Fonds M994.24 - James and William Russell fonds

Construction of Highway 27, ca. 1930 James and William Russell fonds, n.d.

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

James and William Russell fonds

General material designation

  • Textual record

Parallel title

Other title information

Title statements of responsibility

Title notes

Level of description

Fonds

Reference code

CA CoV Archives M994.24

Edition area

Edition statement

Edition statement of responsibility

Class of material specific details area

Statement of scale (cartographic)

Statement of projection (cartographic)

Statement of coordinates (cartographic)

Statement of scale (architectural)

Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1821-1922 (Creation)

Physical description area

Physical description

40 cm of textual records and other material

Publisher's series area

Title proper of publisher's series

Parallel titles of publisher's series

Other title information of publisher's series

Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series

Numbering within publisher's series

Note on publisher's series

Archival description area

Custodial history

As implied by the corporate name, James and William Russell was a firm owned and operated by a pair of siblings, the sons of Wm. Russell Sr., a wheelwright from Pine Grove in Vaughan Township. The Russells' business specialized in the breeding and sale of Short Horn cattle; although the evidence suggests a brief flirtation with sheep-breeding, cattle were the mainstay of the enterprise. While the business was located in Richmond Hill, Wm. Russell was a resident of the hamlet of Carrville in Vaughan Township, and James Russell lived in Markham Township. The firm proved quite successful, with sales of cattle recorded as far afield as the Canadian and American West, and a number of national and international cattle-breeding awards being earned.

Scope and content

Fonds consists primarily of textual records offering comprehensive coverage of the business dealings of the Russells: correspondence, legal documents including estate records, indentures, agreements, leases, wills, etc., financial records, fragments of flock and herd registers, and printed matter. Some of the aforementioned textual material relates to Wm. Russell Sr.; of particular value here are real property tax assessment certificates, which comment on various aspects of the life of the elder Russell. The fonds also includes 2 postcards, one unidentified and one of the Richmond Hill Methodist Church; and two photographs depicting, presumably, the Russells, [ca. 1880]. Also present are 3 architectural renderings, floor plans, elevations, mouldings and casements, of an unidentified residential structure, [ca. 1880]. A variety of richly-ornamented diplomas, certificates, and ribbons and Stevensgraphs reflecting victories by James and William Russell cattle at contests sponsored by the West Riding of York and Township of Vaughan Agricultural Societies, the Woodbridge Agricultural Society, the Toronto Industrial Exhibition, the Dominion of Canada Industrial Exhibition, and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, covering the period 1874-1900 provide ample and colourful evidence of the skill of the Russell brothers in their particular sub-field of agricultural science.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Arrangement

Language of material

  • English

Script of material

Location of originals

  • Bay 5, Sh. 19
  • Bay 18, Sh. 5 (O/S);
  • Map 27

Availability of other formats

Restrictions on access

Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

Finding aids

No finding aid available

Associated materials

Related materials

Accruals

Alternative identifier(s)

Standard number area

Standard number

Access points

Place access points

Name access points

Genre access points

Control area

Description record identifier

Institution identifier

Rules or conventions

Status

Level of detail

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Language of description

  • English

Script of description

Sources

Accession area

Related people and organizations

Related genres