The fonds consists of photographs and textual records spanning the period 1710-1984, predominantly 1850-1940, related to business and personal lives of five generations of the McLennan family (immediate and extended), as well as to the work of Montreal lawyer, Frederick Griffin. McLennan family materials consist of photographs; incoming and outgoing correspondence; genealogical information and family histories; diaries and remembrances; newspaper clippings and ephemera; official documents; obituaries and tributes; drafts of writings, research notes, and sketches; and other documents.

The McLennan family materials includes a series reflecting William McLennan’s writing career, personal interests, and family life. William McLennan’s materials include full and partial drafts of published and unpublished works; research and reference materials; incoming and outgoing correspondence; legal and official documents; collected historical materials and documents; notes; sketches; journals; newspaper clippings and ephemera; photographs; and other materials.

The fonds also consists of a series reflecting Frederick Griffin’s occupation as a lawyer and his role as founder of the Canadian Loan Company. Frederick Griffin’s materials include incoming correspondence and draft responses; various financial and legal documents; legal research notes and drafts of legal documents; memoranda; meeting minutes; land and property documents and surveyors reports; newspaper clippings and ephemera; and other documents.

Finally, the fonds contains a series consisting of William Durie McLennan’s records, which were primarily created between 1914 and 1915 and pertain to his military service during the First World War. Record types in this series include the following: a handwritten, personal notebook; a typescript of this notebook; correspondence; service records from the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Forces; news clippings; black and white photographs; collected signatures from Canadian dignitaries; and materials from the 5th Battery Association of 1914.

The series consists of photographs and textual records spanning the period 1850-1984, predominantly 1880-1960, relating to the McLennan family as arranged by Hugh McLennan (1927-2004). The series also comprises records related to Hugh McLennan's work as a camp counsellor north of Montreal during the early 1940s.

The series includes photographs; incoming and outgoing correspondence; genealogical and family information; diaries, including World War I diaries, and remembrances; newspaper clippings and ephemera; official documents, including wills and marriage certificates; obituaries and tributes; drafts of writings, research notes, and sketches; McLennan's coil-bound notebooks about canoe trips, a typescript of one of McLennan's camping journals and accompanying photographs; a letter to a family member regarding McLennan family genealogy; and photocopies of birth, marriage, and death notes in the family Bible. Family members prominently represented include Hugh McLennan (1825-1899), John Stewart McLennan (1853-1939), Francis McLennan (1857-1940), Bartlett McLennan (1868-1918), Isabella Christine McLennan (1870-1960), Hugh McLennan (1887-1915), and William McLennan (1856-1904).

Picture of facade of a house.

Picture of a house with a man standing in the doorway.

File contains letters written by William Durie McLennan to Marion Paterson McLennan; a billet d'affiliation and pressed flowers; notes written by Marion McLennan and others; a handwritten copy of John Greenleaf Whittier's "Marguerite;" sketches, ephemeral materials, and tracings of famous Canadian autographs.

File contains a photocopy of a typed copy of a William McLennan manuscript with explanatory note from Hugh McLennan.

The series contains photographs, textual records, and original artwork spanning the period 1710-1904, predominantly 1880-1903, related to the personal lives and interests of William McLennan and his family, including interests in family and Canadian history. Additionally, a sub-series contains records related to William McLennan’s work as a writer from the 1880s-1903.

Materials include full and partial drafts of published and unpublished articles, short stories, novels, and non-fiction works; research and reference materials; incoming and outgoing correspondence; legal and official documents; collected historical materials and documents; notes; sketches and a sketchbook; journals; newspaper clippings and ephemera; photographs; and other materials. Notable correspondents include Gustavus George Stuart, Marion Paterson McLennan, William Durie McLennan, Edward William Thomson, Pemberton Paterson, John Stewart McLennan, Francis McLennan, Bartlett McLennan, Neil Stewart, Hugh McLennan, William Kingsford, and the Royal Society of Canada, among others. Legal and official documents include copies of wills, notarial exams, and a certification of graduation.

Collected historical materials include ephemeral materials such as plates of historical figures and plans of famous battle locations, as well as tracings of famous Canadian autographs, bookplates, and reproductions of historical documents. Many of the original historical documents are related to the McLennan and Stewart families, including correspondence, business and financial documents, and ephemera related to Neil Stewart (1793-1881) and legal and financial documents related to John McLennan (1789-1866). The historical documents related to John McLennan are primarily agreements for land sales in Glengarry County, Ontario, where McLennan was a conveyancer. Other historical documents do not appear to have any particular connection to the McLennan family but may have been collected out of general historical interest. These documents include correspondence, loan agreements, commissions, land grants, letters patent, and a journal / memoranda book. While many of the documents relate to individuals of limited historical importance, others are related to more notable historical subjects including François Desjordy Moreau de Cabanac, Sir John Johnson, Joseph-Maurice Lamothe, Francis Baby, Jenkins Williams, Herman Witsius Ryland, Pierre-Amable De Bonne, John Mure, William Bacheler Coltman, John Stewart, John Gray, and Thomas Dunn.

File contains McGill University's announcement of Isabella Christine McLennan's death and miscellaneous incoming correspondence to Isabella McLennan and Katharine McLennan.

File contains correspondence regarding Bartlett McLennan's death; memorials, photographs, clippings, and ephemera; and a typed copy of war diary entries relating Bartlett McLennan's death.

File contains World War I leather field notebook; correspondence regarding Bartlett McLennan's death and memorials; photographs, clippings, and ephemera; memorandum regarding Pincher Creek and the death of Alexander McLennan; and a typed copy of war diary entries relating Bartlett McLennan's death.

File contains family photographs; Stewart and McLennan genealogical information; newspaper clippings; and a list of family members serving in World War I and World War II.

File contains notes about family history; correspondence to Isabella and Alice McLennan; obituaries and tributes; and correspondence and notices regarding Francis McLennan's death.

Portrait of a young man in a suit.

Portrait of Francis McLennan, seated with a book open in front of him.

The series consists of William Durie McLennnan’s correspondence, notebooks, and objects from the First World War; collected correspondence addressed to McLennan’s father-in-law, Frederic Lumb Wanklyn; and photographs of McLennan’s farm near Saint-Placide, Quebec, which was a compensation given to him as a result of his health issues arising from wartime gassing.

The series includes the following records created or collected by McLennan pertaining to his wartime service: a leather-bound notebook used in 1914; a typescript of the 1914 notebook; typed and handwritten personal correspondence; an article McLennan authored about the 5th Battery Association of 1914, published in the Montreal Gazette; a discharge certificate from the Canadian Overseas Expeditionary Forces and war service badge certificate; various news clippings; and a metal screw used to remove the hair trigger on a Mannlicher gun. Other records in the series include black and white photographs; correspondence addressed to Frederic Lumb Wanklyn and signed by Wilfrid Laurier; and a copy of McLennan’s obituary, likely created by the 5th Battery Association of 1915.

The series contains textual records spanning the period 1908-1936 created by, collected by, or related to the immediate or extended McLennan family. This material might have been created and/or collected after the death of William McLennan, particularly by his son, William Durie McLennan, and does not appear to have been arranged by Hugh McLennan (1927-2004). Material includes correspondence, including a bound volume of World War I letters; histories of the MacLeod clan and William Stewart; and ephemera.

File contains an announcement of the death of Martha Muller in German with English translation. The file also contains a card written to Elizabeth Paterson McLennan Brainerd, wife of Winthrop Brainerd, from Paul Muller.

File contains a bound volume of Hugh McLennan's World War I letters given by Isabella Christine McLennan to William Durie McLennan in November 1935.

File contains typed copies of "Ottawa Journal" articles on William Stewart, brother of Neil Stewart. The articles were written by Harry J. Walker as part of his "Ottawa Valley Days" series.

File contains a typed copy of "History of the MacLeods" by Alexander Mackenzie and correspondence from Archibald Stewart to William Durie McLennan.

File contains personal correspondence from Hugh McLennan to Isabella Stewart McLennan; a 1875 diary; remembrances and recollections; marriage certificates for Hugh McLennan and Isabella Stewart and Mary Anne Stewart and Gavin Walker; copy of Hugh McLennan's will; privately printed monograph on Hugh McLennan and his family; and recollections of the S.S. Sardinian wreck.

Picture of Forceville Communal Cemetery and Extension from a distance. A stamp on the verso of the photograph reads "Denhams, Albert. Somme."

Picture of memorial cross in Forceville Communal Cemetery and Extension. A stamp on the verso of the photograph reads "Denhams, Albert. Somme."

Portrait of two unidentified women, one sitting and one standing.

Picture of Forceville Communal Cemetery and Extension in Somme, France. A stamp on the verso of the photograph reads "Denhams, Albert. Somme."

File contains correspondence between John Stewart McLennan and Principal Arthur Currie of McGill University regarding the establishment of a scholarship.

Picture of Longueau British Cemetery from across the road.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave from a distance, with bottom of memorial cross on the left side.

Picture of Longueau British Cemetery with memorial cross on the right.

Picture of Longueau British Cemetery, surrounded by a low wall.

Picture of a flowering plant with graves in the background.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's gave.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave with flowers.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave with flowers.

Picture of facade of a building.

Picture of a man standing beside a woman who is kneeling and laying flowers on the grave of Barlett McLennan.

Picture of the Longueau British Cemetery from across the road. A car is in the right foreground.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave with flowering plant.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave. A woman is visible in the background on the right.

Picture of three men and one woman. The man on the far left is Bartlett McLennan.

Picture of a road with several buildings on the right side and a man walking on the left side.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave and surrounding graves.

Picture of the Longueau British Cemetery surrounded by a wood and wire fence. A sign on the right reads "Longueau Military Cemetery." A stamp of the back of the photograph reads "Canadian Official Photograph." Bartlett McLennan's grave is visible just right of centre.

Picture of graves at Longueau British Cemetery. A sign reading "British Graves" is on the far left. Bartlett McLennan's grave is on the right.

Picture of the road towards Amiens, France, just taking in a corner of the British Cemetery.

Picture of Bartlett McLennan's grave.