1899: Robert Norton Rents the Fourth Floor – A Glimpse into Our Ancestor’s Everyday Life in Quebec City

I’ve been going through masses of files on my computer, and this week I found something that really brought one of our ancestors to life.

On August 3, 1899, my great-great-uncle Robert Jeffery Norton signed a lease for the entire fourth floor of a house at 66 St. John Street (now Rue Saint-Jean) in Quebec City.

He paid $60 for the whole year — just $5 a month.

The landlord was Mrs. Lydia Crawford. The lease was beautifully handwritten by a notary named F.A. Wilson. Robert agreed to take care of the place “en bon père de famille” (like a good, responsible head of the household), keep it properly furnished, and not sublet without permission. The landlord handled the major repairs and city taxes.

A quick sketch of Robert’s life: Born around 1865, he worked for the Dominion Express Company — think of him as the 1890s version of a FedEx driver, hustling parcels up and down Quebec’s icy streets. In 1894 he married Ida Crawford (Lydia’s niece), and they raised a family in the same bustling Lower Town. He kept that agent job for decades, and when he died suddenly in 1926, the newspaper called him “a well-known figure in the express business.” Robert was the brother of my great-grandmother Caroline Norton.

Here’s what Rue Saint-Jean looked like around the time Robert lived there:

Here are a few lines straight from the 1899 lease:

“The Lessee shall not sub-lease… he shall cause the said premises to be furnished with furniture, moveables, and effects sufficient to guarantee the payment of the rent… and he shall peaceably surrender the premises at the end of the lease…”

Reading this 125-year-old document made Robert feel so real to me. I can picture him climbing those narrow stairs after work, unlocking his door on the fourth floor, and looking out over the rooftops of old Quebec — listening to the bustle of the streets below, the voices of people, the clip-clop of horses, and the occasional bark of dogs.

This is exactly the kind of everyday document I love finding — proof that our ancestors lived ordinary lives, paid rent, made promises, and tried their best, just like we do.

If you have any other papers, stories, or memories about Robert Norton (or any of the Nortons or Jefferys), please send them my way! I’d love to add them here on My Genealogy Life.

More stories coming soon — one ancestor at a time.