John Douglas Borthwick was born in Glencourse, Scotland, in 1832. He arrived in Canada around 1850, first settling in Upper-Canada and later moving to Montreal. In 1866, Borthwick became ordained in the Church of England and served as a Minister at St. Mary's Church in Hochelaga. He later became a Chaplain at the Montreal prison.
Borthwick authored numerous texts, including but not limited to, Montreal, Its History (1875), History of Montreal and Commercial Registrar for 1885 (1885), History and Biographical Gazetteer of Montreal (1892), History of Montreal, Including the Streets of Montreal (1897), Authentic History of the Eight Prisons of Montreal (1907) and History of the Diocese of Montreal, 1850-1910 (1911).
Borthwick died in Montreal on January 14, 1912.
Published
Minimal
Final
Title based on the content of the collection.
The collection contains the manuscript titled "The Dark History of Montreal for 130 Years" by Reverend John Douglas Borthwick. the manuscript, dated 1897, appears to cover some of the same topics that are found in his book "History of Montreal, including the streets of Montreal" (1897).
Condition is fair, with damage to the first and last pages. The manuscript was restored at some point, though it is uncertain when the repairs took place.
No further accruals are expected.
Manuscript was sent to The Concordia University Archive, now the Records Management and Archives Department, in 1995 by York University. It was transferred from the Records Management and Archives Department to Special Collections on September 6, 2018.