Fonds consists of documents relating to Lord Minto's career as Governor General of Canada from 1898 to 1904. There are also some materials relating to his earlier career in Canada as Viscount Melgund, military secretary to Lord Lansdowne and as General Middleton's chief of staff during the Northwest Rebellion. There are three series: personal papers; military secretary to Governor General papers; and Governor General papers. Material on microfilm is located on microfilm reels A-129 to A-132.
The oil painting is a full-length standing portrait of Gilbert John Elliott, 4th Earl of Minto (1845-1914), Governor-General of Canada, 1898-1904. The painting is probably a posthumous portrait copied from another image by Dorothy E. Vicaji.
Elliott, John Gilbert, 4th Earl of Minto, 1845-1914 : Gilbert Elliott was born in London, the eldest son of William Hugh Elliott, the third Earl of Minto. Bearing the courtesy title of Viscount Melgund, he was educated at Eton and Trinity College, Cambridge, and then entered the Scots Guards in 1867. During the next twelve years, serving in various capacities, he saw military action in Spain, Turkey, Afghanistan, South Africa, Egypt, and Canada. While in Canada, from 1883 to 1886, Melgund served as Military Secretary to Governor General Lord Lansdowne, and was Chief of Staff to General Middleton during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. From 1886 to 1898 Melgund lived in semi-retirement on his Roxburgshire estate, where, on the death of his father in 1891, he inherited the earldom.
Lord Minto was appointed Governor General of Canada in 1898 and held that post until November 1904. A year later, in November 1905, he was appointed Viceroy of India, where he served until 1910. Lord Minto then retired to the family estate where he resided until his death in 1914.
