Series

This series is composed primarily of correspondence between Georges Ovide Leclère, his wife Yvonne Mathieu, and members of their respective families. The couple's personal and family lives are the focus of these letters, which chronicle their relationship, Georges Ovide's relations with his father and his brother Gustave, and Yvonne Mathieu's relations with her in-laws.

Spanning several decades, the correspondence documents the events that marked the couple's life as a family over the years. The earliest letters written by Georges Ovide date from the years preceding his marriage. They portray a young man on the cusp of adulthood, preparing to make his mark and begin his career in finance. A letter dated June 29, 1891, reveals that, with the help of a friend of his brother's, he has found a job as a paymaster in a Montreal financial institution. For some time, he travels back and forth between Quebec City and Montreal, working for the Jacques-Cartier Bank. Then, with two weeks to go before his wedding to Yvonne, in a touching yet somewhat reserved cordial missive, Georges Ovide expresses his happiness and reiterates his love to his young fiancée, who is on a retreat at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Sault-au-Récollet. The rest of the correspondence reveals their subsequent life together: the birth of children and the family's move to 530 St. André Street. This life was cut short by Georges Ovide's premature death from typhoid fever in 1900, poignantly described in a letter from Yvonne to her brother-in-law Gustave. In it, she expresses her sorrow and describes the last days of Georges Ovide in detail. Several letters between the young woman and her brother-in-law reveal their close family relationship.

The correspondence in this series illustrates the social and daily life of an upper-class family in the late 19^th century, a life made up visits, strolls and numerous trips abroad. Several letters describe the highlights of a long holiday taken by Georges Ovide's parents. They begin their journey in France, to visit their son Gustave, and then go on to Switzerland and Italy, where they spend the winter. Georges Ovide and Gustave's father enjoys the bustling, cosmopolitan atmosphere on the grand boulevards of Paris, and the wonderful cafés frequented by those living the 'high life,' that is, "artists, writers and distinguished foreigners, like us!"

Several missives chronicle Yvonne's relationships with relatives from the Desjardins family, such as an uncle and cousin living in Memphis. Finally, the series contains a death notice, a press clipping announcing the marriage of Gabrielle Leclerc to Marcel Lefebvre, and an agreement from August 1900 describing the terms of the partnership between Georges Ovide and Eugène Leclère in Leclère Bros., boot and shoe merchants.