We're not that young a country, and we have some continuities. There's an organization called the Law Society of Upper Canada -- founded in 1797. Its governors, called "benchers," have been meeting in Toronto ever since, in what they call "Convocation" (actually pretty much always in the same room since 1832.) The minutes of their proceedings form an archival sequence from July 1797 to last month.
I'm fond of the minutes for December 4, 1837 (just 170 years ago), which record the lawyers transacting a lot of absolutely routine business. And then the minutes break off with the laconic statement, "Mackenzie's rebellion broke out this night and in consequence of which the Convocation assembled no more this term."
Nothing like a little armed revolutionary violence to screw up your Daytimer.
