Hudson's Bay Company Archives
The archives of the Hudson's Bay Company (English Hudson's Bay Company Archives ) is located in Winnipeg and forms a division of the archives of the Canadian province of Manitoba ( Archives of Manitoba ). It preserves all archival material that was created in connection with the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC), so it dates back to the year it was founded in 1670. The main focus of the trading company, starting with the fur trade , exploring the American continent, experiences with the First Nations , the economic development of the British colony and the early history of Canada are represented in an extremely rich fund. Its legal basis is on the one hand the Archives and Record Keeping Act (2003) and the donation agreement between the HBC and the Province of Manitoba (1994). In 2008 the institute had 16 full-time employees. In 2007, the archives of the Hudson's Bay Company of which was UNESCO for World Soundtrack Awards explained.
History of the archive
The first catalog of the holdings, which have since grown considerably, was created in 1796. However, until the 1920s, the archive only served the needs of the HBC, and only a few privileged users were given permission to enter the archive. Since that time, however, the idea has taken hold that the archival material, which was less important for British than for Canadian and American history, should be made available to researchers in these countries. The employees of the Archives Department in London supported their North American colleagues and offered them easier access and job searches.
That changed in 1970 when HBC headquarters moved to Canada. Three years later, an agreement was signed with the Manitoba Archives to loan the archival material permanently, and in 1974 the irreplaceable documents were shipped to North America. On January 27, they moved into their permanent domicile at the current location. The archive has been open to the public since 1995.
Stocks
archive
From the beginning, HBC insisted on reports from its employees. Today they fill a considerable part of the 3,000 meters of shelves of archive material. The oldest piece dates from 1671 and consists of decisions by the governor and committee of the society. All of the so-called minute books have survived from 1671 to 1970, with only a four-year gap. In addition to the writings created within the HBC, there are private diaries, letters and other exploration records. After all, since at least 1920 microfilms and photocopies have been collected from other archives, which are also accessible here. The finding aids are systematically assigned to the eight departments:
- Search Section A: Governor and Committee (London Office) Records
- Search Section B: Post Records
- Search Section C: Ships' Records
- Search Section D: Governor's Papers and Commissioner's Office
- Search Section E: Private Records
- Search Section F: Records of Related and Subsidiary Companies
- Search Section G: Cartographic Records
- Search Section H: Western Department Land Records.
You can also search for biographical entries.
Another important access is the route via the maps of the HBC-Posten, which are spread over an area of well over 10 million km². As far as possible, the archive material is assigned to the individual trading posts.
An important project of the HBC is the Oral History Project , which deals with oral tradition , especially since the time of the Great Depression. Sub-companies or those that have been taken over, such as Zellers , Simpsons , Woodward's or Morgan's, are identified by interviewing former employees.
Library
With the acquisition of The Beaver magazine's book collections in 2000, the library has been able to expand its holdings considerably. It currently comprises around 10,000 titles, including stocks of rare books such as the private library of the fur trader Peter Fidler (1769–1822) or individual trading posts such as the York Factory . Since 2005 the stocks are z. Some of them are also accessible online.
Access routes
Like most archives, the HBC archive can be accessed in several ways. The first and most important route is to the archive itself. The building is located at 130-200 Vaughan Street in downtown Winnipeg . The 1932 building ( Winnipeg Auditorium was its original name) is also the seat of the Legislative Library , the library of the Legislative Assembly, the highest political body in the province. In 1974 the Provincial Archives of Manitoba moved here , as the institution was still called at that time. The entrance is near the corner of Vaughan Street and St. Mary Avenue.
Very often, the archive is taken from Canadians to complete, the genealogy want to operate. There is also a genealogical guide . In order to cope with the rush, however, we urgently point out that all other options (oral transmission, publications such as daily newspapers and other publications, etc.) should first be exhausted before visiting the archive, because such a visit can fail in view of the masses of tradition .
During the first visit, a so-called Research Pass will be issued free of charge upon presentation of an identity card or other means of identification (no credit cards or similar). Contact should be made beforehand.
The holdings are also partially accessible from outside. There is not only a database for this, but also access to microfilms . The microfilms are arranged according to: Court Records , Government Records , Individuals' Private Papers , Municipal Records , Private Organizations , School Records and a Master Alphabetical List .
Another way of obtaining archival material is through order research. For a fee, scientifically trained people are available for genealogical research or for a general search. This division of labor shows the enormous weight of family research. In January 2008, 11 and 18 scientists, respectively, were ready for this activity.
See also
Web links
Remarks
- ^ Hudson's Bay Company Archival records. UNESCO - Memory of the World, 2007, accessed July 13, 2014 .
- ↑ Search, online search mask .
- ↑ The online access to the list of biographies can be found here: Biographical Sheets .
- ↑ Online access to the maps can be found here: HBCA Post Maps
- ↑ Addresses and telephone numbers: How to contact Us .
- ↑ Very useful, also for preparation: Microfilm program .
- ↑ A list can be found here: HBCA Microfilm Catalog .
- ↑ Here you can find the two-part list of contact persons who may take on this work: Fee for Service Research .
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