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Macdonell Collection
Collection Type:
- Canadiana
- British and Anglo-Irish Collections
Special Collection:
Yes
The Right Reverend Alexander Macdonell (1760 or 1762 - 1840) played an active role in Canadian history, education and church history. He obtained land grants in Glengarry County and brought a large number of the former Glengarry Fencibles army from Scotland to settle in Upper Canada. Macdonell was the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Regiopolis (or Upper Canada) and a member of the Legislative Council of Upper Canada. He founded Regiopolis College in Kingston in 1837 with the help of his nephew, Very Reverend Angus Macdonell and Dr. Rolph.
The Macdonell Collection, which Queen's acquired in 1969, contains Bishop Alexander's Library as the nucleus of a larger collection of about 600 volumes which includes the subsequent additions of Angus Macdonell and others at Regiopolis College. The main areas of concentration are religion, Irish history, classics, literature, world history, and travel.
Items from the Macdonell Collection are listed in Omni. There also is a print checklist of the collection, available in the Jordan Library.