Collection MG4166/09 - Montreal Lawyers Collection

Transferred from the Law Library on March 25, 1992

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The Montreal Lawyers fonds was created by the Law Library of McGill University and consists of records generated by Montreal lawyers, law firms and judges of the Superior Court and Queen's Bench (Districts of Montreal and Quebec) Cour Supérieure et du Cour du Banc de la Reine from 1840s to the 1890s. Many of these lawyers were educated at or taught at the McGill Faculty of Law and include the following: Judge Sir Andrew Stuart (1812-1891) was born at Quebec in 1812. He was educated at a private school at Chambly, Lower Canada, and was called to bar of Lower Canada in 1834. In 1860 he was appointed a puisne judge of the Superior Court of Quebec (of Lower Canada), and in 1885 became Chief Justice of this court. He was one of the most eminent Canadian jurists of the time. He served on the Superior Court of Quebec, and became Chief Justice of the Superior Court of Quebec in 1885. In 1889 Sir Andrew Stuart retired and died at Quebec in 1891. Judge Frederick William Torrance (1823-1887) was born in Montreal in 1823. He was educated in Paris and at Edinburgh University in Scotland, from where he received an M.A. in 1844. He came back to Canada, studied law in Montreal, and in 1848 was called to the bar of Lower Canada. He practiced law in Montreal, set a legal apprenticeship with his grandfather Duncan Fisher and Attorney -General James Smith. Torrance was a lecturer of Civil Law (Roman Law) at McGill Faculty from 1853 to 1855. In 1855 he was promoted to Professor of Civil Law (until 1870). Judge Robert Mackay was a member of the Board of Governors at McGill University in 1882. The law firms represented in this collection include the following: Torrance and Morris a typical of large, commercial, North American firm of the time. The firm represented an economically important clientele, such as Sir George Simpson, James Blackwood Greenshields, insurers, industrial businesses and large-scale land speculators. The firm also did extensive business with companies in New York, Toronto, Portland and Boston. The firm had an important library, which was made available to Montreal lawyers and to the Civil Code Commission. Frederick William Torrance and Alexander Morris were partners from 1851 to 1861. Frederick W. Torrance and John Lang Morris (Alexander's younger brother) were partners from 1861 to 1868, when Torrance was appointed to the Superior Court of Quebec. Torrance was a Governor of McGill University from 1870 to 1886. Alexander Morris (1826-1889) was born in 1826 at Perth in Upper Canada. He studied at the University of Glasgow and came to McGill in 1848. He was the first person to receive the McGill's B.A. Degree in 1850. The same year he graduated with B.C.L. In 1952 he was granted the degree of M.A. and in 1862 D.C.L. In 1854 Morris became a Fellow of the University and Governor from 1857 to 1874. Rose and Holmes