Fonds P040 - Gordon Kohl and Isobel Bancroft collection

Gordon Kohl was born in England on 6 January 1919. It is not known where he was born, but he studied at Sault Ste. Marie Primary School, Argyle School in Westmount, Lower Canada College, Upper Canada College, and McGill University, where he obtained a B.A. in 1942 and a Bachelor of Law in 1948. He first had a private practice, then worked as counsel to the Canadian International Paper Company, and finally returned to private practice. In 1975, Kohl moved to Georgeville, where he continued to practice as a lawyer. Besides conducting his professional practice, Kohl was the owner of Swairns Farms in Georgeville, bred cattle. He was a member of many breeders' organizations and participated successfully in many agricultural fairs. In the 1950s Kohl bought a country house at Eccles Hill and subsequently developed a keen interest in the history of the Fenian raids. He died on 11 January 2001.

Kohl shared his interest for history with Isobel (Millen) Bancroft, an aunt of his wife. Bancroft was born in Montreal on 15 February 1894. In 1923, she married Melbourne Tait Bancroft. Bancroft obtained a B.A. from McGill University at the beginning of the 1920s and an M.A. in sociology from Université Laval in Québec City at the end of the 1940s. Over the years, she was involved in many literary, university, and historical associations. At the end of the 1950s, when her husband retired, she moved to West Shefford and then Cowansville. In 1974, on the death of her husband, she moved to Ottawa, where she died on 24 June 1976.