Fonds consists of personal and professional records of Charles and Frances Bay and their families. Records relate to Frances’ acting career, Chuck’s work in the retail fashion business, personal photographs and genealogical research.

A large number of the records relate to Frances Bay’s acting career. These records include professional and on-set photographs, scripts for plays, movies and television programs in which she appeared and reviews of these works. These records mostly relate to her later career that began in the late 1970s and ended shortly before her death in 2011. Also included are awards she received for her work including a Gemini Award.

Personal records records include photographs of Chuck and Frances Bay and family members throughout their lives. These photographs depict their parents, their childhood and early married life, their son Josh. Many of the photographs depict numerous vacations taken between the late 1980s and the 2000s to various destinations in Europe, Southeast Asia, Israel and Egypt. Photographs also include family gatherings such as birthdays and family reunions.

A small number of records relate to Chuck Bay’s career in the retail fashion industry. These include newspaper clippings about his career, photographs of the Furchgott’s department store in Jacksonville, Florida where Chuck was General Manager, and copies of Chuck’s resume. Some of the European travel photographs appear to depict a goose farm and processing facility for his later business producing down comforters.

Chuck Bay researched the genealogy of the Bay, Goffman and Averbach families. Records of this research include detailed family trees, copies of photographs from various sources, correspondence with family members and copies of archival documents from several different institutions. These records include originals and photocopies apparently made during the 1990s and 2000s.