Edouard-Zotique Massicotte was born in Montreal on December 24, 1867. He eventually became a merchant and husband of Adele Bertrand. He studied with the Sainte-Marie college and obtained a Law degree and bar in 1895. He follows his occupation in partnership with Camille Piche. In 1911, sir Lomer Gouin entrusts to him the post of head of the files of the law courts of Montreal, Canada. He was a member of the historical Company of Montreal, of the Company of archaeology and numismatics, of the Commission of the historic buildings of the province of Quebec, he is member with life of the Company-Saint-Jean-Baptiste. In 1912, he concentrates the major part of its historical production in the body of the Files of the province, the Bulletin of historical search. He marries in Three-Rivers, Quebec, October 23, 1899, to Alice Godin, daughter of Philippe-J. Godin and Arselie Matte.

Before being named responsible for the legal Files of Montreal in 1911, which today are the Public records from Quebec in Montreal, Edouard-Zotique Massicotte was founder member of the Literary School of Montreal and a journalist. Principal collaborator of Pierre-Geoges Roy to the Bulletin of historical search, he intelligently exploits the rich person files for which he is responsible in order to make known the hidden faces of our cultural history. Massicotte is interested in the context of use of the objects, that is to say with the habits and customs of the material culture or the cultural history, by the means of the files or the folklore. He publishes several articles and works which relate to arts, near or by far, during first half of the 20th century from 1915 to 1947.

In February 1942 Massicotte publishes a long article on "The furnishing in Montreal in XVII and XVIII siecles " where it draws up the terminological nomenclature several objects of the material culture found thanks to the inventories after death. Massicotte expresses there his astonishment to see people of average condition having garde-robes and even of the argenterie. The paths developed by Massicotte will be borrowed by Robert-Lionel Seguin, and will be marked out by the most elaborate work on the question, the objects familiar of our ancestors, published in 1974 per Nicole Genet, Luce Vermette and Louise Decarie As his characteristic grew, Massicotte published a great series of innovative articles on the folklore, the habits and customs connected to the feeding of the material culture, which bring an interesting light on the subject still today. Besides his articles give very clearly a report on his only archivistic approach, completely detached of the study of the objects. Often he finds information with a whole network of other researchers, that is to say in Quebec or abroad.

Because of E.Z. Massicotte, we have the details of our ancestry, today.

He dies in Montreal on November 8, 1947 at the age of 80. (ANQ, Pistard, Fonds Massicotte, P308).

Here are some photographs taken by E.Z.