An Overview

of

Primary Records of Ontario

Canadian records for Genealogists

&

Family Historians

This is an overview of some of the 'primary' record groups that are available for research specific to locations in Canada, and the Province of Ontario. This document was created in the 1990s, and is now considered to be out-of-date. Perhaps older, but perhaps still useful to some ....

• Ship's Passenger Lists
  • Indexes for all of North America - 1600 - 1900's
  • Canadian Passenger Ship Manifests - 1865 - 1935
  • Supporting Information - Ships, Routes, Accounts, Wrecks, etc
• Historic Canadian Immigration Records
  • Canadian Passenger Ship Manifests - 1865 - 1935
  • US/Canada Border Crossings - 1908 - 1919
  • 'Home Children' from England - 1869 - 1928
  • Immigrants from China - 1889 - 1945
  • Immigration Records since 1919
• Census Returns
  • For all of Canada
    • Heads of Household: 1841 and earlier - (very limited coverage - write for specifics)
    • All persons: Decadal, 1851 through 1901
  • England - Essex County, and some London, England areas
• Records generated under the 1940 National Resources Mobilization Act
• Civil Registration of Births, Marriages, and Deaths (equivalent to Vital Statistics)
  • Ontario
    • - Births: 1869 - 1917
    • - Marriages: 1869 - 1938 (with an overview of pre-1869 records)
    • - Deaths: 1869 - 1948
    • England and Wales: B, M, & D from 1837
• Military Records
  • British Service in North America
  • Local Militia Units - British and Canadian
  • Canadian Units: Boer War, Canadian Expeditionary Force, etc.
• Land Registration Records
  • Canada
    • Original Crown Grants and Patents to Land for such reasons as Military Service, etc.
  • Ontario
    • Records for specific pieces of property date from the earliest Crown grants. Later records can include Wills, and additional interesting information pertaining to inter-family loans and land transfers can often be identified
• Cemetery and Monumental Inscription Compilations - Ontario
  • The Ontario Genealogical Society has been recording Monumental Inscriptions across the Province, and a partial, electronically searchable database is operating.
• Probate and other Estate File Records - Ontario
  • Records pertaining to the disposition of the Estate of anyone who died in Ontario posessing property are available
• City and other regional Directories - for all of Canada, 1800 - 1996
• Telephone Directories, from 1879, for Ontario and Quebec
• Tax Lists - Municipal Assessment and Collector's Rolls - Ontario, 1800 - 1900's
• Church Records - Ontario, all denominations, from 1784;
• Divorce Petitions - Presented to the House of Commons, for all of Canada.
• Parish Registers - Essex County and some areas of east London, England, 1538 - 1976
• Newspapers - for all of Canada, and all time periods
• United Empire Loyalist (UEL) information
• Full Internet surname and information searches
• And much more............