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 William McLennan’s materials include full and partial drafts of published and unpublished works; research and reference materials; incoming and outgoing correspondence; legal and official documents; collected historical materials and documents;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.

Picture of unknown dining room, with fireplace, china cabinet, small table, and a chair visible.

File contains documents related to legal issues arising out of the settlement of Dr. Edward Black's estate and properties. Documents include notes on legal precedent and timelines of case histories; drafts of motions, correspondence, opinions, and other documents; directions for deeds to be drafted and receipts for the creation of the deeds, among other documents. The file also includes correspondence to Frederick Griffin from John Greenshields, Edward Black's son-in-law, and Hew Ramsay, seeking legal advice and opinions. Other individuals mentioned as parties to the legal actions surrounding the Black estate include John Black, Charles Tait, Alexander McKenzie, Hugh McGillis, Ann Kittson Morrison, John Redpath, and Nancy McKenzie, among others. Documents refer to notarial duties performed by Henry Griffin and John C. Griffin, Frederick Griffin's brother and nephew, both of whom were notary publics. Some of the notes in the file are dated 1895, 18 years after Frederick Griffin's death. It is unknown who made these later notes.

File contains documents related to the Canadian Loan Company, including draft correspondence to William Walker, William Rhodes, and Henry John Noad regarding the appointment of the company's directors: William Walker, Benjamin Holmes, George E. Cartier, Charles R. Ogden, William Badgley, Thomas Anderson, Henry John Noad, William Rhodes, and Thomas Ryan. The file also contains bills for advertisements and notices printed in several publications regarding the company's directors, share offerings, and general meetings, as well as related correspondence regarding bill payment.

File contains incoming and outgoing correspondence regarding the formation and prospects for success of the Canadian Loan Company. Correspondence includes a letter from Charles Ogden to Benjamin Holmes, forwarded to Frederick Griffin, regarding a reluctance to participate in the Canadian Loan Company after the start of the Crimean War, and draft correspondence from Frederick Griffin to Charles Ogden and William Badgley. The file also contains unrelated bills of exchange.

File contains correspondence and documents primarily related to Griffin's role as solicitor for the Bank of Montreal and his partnership in the firm of Sewell & Griffin. Documents include correspondence to the firm of Sewell & Griffin; a draft of a petition to extend and modify the charter of the Bank of Montreal and a draft charter; correspondence authorizing Edwin Henry King to act as temporary city treasurer; a recipe for J.W. Stevenson's salve; and various ephemera. Notable correspondents include George Moffatt, Henry Starnes, and William Robb.

File contains legal documents, incoming correspondence and draft responses, notes, and ephemera. Legal documents include a release of dower from Jane Eliza Bethune and Alexander Neil Bethune to his brother John Bethune; power of attorney from J. August Belmont to William Brown Junior; Cadastre Abrégé (land ownership list) for the Jenison (or Jennison) fief; draft of an "Abstract from the Books of the Bank of Montreal, exhibiting a general Statement of the affairs of that Institution on the 1st of February 1831, as required by the Act of the Provincial Parliament;" a legal notice issued to John Rose and Thomas Ryan by Griffin and [William F. Coffin?] regarding a legal case involving Edward Ellice, John Forsyth, William Forsyth Grant, and John Blackwood Forsyth; and a power of attorney from Edmond Goebel de Harrant to Frederick Griffin. Incoming correspondence is largely related to Bank of Montreal business. Correspondents include Louis Andre Ducheny, August Belmont, and Robert Milroy, Georges-Barthélemi Faribault, among others.

Portrait of an unidentified boy, possibly Bartlett McLennan, sitting in a chair.

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 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 a flowering plant with graves in the background.

Picture of Longueau British Cemetery from across the road.

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."

File contains a copy of the Brothers-in-Law club minute book, possibly used as background research for the article "The Old Clubs of Montreal,” published in "Harper's Weekly" Magazine in 1901.

File contains a partial draft of a work on Old Montreal.

File contains a draft sketch of Raphael-Lambert Closse.

File contains a draft of chapter 6 of "The Barber-Surgeon," a work on Medar Jalot and Louis Juchereau de Saint-Denis.

File contains draft notebooks containing "Octave Cremazie: His Life and Work" about the bookseller, writer, and poet.

File contains a draft notebook containing a tourist guide to Montreal.

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from John S. McLennan to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Memoranda of characters in the chevalier Maxwell.

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from John S. McLennan to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

Correspondence from Jean N. McIlwraith to William McLennan regarding "The Span o' Life: A Tale of Louisbourg and Quebec."

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 personal correspondence from writer Edward William Thomson to William McLennan. Thomson writes from Toronto, where he was an editorial writer for the "The Toronto Globe," and Boston, where he was on the staff of "The Youth's Companion."

File contains a phrenological chart for Marion Paterson completed by Edwin Leighton.

File contains various historical documents presumably collected by William McLennan. Folder four contains letters patent assigning the management of John Gray's estate to Thomas Dunn, his business partner. The manuscript on vellum is signed by Guy Carleton, Governor of the Province of Quebec from 1768-1778.

File contains a sketchbook with sketches and drawings in pen and ink, watercolour, and pencil of landscapes and architecture in Canada, the United States, and Europe.

File contains a journal kept by William McLennan for his son William Durie McLennan documenting travels across the Atlantic and in England, Italy, and Spain. The journal includes pasted in postcards, newspaper clippings, and original watercolours and sketches.

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

File contains a letter to Neil Stewart; sketches and poems to William McLennan's children; incoming and outgoing correspondence; William McLennan and Marion Paterson's marriage certificate; photographs; drafts of writings and research notes; newspaper clippings; and diary pages.

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

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.