Collection search - Civil Secretary's letter books [textual record]

Record information – Brief
1
Civil Secretary's letter books [textual record]

Hierarchical level:

Sub-sub-series

Date:

1799-1841.

Reference:

R178-99-6-E, RG7-G-16-C

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

126291

Context of this record:

Show detail Hide detail

Office of the Governor General of Canada fonds

Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada

Letter books

Civil Secretary's letter books
Link to this record

Add to My Research

Link to this record

This link identifies the web page describing this particular record. Unlike the temporary link in your browser, this link will allow you to access, and reference, this page in the future. To link to this descriptive record, copy and paste the URL where ever needed (wiki, blog, document).

Sign in

Sign in to start saving records using My Research

Sign in
Record information – Details

Date(s):

1799-1841.

Place of creation:

Canada

Extent:

1.75 m of textual records. .

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

Show detail Hide detail

Sub-sub-series consists of letter books created and/or maintained by the Civil Secretary of Upper Canada. The text of letters sent by the Civil Secretary on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor was recorded in letter books. Each volume has its own index. Volume 3A contains letters written by President Grant and William Stanton, Chief Clerk in the President's Office, 17 September 1805 to 21 August 1806. This letter book was kept by William Stanton, Chief Clerk in the President's Office, 19 September 1805 to 7 July 1806. Much of the correspondence relates to the civil administration of the province and its various offices such as the Receiver General, the Solicitor General, Chief Justice, various local magistrates and military officials.

Additional name(s):

Show detail Hide detail

Quebec, Lower Canada, Upper Canada, Canada. Civil Secretary to the Governor

Biography/Administrative history:

Show detail Hide detail

Quebec, Lower Canada, Upper Canada, Canada. Civil Secretary to the Governor : While a governor communicated with colleagues in other jurisdictions and with senior officials in his own name, letters and petitions from individuals (even when addressed to the governor) were responded to by the Secretaries on his behalf. By convention, despatches from colleagues were filed separately from general correspondence, and the replies were recorded in separate entry books. Matters relating to the civil administration of the province were handled by the Civil Secretary and those relating to military affairs by the Military Secretary. The superintendence of Indian affairs was at various times classed as a matter of civil or military administration; the appropriate Secretary to the governor preserved the correspondence and letter books in separate series.

Distinctions between the responsibilities of various offices are often not readily apparent. While the Private Secretary was on the personal staff of the Governor and the Civil Secretary was part of the permanent staff of the province, on occasion one individual held both offices. Continuity of operations was provided by the Civil and Military Secretaries remaining in office while Governor succeeded Governor. Of much greater import for record-keeping at this period was the imprecise demarcation of responsibilities between the Civil Secretary and the Provincial Secretary. A further layer of confusion was added when through plurality of office-holding a Secretary took responsibility for widely varying functions but did not maintain separate record series for each (see RG 4, A 1 and RG 5, A 1).

The practice of preparing duplicate entry books, such that a governor might retain one set for future personal reference, extended to the Secretaries' letter books. Examples of these private copies are found in the Peter Hunter collection (R2456, formerly MG24-A6) or, in an example from Lower Canada, in the Robert Prescott fonds (R6918, formerly MG23-GII17). Where the official record has not survived, these private volumes take on new significance.

Finding aid:

Show detail Hide detail

(Paper) The CAB RG 7 Shelf List (see RG 7, G16C section) is a typed volume level description which provides volume titles and inclusive dates and corresponding microfilm reel number. CAB RG 7 Shelf List (99: Closed pending processing)

(Electronic) Finding aid 7-9 is a volume list relating to volumes 1 to 58. 7-9 (90: Open)
http://data2.archives.ca/pdf/pdf002/7-9_126291_vols1-58.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_126291

(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_126291?usrlang=fr

Additional information:

Show detail Hide detail

General note:

Custodial and reference questions related to these records should be directed to the Canadian Archives Branch (CAB).

Availability of other formats note:

Microfilmed copies of these records are available on reels C-10788 to C-10798.

Accruals:

No further accruals are expected.

Related material:

The drafts of these letters can be found in the Records of the Civil and Provincial Secretaries, Upper Canada and Canada West fonds in the Draft correspondence of the Lieutenant Governor's Civil Secretary series (RG 5, A 2). The incoming documents to which these letters replied may also be found in the Records of the Civil and Provincial Secretaries, Upper Canada and Canada West fonds, in the series Upper Canada Sundries, correspondence of the Civil and Provincial Secretaries (RG 5, A 1).

Source:

Government

Former archival reference no.:

Show detail Hide detail

RG7-G-16-C
Ordering and viewing options

Conditions of access:

Show detail Hide detail

Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

Volume [RG7 G-16-C]

[Consultation 90 Open]

1--19;

[Consultation 90 Open]

21--58;

[Consultation 90 Open]

20/1--20/2;

[Consultation 90 Open]

3A;

[Consultation 90 Open]

Microfilm reel C-10788--C-10798

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

Show detail Hide detail

Copyright belongs to the Crown.
In order to protect the fragile originals, records in this sub-sub-series have been microfilmed and the originals withdrawn from circulation. The microfilm must be used for consultation and copying rather than the originals.

You can order materials in advance to be ready for you when you visit. You will need a user card to do this.

Cannot visit us on site? You can purchase a copy to be sent to you. Some restrictions may apply.

Report a problem on this page

Date modified:: 2024-06-04