September / October 2002 Vol. 34, no. 5

"A Task of More than Ordinary Difficulty": Douglas Brymner and the Creation of the National Archives, 1872-1902

Don Carter, Research and Information Services

The May SAVOIR FAIRE seminar entitled "‘A Task of More than Ordinary Difficulty’: Douglas Brymner and the Creation of the National Archives, 1872-1902" was presented by Glenn Wright. Mr. Wright is an historian with the National Archives of Canada and is currently writing a history of the Archives. He was previously employed as an archivist and historian with the National Archives (1975-1991), National Defence (1991-1992) and the RCMP (1992-2000).

In the course of his enlightening presentation, Mr. Wright shared his research on Douglas Brymner, Canada’s first national archivist. He outlined, most effectively, Mr. Brymner’s pioneering role in the creation of the National Archives of Canada.

Douglas Brymner was born in Scotland in 1823, where he received a classical education. He immigrated to Quebec where, in 1858, he initially took up farming and municipal politics. Brymner’s talents led him in 1865 to become editor of the journal the Presbyterian and later associate editor of the Montreal Herald.

Mr. Wright spoke of the Archives Movement in Canada in the 1870s. In December 1870, Henry Miles, a one-time professor at Bishop’s College, addressed the Literary and Historical Society of Quebec (LHSQ) on the subject of the need for a Canadian archives. Later, in 1871, at the request of the LHSQ, Miles drafted a petition to Parliament, signed subsequently by 60 "authors and literary inquirers," that sought to ensure the preservation and accessibility of archival documents in Canada.

In 1872, the government responded by allotting funds to create a position for Douglas Brymner in the federal Department of Agriculture, where he was to spend half of his time on "the Public Archives service" and the other half on agricultural statistics. Brymner was provided with three empty rooms in the West Block and, although he had no assistants and no documents, he began his duties with enthusiasm. Brymner observed that it was "a task of more than ordinary difficulty."

The audience was told that Mr. Brymner began by surveying old government records in Toronto, Montreal, Quebec, Fredericton, Saint John and Halifax. He found a very large collection of British military records in Halifax and succeeded in acquiring them for the Archives. In 1873 in London, England, Brymner examined the numerous collections of Canadian-related records held in government offices there and decided that it was important to make those collections and others in Paris accessible to researchers in Canada by having them copied. In the mid-1870s, Brymner devoted himself primarily to indexing the British military records he had acquired.

Mr. Wright then related how the renewal of the Archives program began in the late 1870s. With a change in government in the fall of 1878, funds became available, which enabled Brymner to initiate the copying program in London, England. This program, which was to remain the top priority of the Archives Branch during the 1890s, began with the transcription, by local copyists, of the papers of Sir Frederick Haldimand and Colonel Henry Bouquet held in the British Museum. As the volumes were completed, they were bound and sent to Ottawa, where Brymner indexed them. Later, copying of the documents in the Public Record Office was undertaken.

July 1883 saw the appointment of Assistant Archivist Joseph Marmette, who was assigned responsibility for the Archives copying program in Paris. Marmette surveyed collections and listed volumes that he found in Paris relating to the French Régime in Canada. The copying program began modestly there in 1891. After Marmette died in 1895, Édouard Richard continued the work in Paris until 1903. The manual transcription program in London and Paris expanded until microfilming technology was adopted in the early 1950s to facilitate the copying process.

Mr. Wright emphasized that although Douglas Brymner concentrated his efforts on the copying program, he also worked to acquire published material of every sort that concerned Canadian history. Brymner "saw himself as the architect of a gigantic reference collection of Canadiana, a collection that would be more extensive and all-encompassing than any other collection in existence." The speaker observed: "from the very beginning in 1872, Brymner recognized that archives were essential for the study of history, and if Canadians were to understand their origins and development, it was important to preserve historical records and to make them available for research."

The speaker referred several times during his talk to the many obstacles Brymner encountered, including inadequate accommodation, few staff, limited budgets and a fire in 1897. He informed the audience that several attempts were made to amalgamate the Archives with the Parliamentary Library.

Mr. Wright also related the fascinating story of the rivalry between Brymner and the Keeper of the Records at the Department of the Secretary of State (Henry Morgan and afterwards Alphonse Audet). In 1868, the department had been assigned the responsibility of caring for the State records. Alphonse Audet called for cooperation amongst those who were "favourably disposed to assist in establishing the archives of Canada on a solid basis." A royal commission in 1892 took note of the similar nature of Brymner and Audet’s work. After a fire in 1897, a departmental inquiry recommended that a single person be designated as the Keeper of the Records and that a fireproof building be found to house and provide access to these records.

Although the government did not act on the recommendations, one of the commissioners from the inquiry, Joseph Pope, continued to regularly promote the ideas that had been presented in the recommendations of the commissioners. Douglas Brymner died in 1902, and in 1904, Arthur Doughty was appointed Dominion Archivist and Keeper of the Records. Three years later, a new building was constructed to serve as the home of the Public Archives of Canada.

Mr. Wright stated that Douglas Brymner’s "30 year tenure was remarkable." In those 30 years, "the groundwork had been laid, practices and principles had been developed, archives had secured a place for themselves in the mind of the state, important and valuable historical records had been preserved and made available, history was being written and archives were slowly finding a place for themselves in the national cultural landscape."

In closing, Mr. Wright observed: "while most of my research is based on original archival sources, I draw on the (National) Library for published government reports, newspapers and journals, and general reference sources. The National Library is an extraordinary source -- much like Douglas Brymner’s dream of creating a great storehouse of information -- and I am grateful that I can work in an environment that brings me into contact with both unpublished archival records and published material in the Library."