Title and statement of responsibility area
Title proper
General material designation
Parallel title
Other title information
Title statements of responsibility
Title notes
- Source of title proper: Title based on creator of fonds.
Level of description
Repository
Reference code
Edition area
Edition statement
Edition statement of responsibility
Class of material specific details area
Statement of scale (cartographic)
Statement of projection (cartographic)
Statement of coordinates (cartographic)
Statement of scale (architectural)
Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)
Dates of creation area
Date(s)
-
1621-1978 ; predominant 1821-1870 (Creation)
- Creator
- Macmillan, David Stirling
Physical description area
Physical description
91 cm textual records
photographs
prints
drawings
Publisher's series area
Title proper of publisher's series
Parallel titles of publisher's series
Other title information of publisher's series
Statement of responsibility relating to publisher's series
Numbering within publisher's series
Note on publisher's series
Archival description area
Name of creator
Biographical history
David Stirling Macmillan was born 9 October 1925 in Scotland. He received his Masters degree from Glasgow, Scotland in 1949, and in 1965 his Ph.D. from Sydney, Australia. He was an archivist who worked as a temporary Assistant Keeper for the Scottish Record Office (now National Records of Scotland) in Edinburgh, Scotland, 1949-50, and then the University of Sydney from 1954 to 1968, where he was the first university archivist. He was named a Fellow of the Royal Australian History Society. He left Australia in 1968 to come to Trent University, where he was a professor for 20 years and taught History from 1968 to 1987. He taught courses such as the Expansion of Europe, 1400-1825 and Russian History, as well as his specialty, Business and Economic History. He also taught some evening courses at Durham College in Oshawa for Trent. He received the Eminent Service Award in 1987. After a lengthy illness David Stirling Macmillan died 4 September 1987.
Custodial history
Trent University Archives received this material in 1990 from the estates of Dr. David S. Macmillan and his wife. Both Macmillan and his wife were deceased at the time, and the Archives believed Macmillan rightfully owned the materials, as he was a known collector of postal collections and historical documents.
Since then, Trent University Archives has learned that some of the material held by Macmillan did not rightfully belong to him. Since receiving this news, we have worked closely with archivists at the National Records of Scotland (NRS) to identify and return more than 3,000 documents from the Macmillan collections, which belong in archival repositories and private collections across the UK, including NRS collections.
The items returned to date do not represent the entirety of the Macmillian collection in the Trent University Archives. We continue to review the materials described in the Macmillan finding aids and do our due diligence to identify and return materials to their rightful owner.
If repositories review these descriptions and believe that material may have come from their collections, or can provide any insights into provenance, they are invited to email archives@trentu.ca.
Scope and content
This fonds consists of correspondence, research notes and original documents which were collected by Professor David Macmillan during his research. Items such as voters' lists for Victoria County, Ontario and a series of broadsides advertising land in Victoria County; documents from the Hudson's Bay Company, East Indies; minutes from the Barbados Board of Legislative Council, a Sydney Australia Company, and the Sydney Australian Committee of the New Steam Company; and a number of reproduction engravings and prints are included in the fonds. Also included in the fonds is a copy of Macmillan's 1964 Ph.D. thesis: "The Scottish Australian Connection..." and assorted pamphlets relating to New South Wales.
Notes area
Physical condition
Some of the records are quite brittle. Handle with care and gloves should be worn for all records.
Immediate source of acquisition
This fonds was given to Trent University at the bequest of Professor David Macmillan.
Arrangement
In January 2025, the materials in some folders were further arranged into subfolders (typically lettered a, b, c, etc), in order to better describe materials. The finding aid was also organized into series representing broad geographical groupings. It should be noted that these categories are not mutually exclusive, given the involvement of Scotland and England in operations in Australia, North America, Barbados, and other locations.
Language of material
- English
- French
Script of material
Location of originals
Availability of other formats
Restrictions on access
Permission of University Archivist.
Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication
Finding aids
Generated finding aid
Associated materials
Accruals
The Macmillan fonds/collection includes this accession, 94-002, 05-003, and 08-012.
General note
Records relating to the Scottish Australian Trading Company relocated to the National Archives of Australia, September, 2007.
General note
Over-sized items located in Large Materials Cabinet - Drawer 32.