March 16, 1998
Last year, during our mini-reunion in the Saguenay, and in the course of a day trip to see the mill at Riverbend,
I was telling the passengers in my car, as we passed through the small town of Larouche, that the town was once
called "Kenogami;" and that, about 1911, William Price purchased the name for $100 because he liked it,
and he wanted it for the new town he was then building next to Jonquiere. One of our cousins said to me: "You
know, Tony, you must write a family history, because none of us know these stories."
A new family history is something I have had in mind for some time. I do know personally a number of facts and
anecdotes; I have a significant personal archive which contains articles written about the family and books in
which there are references to it; I know where the two principal public archives with family collections are and
have some familiarity with their contents (it is said that the largest single family collection in the Quebec Archives
Nationales is the Price family's); the Musee Sir William Price in Jonquiere now has a substantial family archive;
I have contacted Abitibi Consolidated and can expect some collaboration if not financial support; I have a bad
copy of the Abbe Maheux manuscript but am on the trail of a better one; I know of other places where family history
information may be found; the two main societes historiques in Saguenay-Lac Saint-Jean (Chicoutimi and Alma) are
enthusiastic about the project and will assist, I have (still) some "corporate memory", and I have the
interest.
But the essential ability and talent may be something else! I am not a writer, I am not a researcher, I am not
an academic and, other than in an amateur sense, I am not an historian. Some of these attributes can be acquired
I suppose and, for those which cannot, I can enlist help. That I am not getting any younger dictates an immediate
start. For the moment, we are talking about a "research project," not a book.
I envision a three year minimum time frame, and one which, ideally, may see two products: after the first year
what I believe is called a "pamphlet" and, at the end, the above disclaimer notwithstanding, a proper
book in the order of 300 pages. The firm of "Bergeron & Gagnon" of Quebec City, which I helped last
year prepare the texts and exhibits for the Musee Sir William Price re-opening, asked me to do the former. It would
be in a small format (approximately 19 by 23 cms), with pictures and maps, about seventy pages, and more factual
than literary and anecdotal. I intend there be both French and English language versions. It would sell (I hope!)
in museums and historical societies, and perhaps the odd book store. The Corporation de la Sauvegarde du Patrimoine
de Jonquiere, which operates the Musee, and which is an institution competent to receive charitable donations,
has accepted to sponsor the project. I believe this is appropriate.
-2-
While a great deal of the information I seek, indeed by far the largest part, is available in public records, and
that is where I shall seek it, I know that the memories, and the written records and photographs in the possession,
of individual family members are significant and can provide intimacy and colour as well as information and corroboration.
For this reason I am writing to you.
I cannot write to everybody but I am contacting all living members of the fourth generation, a great many of my
generation, and a few of the sixth generation. I shall do my best to reach at least one member of every fourth
generation branch. I shall, of course, be in touch with members of both the Chilean and United Kingdom branches.
I should appreciate family members, who do receive this letter, circulating it amongst other members of their branch
who did not.
The categories hereunder are not exhaustive, but more an indicator of the kind of information I am seeking:
A son of turn-of-the-century social and historical Domesday Book, as it were, of the Price family! This is a
tall order and I realize of course, there will be overlaps and redundancies, but this is good and will allow me
to cross check and verify. Please send personal anecdotes which you might think interesting and/or amusing. I do
not know if Michael and Jonathan's project of a family Web Site got off the ground but, in the event it did, it
could be a timely and convenient depository of a lot of relevant and useful material.
I should appreciate references and extracts, wherever possible. When sending letters, documents - photocopies of
the former are fine as I am not an archive and do not require original material - and photos, please indicate whether
or not you wish them returned; if you do, they will be.
-3-
Let me give an example. Were I responding to this request, I would first of all copy it to Harold, Scott
and Willa, and to Evan, Llew and Lucy. I would provide the above information, cryptically if you will, about my
father and mother, about the Scotts (James Scott, my maternal grandfather, was a friend and Quebec City neighbour
of Sir Wm, a director of Price Brothers, and the brother of Benjamin A. Scott from whom Sir Wm purchased the hydro
rights to the waters of the Lac St-Jean watershed), and, in less detail, about my siblings and their children,
and about my children and grandchildren. I would, of course, count upon my siblings themselves to provide fuller,
accurate accounts of their own personal histories. I do not underestimate the amount of work I am asking everybody
to do. Essentially I am trying to get you interested and involved, and to offer you the opportunity to provide
accurate information about yourself and members of your family (rather than have me work with less
reliable secondary sources). Even if I have the time, and I do not expect to, I will not badger you for responses.
Much of this material will never make it into print but I would like to have it on hand both as a necessary reference
and perhaps to be able to make some observations of a general kind (e.g. the number of family members who went
to a particular school, to the RMC,….). At least it would be studied and collated and, at the end, deposited in
a coherent form in an appropriate archive which accepted it, and where it could serve as a reference for future
generations of family, as well as interested scholars.
The Price family has been mentioned in a number of books and articles. For example The Marchioness of Dufferin
and Ava's "My Canadian Journal" has an account of the vice-regal couple's visit to Chicoutimi in the
1870's: "July 12. We reached Chicoutimi this morning. We sent a note ashore inviting ourselves to breakfast
with the Prices, and when we were dressed, found Mr. Price waiting with his carriages to take us to the house.
The Prices are a happy family of four girls and six sons, all unmarried, and all living together." In "Jackrabbit"
Johannsen's recent biography, written by his daughter, I read : "Then there was that red-letter Friday when
Dad returned from a business trip to Quebec where he had been with Sir William Price and a number of men reconnoitring
the Price Brothers Timber Limits (sic) at Lac St-Jean. He brought home with him a six-week-old puppy, an Alsatian…
(a gift from Sir William Price)" (I recite the above, at some length, as an illustration of the good stuff
that is out there.) There was the article in the Illustrated News, circa 1860, about David Edward taking the Prince
of Wales fishing on the River Marguerite. The author, James Oliver Curwood, in his novel, "The Ancient Highway,"
wrote an eloquent dedication to Sir William on the opening fly-leaf. I know about, and have, many such accounts,
but I expect other family members can tell me about others.
-4-
Since I see this, for the moment, as a research project, I have not looked into costs beyond the hiring of a research
assistant on a short term contract, and some modest research, travel, and administrative expenses. If a pamphlet
is to be published, I have a quote from a consultant for layout, preparation of pictorial material, editing, and
printing. A foundation has generously provided start- up funds. A first tour amongst a few major foundations, though,
has not been encouraging, with the response being generally: we do not support books. I intend to contact the Canada
Council and the Canadian Studies Programme at McGill but, having neither academic credentials nor a publishing
record, I cannot be sanguine here. While Abitibi Consolidated have not said no, it might not be interested in a
book which is more about a family than a company.
I am confident though that if I can make some progress, and demonstrate that a quality history of an interesting
and worthwhile subject can be well written, needed funding will be forthcoming. A story of such limited public
interest may not attract a commercial publisher and I accept the probability, and cost, of private publication.
But I shall endeavour to sell the project to a publisher nonetheless. If anybody can introduce me to a foundation
or institute which you think might support this kind of activity, please let me know, and I shall follow up.
Emphatically, the project will not be an exercise to exalt the Price family. Like any large family we have our
stars, but what perhaps most sets us apart is sheer numbers! It is significant that our forbears were important
pioneers in one of Canada's foremost industries and that, over the years, we have participated in the military
(starting with William, the founder, in the War of 1812!) and political life of Canada. And we are exceptional
in that, save perhaps for the odd Lewis Price descendant, nobody has disappeared off the radar screen since 1810.
And, of course, there is this unusually large body of information about us which is contained in public records.
I happen to think that, if the right person can be found to tell it, the history of any family can be interesting
(e.g. David MacFarlane's "The Danger Tree," about the Goodyear family of Newfoundland). It is moot, of
course, if it is best undertaken by a family member rather than an outsider; an insider may have an intimacy with,
and interest in, the material but, on the other hand, an outsider might be expected to be more objective. I suppose,
ultimately, it is a matter of competent research, judgement, sensitivity and honesty. And, hopefully, good writing!
I would like to pay tribute to Alice Sharples Baldwin. Somebody has to write a first book on a given subject, and
she did. She wrote it, however, with a very thin and spotty archival base (does anybody know where she got her
material, and what happened to it afterwards? The letters especially?), and when she was well along. I believe
that her book, while surprisingly informative and good reading in the circumstances, can, with more comprehensive
research from broader and deeper archival resources, be built upon and improved significantly. I am grateful to
a forerunner. And I shall be most grateful to family members who contribute information and other useful material.
Contributions can be sent by post to: Price Family History,
10, rue Sainte-Anne, C.P. 833 H.V., Quebec CANADA G1R 4S7
or by Fax to 418-692-4161.