Section F: Records of Related and Subsidiary Companies Help

Document Reference Number

The records of companies connected with or subsidiary to the Hudson's Bay Company are described according to the classification system established by the HBC. Under this system, each company is assigned a number or group of numbers according to record type (e.g. minute books, correspondence books, account books, etc.). A typical reference, therefore, would be F.3/2 which is broken down as follows:

Section Records of Related Companies
Class North West Company: Correspondence Books
Unit
(file or vol.)		 2 NWC Correspondence Books

When referring to these records at the Library and Archives Canada, add the prefix MG 20 to the document reference number, e.g. MG 20 F.3/2.

The document reference number should not be confused with the reel number. The document reference number refers to specific items, a great number of which may be found in a given reel.

Years

In the range of years that a particular reference may cover, there are a few things to keep in mind:

  • Different volumes may overlap a given year or range of years, particularly in the case of Account Books, in which different types of books cover a given range of years.
  • A volume covering a given period of years (i.e., vol. 6, 1860–1865) may be split between two or more reels of microfilm; in such cases the range of years is given for the entire volume, not for the portion covered in a given microfilm reel.
  • Gaps in the record are not enumerated, i.e., if a given reel covers documents for 1850–1855 and 1860–1865, then it is listed as 1850–1865.
  • Records for which a date has not been assigned are not specified, i.e., if undated records are grouped with records dating from 1840–1842, then only the date is given.

More specific information can be found by consulting the microfilm registers at the HBCA, or Finding Aid No. 65 - Microfilm Shelf List at the Library and Archives Canada. Please contact us if you need more specific information.

Reel Numbers

The number of the microfilm reel as classified by the Hudson's Bay Company Archives and used by the Library and Archives Canada.

The reel number should not be confused with the document reference number. The document reference number refers to specific items, a great number of which may be found in a given reel.

The National Archives in the United Kingdom uses entirely different reel numbers. These numbers are not available on the HBA web site.