his very loving relationships with his wife Mary, daughter Mary Ellen (Bellelle), and four sons Michael, James, Edmund and John.

In addition, the fonds relates the activities of his children. An illustrated journal documents in detail the European trip taken by Edmund and his future wife Mary Catherine in 1903 and 1904. Files on James and his wife Mary Carroll contain stock certificates, correspondence and an autograph book. Two literary texts illustrate the career of their sister Bellelle, an author.

A significant portion of the fonds is devoted to the activities of Thomas Guerin II and his wife Alice. There are records associated with their marriage, travels, and social relationships. Several archives document his activities as a consul general and member of the Sovereign Order of Malta, including certificates, letters, and various forms. Extensive research notes chronicle his interest in family history and genealogy.

Moreover, the fonds contains numerous photographs, both amateur snapshots and professional portraits taken by studios like Notman, Rice, Ira Hill (from New York), Query Frères and Archambault. There is a photo album that belonged to James Guerin and another that belonged to Alice Cuddihy.


Classification Scheme

P610 Guerin Family
P610/A Thomas Guerin I
    P610/A1 Biography and genealogy
    P610/A2 Personal life
             P610/A2,1 Travel journals
             P610/A2,2 Diaries
             P610/A2,3 Notebooks
    P610/A3 Engineering documents
    P610/A4 Correspondence
P610/B Mary Maguire Guerin
P610/C Mary Ellen Guerin
P610/D Michael Guerin
P610/E Dr. James John Edmund Guerin
P610/F Edmund William Patrick Guerin
    P610/F1 Biography and genealogy
    
P610/F2 Personal life

    P610/F3 Finances and assets
    P610/F4 Correspondence
P610/G Mary Carroll O'Brien Guerin
P610/H Thomas Guerin II and Alice Cuddihy Guerin
P610/I Unattributed Documents
P610/J Photographs


Notes

Source of title proper: Based on the creators of the fonds.

Physical condition: The binding of some notebooks is fragile.

Immediate source of acquisition: The fonds is composed of donations made by Miss Carroll Guerin in 2002 and 2006.

Language: The documents are in English.

General note: Other objects associated with the Guerin family are preserved in the McCord Museum's Decorative Arts and Dress, Fashion and Textiles collections.

 

Last update: June 5, 2018


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.

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This project is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Azrieli Foundation and Canadian Heritage.