Collection search - William von Moll Berczy fonds [textual record]

Record information – Brief
1
William von Moll Berczy fonds [textual record]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1792-1831.

Reference:

R7152-0-5-E, MG23-HII6

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

101029

Context of this record:

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William von Moll Berczy fonds
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Record information – Details
Date(s):

1792-1831.

Place of creation:

No place, unknown, or undetermined

Extent:

17.8 cm of textual records (885 p.).

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

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Fonds consists of the papers of William Berczy, chiefly relating to the German Company and the Markham Settlement, 1792-1812; and some material concerned with education, 1828-1831. Included are draft narratives relating to the formation of the company in the Genesee District and to progress made toward settlement; lists of settlers, pages 16-17, 65-72, 126-130 and 455-456 and contracts and agreements with settlers, 1799-1804. Of note is the "Calculation on the methods and costs of settling a tract of 10,000 acres", pages 214-232. The fonds offers limited information about his artistic career, but does include some commentary, marginal notes and sketches such as that found on pages 128-129 (volume 1).

The fonds also consists of primarily indentures between William Berczy and various people, containers 2 to 4 in horizonatal storage. Also included, in container 5, is a portion of the will of William Weeks, 1808; a sale of shares of the German Company, 20 March 1795; and a report of the Western District School for 1828. There is a 'List of Settlers': manuscript sheet with sketches in container 6 and maps of Concession Lot No. 3 plus numbers and names, ca. 1794, in container 7.

Provenance:

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Berczy, William, 1744-1813

Biography/Administrative history:

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Berczy, William, 1744-1813 : William von Moll Berczy was born in Wallenstein (Federal Republic of Germany), and educated at Vienna and Jena. It was not until 1780 that he began to devote his life to painting, studying in Florence and undertaking commissions there and in Berne (Switzerland). In the latter city he met Charlotte Allemand (a native of Lausanne), whom he married in November 1785.

William and Charlotte travelled to England in 1790 and shortly thereafter, he was contracted to obtain settlers for the Genesee Association, a group of British speculators who were trying to develop a large tract of land in western New York. In May 1792, Berczy and his family sailed for America. Following a dispute with the company in 1793, Berczy took the settlers to Markham Township in Upper Canada. Problems were large, and Berczy ended his association with the settlement in 1805 and spent his later life in Montreal, supporting himself as a painter.

Despite the great difficulties Berczy had experienced in colonization, the latest years of his life had many compensations. Artistically, this was probably his greatest period and his paintings are a significant accomplishment in 19th-century Canadian art. Also, he left behind numerous unpublished manuscripts on historical and literary subjects.

Finding aid:

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Textual record (Electronic) The finding aid is a descriptive list of the papers. MSS0718 (90: Open)
http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf001/p000000826.pdf

(Electronic) All or some of the documents described have been digitized and are available at the following address: (90: Open)
http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_101029

(Electronic) Les documents décrits ont été complètement ou en partie numérisés et sont disponibles à l'adresse suivante : (90: Open)
http://heritage.canadiana.ca/view/oocihm.lac_mikan_101029?usrlang=fr

Additional information:

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General note:

Received in 1886 from Judge Baby of Montreal, Que.

Arrangement note:

The papers are arranged in chronological order.

Availability of other formats note:

The Berczy papers are available on microfilm reel H-2298.

Exhibitions note:

Exhibition Title: William Berczy. National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario; 1991.11.07-1992.01.05 (MG 23 H II6, vol. 1, opp. p. 128; Manuscript sheet with sketches)
Further Venue: Musée du Québec, Québec; 1992.03.17-1992.05.17
Further Venue: Glenbow Museum, Calgary, Alberta; 1992.06.13-1992.08.09

Related material:

Further correspondence of Berczy is found in the Baby Collection at the University of Montreal. Papers relating to the general settlement can be found in the State and Land Minute Books and their associated series of submissions: RG 1, E1, and L1, E3 and L3.
Subject heading:

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Land settlement - Upper Canada, 1794-1805 "Calculation on the methods and costs of settling a tract of 10,000 acres"

Genesee Valley (N.Y.) - Land settlement, 1793

Markham (Ont.:Township) - Land settlement, 1794-1805

Land companies - New York, 1793

Land companies - Germany, 1793

United States - Emigration and immigration, 1792

Canada - Emigration and immigration, 1793

German settlement - Upper Canada, 1793

Education, 1828-1831

Markham (Ont.) - Land titles - Registration and transfer, [1793-18- ]

Contracts - Ontario, [1793-18- ]

William von Moll Berczy - Notebooks, sketchbooks, etc., 1792-1831

Germany - Emigration and immigration
Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

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MG23-HII6
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

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Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [MG23 H II 6] 1--7

[Consultation 90 Open]

Finding aid box [FA 718] 72

[Consultation 10 Closed]

Microfilm reel H-2298

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

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Textual records: The documents have been withdrawn from circulation and the researchers must use the microfilm, reel H-2298.

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