| | LEVEL OF DESCRIPTION: | Fonds | | No.: | PR1014 | | TITLE: | Knaut, Knaut and Rolf fonds | | CREATOR: | Knaut, Knaut and Rolf | | DATE RANGE: | 1907-1966, predominant 1915-1966 | | EXTENT: | 4.65 m of textual records. – 5 maps | | ADMINISTRATIVE | | HISTORY/BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH: | The law firm of Knaut, Knaut and Rolf was founded circa (ca.) 1915 by Christopher George Corneille. He was born in Melbourne, Ontario ca. 1873 to Alecia and John Meadows Corneille. Corneille had his early education in Glencoe and London, Ontario and graduated in Arts and Theology from Victoria College at the University of Toronto in Toronto, Ontario. He had a pastorate in western Ontario and then traveled to Alberta where he became a pastor at Spruce Grove, west of Edmonton. He then resided for a time in Wetaskiwin, Alberta before moving to Camrose where he began working in the law firm Burgar and Davison. Corneille attended law school and was called to the bar in 1915, opening his own firm called C.G. Corneille, soon after. The firm dealt mainly with civil law cases, including probate (wills and estates), immigration and naturalization, and property (real estate) cases, though the firm was also involved in debt collection. The main offices were located in Camrose, Alberta, but over the years the company did do business on some days of the week in various other towns in the area, including Daysland, Killam, Hardisty, Bashaw, Forestburg, and Sedgewick, Alberta. Wilfred Laurier (Duke) Knaut joined the firm ca. 1920. Knaut was born at Mahone Bay, Nova Scotia on February 12, 1897. He served in the armed forces during World War I and, after his discharge in 1919, moved to Camrose, Alberta. Knaut articled at C.G. Corneille before being called to the bar in 1922. In ca. 1931 Knaut became a partner in the law firm and the name of the firm changed to Corneille and Knaut, remaining so until the death of C.G. Corneille in 1944. Knaut retained the firm upon Corneille’s death, changing the firm’s name to Wilfred L. Knaut ca. 1946. Knaut’s son, G. Rodney Knaut was called to the bar in 1954 and joined his father’s firm that same year, the name of the firm changing ca. May 1954 to Knaut and Knaut. Wilfred L. Knaut died on December 25, 1961, and G. Rodney Knaut retained the firm, changing the name to Knaut, Knaut and Rolf after Norman A. Rolf became a partner in 1964. | | SCOPE AND CONTENT: | Fonds consists of the business records of Knaut, Knaut and Rolf, and includes correspondence with clients about various probate, property, immigration, and collection matters, various legal documents regarding the same, accounts receivable/payable ledgers containing information about client accounts, legal diaries containing daily entries and accounts, and township maps depicting an area within Townships 37-48, Ranges 1-22, West of the 4th Meridian (37,38,39,40,41,42,43,44,45,46,47,48-1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22-W4). Fonds also includes some personal correspondence and separate correspondence files dealing specifically with collections for St. Mary’s Hospital in Camrose, Alberta. The fonds has been divided into the following series: Correspondence (1907-1966); St. Mary’s Hospital Account (1951-1956); Accounts Receivable/Payable (1915-1951); Legal Diaries (1917-1959) | | PHYSICAL CONDITION: | Most of the ledgers and legal diaries have been damaged by water and some have broken bindings and detached pages. | | ASSOCIATED MATERIAL: | Other records pertaining to C.G. Corneille can be found in the Camrose United Church fonds located at the Glenbow Archives in Calgary, Alberta. | | GENERAL NOTE: | Information for the administrative history was taken from the July 5, 1944 and December 27, 1961 issues of The Camrose Canadian newspaper, and from the records.
The area covered by the maps in this fonds is represented by the Alberta Township Survey (ATS) system.
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