This series contains the oldest documents. They were created by Georges Gonthier's family members, spouses and children. They are about genealogy, births, studies, travels, weddings, deaths and estates. Among the documents, there are letters, personal notes, article clippings, some publications and articles written by Georges Gonthier, and a book of notes from a Canada history class that took place between 1924 and 1925 and belonged to either his wife, Kathleen Doherty, or one of his daughters.
The file also includes letters Kathleen Doherty wrote to her family during a trip to England with her father in 1912. The letters total 12 pages and were written when Charles-Joseph Doherty accompanied Prime Minister Borden to an imperial conference. Photographs were taken during the event. They were collected into an album. There are some copies of these photographs in the archival fonds of Prime Minister Borden.
The file also includes a student notebook belonging to Mélina Dassylva, the first wife of Georges Gonthier. The notebook is titled "Mélina Dassylva, Couvent du Bon Pasteur, Charlesbourg." It was created during the 1887-1888 school year. The book is written in French and has 178 pages.
This series also contains letters written by other family members. Of note are the letters Georges Gonthier wrote to his daughter Marguerite during trips across Canada and Europe (see container 7, folders 7-8). The letters written by his daughter Germaine (Sister St-Stanislas of Kotska) between 1925 and 1941 are undoubtedly the most important ones in this series. Germaine Gonthier became a nun with the Soeurs missionnaires de l'Immaculée Conception. This religious congregation had the sole purpose of propagating faith and taking charge of various social works, namely nurseries, orphanages, shelters, schools, etc. Between 1925 and 1932, Germaine Gonthier was sent on mission to various regions of Canada and the United States (read folders 31 to 37 in container 7). In 1933, she was sent to China, specifically Kowloon, near Hong Kong (see letters and press articles in folder 39, and photographs in container 11, folders 43-44). At the end of the 1930s, the sociopolitical situation in China was deteriorating. Nearly a hundred Canadian missionaries were working in China at the time. In December 1941, the Japanese attacked the Hong Kong region; missionaries closed their schools. Like Sister St-Stanislas, most were persecuted and subjected to Japanese occupation. They were imprisoned and put under watch at Camp Stanley. Sister St-Stanislas died in Canton (China) some years after she was freed.
Folder 30 in container 7 includes a 24-page typed text titled "La vie inspirée de Jeanne Mance." A book was published under this title for the first time in 1934 by Pierre Benoît. It was republished in 1935, 1937, 1945 and 1950.
The photographs in this series show various generations of the Gonthier family and their residences. We believe the 11 tintype photographs probably represent the members of Gonthier's family on the maternal side (Georges Gonthier's mother and Charbonneau family ancestors).
There are three medals, including one awarded to Miss G. Gonthier (Germaine) by the École de piano Paris-Montreal in 1914. It was sculpted by the artist Daniel Dupuis.