Janet Carlile was the curator of Arnprior District Museum and works as a professional appraiser.
Acquisition Source
Gillies Bros. correspondence donated by Janet Carlile, curator of Arnprior District Museum from her private collection which she acquired through a sale.
Custodial History
It is probable that the Gillies' Bros. material was part of George Gillies' possessions. The George Gillies Company Ltd. of Gananoque manufactured carriage hardward in the late 1880's. Janet Carlile donated the Gillies Bros. letters from her private collection which she acquired through a sale.
Scope and Content
This fonds consists of various records from the donor's personal collection.
File 1: Gillies Bros. Business Records and Personal Correspondence I19.4
This file contains business and personal correspondence of various members of the Gillies family between 1892-1927. Business records include accounts, correspondence from other timber merchants, estimates of stock on hand, bank statements, orders for supplies, etc.
The file also contains personal correspondence from William Gillies to his brother John Gillies in Braeside, letters from John A. Gillies to his father John Gillies etc. Included in these papers is a handwritten 1917 Voters List for Braeside Ontario.
In 2018, a b&w photograph given to Janet Carlile by Art Appleby of Sand Point showing shoreline of Sand Point taken from deck of ferry was added to the fonds. "Paddy Leblanc from the William Douglas, Sand Point 1937" is written on the reverse of image. The club house of the Arnprior Golf Club is visible as well as the wharf and lighthouse.
File 2: Letters from Pakistan F19.1
This file contains 65 letters of personal correspondence from James E. Isbester and Katherine Jean Campbell while they lived in Daud Khel, West Pakistan from 1953-1955. James E. Isbester was an engineer and worked for Acres engineering in Arnprior. He was moved to Pakistan to help in building a cement plant, where his wife Katherine joined him. The letters detail life in Pakistan, the job at the plant and happenings in Arnprior.
Related Material
See Norman B. Gillies fonds 2015-0349
See Gillies Family fonds 1995-0060
See 1994-0021 Peter Hessel fonds file 'Isbester, James' for photographs of James and Katherine and other family members.