Stanley Bagg and the Mile End Tavern : Quebec Notarial Records Yield Vital Insights

The author explains the origins of the name of Montreal's "Mile End" district, which she points out "isn't a mile from anywhere." The British-born John Clark (1767-1827), the author speculates, was no doubt familiar with a village near London called Mile End. Arriving in Montreal in the late 1790s, Clark purchased a property at the corner of St. Lawrence Street and St. Catherine Road (now Mount Royal Avenue) in 1804. On the site, he built a farm (Mile End Farm) a tavern (Mile End Tavern) and a home (Mile End Lodge). In 1810, the Massachusetts-born Stanley Bagg (1788-1853), the author's great-great-great-grandfather, and his father, Phineas Bagg (c1751-1823), signed a lease renting the tavern from John Clark, which was renewed in 1815. The Baggs gave up running the tavern in 1818. In 1819, Stanley Bagg married John Clark's daughter, Mary Ann Clark (c1795-1835). They were the parents of Stanley Clark Bagg (1820-1873). Clark Street, Bagg Street, Mary Ann Street (renamed Marie-Ann Street) and Fairmount Street (the name of Stanley Clark Bagg's villa) are all named after the Clark-Bagg families. The author explains her genealogical research through Quebec's notarial records, most of which are now digitized and available online, held at the Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec (BAnQ), and her research using other genealogical websites.

Quebec Heritage News

Vol. 16

no. 1

Winter 2022

6-7

en