The records in this sub-series pertain to one of the oldest iron and steel making companies in Quebec. They consist of a complete set of documents, which is rare for a founding company that has survived since incorporation.
The records date from 1868 and comprise a large quantity of documents such as: Charter of Incorporation dated 14 April 1868, a list of properties, machineries and values (1 March 1868), a list of stock and material (14 April 1868), lists of investors, account ledgers, By-laws, minutes of meetings (20 April, 1868), rules and regulations for stockholders (20 April, 1868) and the certificate of Incorporation, dated 1881.
The sub-series contains a voluminous business-related correspondence of R.H. McMaster, starting with his first year as officer in 1905. This correspondence is described alphabetically by title and by calendar year. The letters pertain to the management and the development of the company. Corporate and financial files provide detailed information on the company's dealings. Among this valuable documentation are minute books of Directors' meetings, letter-books, By-Laws and incorporations, ledgers of accounts, balance sheets, assets and liabilities, profit and lost statements, trusts, mortgages, shareholders transfer books which contain share certificates and wage lists. All of these documents provide information on aspects of the company's decisions, administration and operations. Insurance and appraisal files are very useful to understand the company expansion. Subscription policies were the most common form of insurance. They provided protection and offered indemnities. The insurance covered loss and damages to mills, accidents, material handled, equipment and machineries. Seen a long side property documents such as deed of land, leases, inventories of lands and agreements, appraisal records describe in detail the value of properties and study the company's expansion. Drawings of mills are often included in policies and plant appraisals.
Other topics in this sub-series relate to the company's settlement on Lachine Canal. This includes correspondence with the government about canal rent and the use of railways for transportation. Some files pertain to the merger of the Montreal Rolling Mill Co. within The Steel Company of Canada Ltd. Other files relate to the operations of Notre-Dame works and mills activities during WWI. Among these files are letters describing the building of coal handling equipment, the production of munitions, the costs of proposed military projects. They also include agreements for extension and mill repairs. Lists of employees who served overseas in World War I are available.
When the company purchased two of its main Montreal competitors: Pillow-Hersey Manufacturing Co. and Hodgson Iron and Tube Co., the documents produced by these smaller companies, were preserved in the administrative offices of Montreal Rolling Mill Co. They are also available in this sub-series. They contain corporate, financial, legal and property records, patents for inventions and certificates of search for lots involving the Mansfield Holland family, Randolph Hersey, Thomas F. Miller, Thomas Morland and Pillow-Hersey Company.
