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Dates of creation area
Date(s)
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[1847?]-1972, predominant 1875-1920 (Creation)
- Creator
- Guerin, Bellelle
Physical description area
Physical description
4 scrapbooks
2 objects
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Name of creator
Biographical history
Bellelle Guerin was a Canadian writer and the founder and first president of the Catholic Women's League of Canada. Bellelle Guerin was born as Mary Ellen Guerin on September 24, 1849 in Montreal. She was the eldest child of six and only daughter of civil engineer Thomas Guerin and Mary Maguire, both of Irish descent. Guerin spent several years of her education at the Mont Sainte-Marie Convent in Montreal. During this time, she became renowned as a writer and poet. It was then that she adopted the name Bellelle Guerin.
Guerin never married, but raised her brother’s two children, Thomas and Mary Carroll, after the death of their mother in 1888. Her brother, James John Edmund Guerin (July 4, 1856 – November 10, 1932), was a physician and politician. When he was elected mayor of Montreal in 1910, Bellelle served as mayoress. During the following two years, she accompanied him to civic functions and participated in such events as the International Eucharistic Congress, held in Montreal in 1910, and the visit of Earl Grey in Montreal.
In 1917, Guerin became president of the Catholic Women’s Club, formerly the Ladies of Loyola Club. In November 1917, the Montreal branch of the Catholic Women’s League (CWL) was founded, with herself as first president. Under Guerin’s initiative, the Catholic Women’s League of Canada was created in June 1920 to unify the various branches of the CWL, and once again, she was elected first president.
In 1922, Guerin was honored with the Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice cross from the Roman Catholic Church. In 1923, she was made honorary president for life of the Catholic Women’s League of Canada. Meanwhile, the national membership of the CWL had grown to 50,000.
Bellelle Guerin died at age 79 on January 28, 1929, in Montreal.
Custodial history
The materials were given to Robin Burns by Carroll Guerin. They were donated to the Concordia University Archive, now Records Management and Archives Department, by Robin Burns on May 27, 1992. The fonds was transferred from the Records Management and Archives Department to Concordia University Library's Special Collections on September 6, 2018.
Scope and content
The Bellelle Guerin fonds documents life and work of the Guerin family. Most significantly, the materials contained in the fonds pertain to the careers of John Edmund Guerin and Bellelle Guerin. The fonds also contains materials concerning other members of the Guerin family. Two scrapbooks document John Edmund Guerin’s political career as mayor of Montreal from his election in 1910 until 1912. These scrapbooks also contain materials concerning important events occurring during his mandate, including the International Eucharist Congress; the visits of Earl Grey and the duke and duchess of Connaught; and the death of King Edward 7th, among others. A third scrapbook contains information pertaining to the 1917 election and the Catholic Women’s League of Canada. Some documents are also related to Thomas or Mary Carroll Guerin. The fourth scrapbook contains clippings of newspaper articles, most of which were written by Thomas Guerin, Bellelle’s father. These articles concern Thomas Guerin's work as a civil engineer in Montreal in the 1870s and 1880s, and document a number of his concerns, including sewerage problems and floods in Montreal.
The Bellelle Guerin fonds is composed of 4 scrapbooks containing clippings and memorabilia, and a pin given to James John Edmund Guerin during the Eucharist Congress in 1910.
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Materials are arranged in the order of receipt.
Language of material
- English
- French
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Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Reproduction for research or private study may be permitted. In cases where the materials are not in the public domain, their use in publications cannot be done without permission of the copyright holder(s).
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Box listings are available.
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Guerin Family Fonds (P610), Mc Cord Museum, Montreal
Accruals
No further accruals are expected.
Rights
Copyright has expired for most documents.