Bill Martin's Supplementary Genealogy Website Main Index.

ONTARIO

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CANADIAN

GENEALOGY

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July 7, 2000.
The book entitled 'New England Captives Taken to Canada Between 1677 and 1760 During the French and Indian Wars', is a two volume set written by Emma Lewis Coleman and published by The Southworth Press, Portland, Maine, in 1925. It is a large work with Vol. 1 at 438 pages and Vol. 2 at 452 pages. I have copied the index and an excerpt and include them here. The index lists hundreds of names of captives, captors and places involved. The excerpt is one I copied for my own use as I have an interest in any YORK family I can find as I search for ancestors of that name. This portion of the book is a good example of what these two volumes contain.
July 19, 2000.
Chapter One is a brief overview of the history of the French and Indian Wars, and provides enough detail to make the era live a bit.
The two books were obtained on Interlibrary loan from the Toronto Reference Library. My local library had no trouble getting them. I do not have a copy of my own so please don't ask for details beyond these two web pages as I do not have anything I can add. If you are unable to get the books for reference, I'd suggest trying to get someone in Toronto to do a lookup for you.
July 11, 2000.
T. F. Wood & Co's Canadian Newspaper Directory was produced in 1876. I have included the section on the History of Canadian Newspapers as well as the list of the papers. This directory should be quite helpful in tracing old records.
June 6, 2000.
A good place to look for information on ancestors could be the newspapers in their area. I have transcribed and created a page for W. W. Butcher's Canadian Newspaper Directory. It was published in 1886 and lists most if not all of the newspapers published in Canada. The publishing frequency and the year they began publication are also included.
June 15, 2000.
THE EMIGRANT'S GUIDE TO THE CANADAS This 1833 book was printed in London, Edinburgh and Dublin, and was intended as a source of information for prospective emigrants to Upper and Lower Canada. It has only a few names, so is not a good source of genealogical records, but is a fantastic source of some of the historic information about the Canadas in the early part of the 1800s. There is a fine line between genealogy and history, and this book really helps with the history part. Find out how to build a log home, make maple sugar, or convert ashes to cash. Includes lists of what to bring when you emigrate, where to settle and how to get there. If you have ancestors who came over in the first half of the 18th century, you'll want to read this book. At the time this book was written Upper Canada was not extensively settled, and a lot of the book pertains to the situation in Lower Canada. The file is large (almost 300k), and I'd suggest you save it to your machine and read it offline.
Dec. 22, 1999.
Gazetteer and Directory of the County of Grey for the Year 1865-66 by William Wye Smith. This directory contains almost 7600 names of residents of the 17 townships of Grey County, taken by Mr. Smith from the assessment rolls for 1864. Every place with a name is noted and described in the Gazetteer portion. Almost every town or crossroads lists some of the residents. This is a large resource of 330 printed pages which have been transcribed into 8 files, each of around 100k.
July 25, 2000.
THE EMIGRANTS' GUIDE TO THE CANADAS is another book by the same name as the one above. This must be the original as it was published in Dublin in 1822. It is by Wm. Watson, and contains a lot of great historical information about early Canada. More detail in some areas than the later book, but much less detail in others. If you liked the first one I put on this site you'll like this one too.
July 26, 2000.
THE 1997 ONTARIO ARCHIVES INTERLIBRARY LOAN CATALOG is of some use if you are unable to find what you want at the Archives main site. This catalog is also sometimes easier to use, especially if you are used to it.
August 2, 2000.
THE HISTORY OF SIMCOE COUNTY, by Andrew F. Hunter is a detailed 2 volume history of the County. It was published in 1909. I've been advised by Wayne Cook that he has already put this book onto his Simcoe County Site, and recommend you visit his site to see this book, which is there in its' entirety. This book contains a lot of names of early settlers, which is what got me interested in it in the beginning.
May 31, 2000.
Connor and Coltson's Directory of the County of Ontario for 1869/70. This directory lists several thousand names of the residents of Ontario County, organized by town and village or by townships. The township lists give concession and lot information for the residents listed. The descriptions of the towns and townships is not detailed but helps to understand the makeup of the area in 1870. Three parts, with an index by location.
Aug. 23, 2000.
John Lynch's Directory of the County of Peel for 1873/4. This directory lists the majority of residents in Peel County, with an index by location. Part one includes a list of the settlers in Toronto pre 1820, a list of grantees in Toronto and Chinguacousy by lot and concession for 1819-20 as well as a list of the patentees for Albion, Caledon and Toronto Gore. Updated Sept. 23, 2000.
Oct. 26, 2000.
Excerpts from a Directory of Wellington County, 1867. These excerpts were provided to me by David Pike, and it was his transcription of them that we can thank for these new pages. They detail the residents of thirteen townships in Wellington County, listing names, some occupations, concession, lot and in most cases whether the person was a Freeholder or Householder on the land.
Oct. 28, 2000.
Excerpts from County of Oxford Gazetteer and General Business Directory, for 1862-3. Includes township lists and directories of towns and villages. Complete May 31, 2001.
1901 Census of Canada Microfilms. Includes the National Archives of Canada and LDS film numbers. All Provinces and Territories. Prefaced by a description of the information included in the census.
Apr. 4, 2000
Accidental Deaths and Suicides and some selected marriages for the year 1886. These two excerpts are from the book The Dominion Annual Register and Review For the Twentieth Year of the Canadian Union, 1886, edited by Harry James Morgan. Covers names from across Canada as well as some events from outside the country. The marriages appear to be from 'Society Page' entries, and the deaths from articles in major newspapers.
Mar. 23, 2001
Sir John Johnson's Rent Roll of the Kingsborough Patent in Tryon County, New York. Many names in the list are of loyalists who settled in Canada after the American Revolution.
May 8, 2001
Historical Atlas of the County of Wellington, 1906. Biographies of many of the early citizens of the County. This project is in cooperation with the Wellington County Genweb Site which includes many of these biographies. Eventually they hope to produce all of them at their site. Many connected surnames can be found in individual biographies, so if you have ancestors in Wellington County, a careful search may find new information.
May 28, 2001
YORK and YORKE surname entries from the Indexes for Ontario Births, Marriages and Deaths. These records are presented in two formats, sorted by Place and Date, and sorted by First Name and Date. Updated Oct. 23, 2002. 1416 total records.
- April 5, 2003
  A new page listing the YORK(E) entries from the Computerized Land Record Index (CLRI), available at most Ontario libraries or the Archives of Ontario. It includes explanations of the transcriptions and links for anyone wanting to know more about the CLRI. 57 records.
July 5, 2001
The Upper Canada Land Book C lists the Land Petitions of hundreds of people who requested government land in 1796 and 1797. Linda Herman has transcribed this book, and made an index for most of it. Land owners in many of the townships are listed as well as the names from the petitions. Linda has undertaken a huge job with this, and we owe her our thanks.
July 24, 2001.
Excerpts from County of Bruce Directory, for 1867. Includes township lists and directories of towns and villages.
November 16, 2001.
Transcription of the Wesleyan Methodist Baptism Register supplied by Ida Reed. She has decided to share the results of two years labouring in front of her microfilm reader and computer. The size of this job is hard to imagine. Over 100,000 records.
November 16, 2001.
Alan Hawkins brought the Mugan Manuscript to my attention, and supplied image files of the six pages from old issues of The Sarnia Canadian Observer. This manuscript tells the story of the priests of the Roman Catholic Parish of Corunna, and early Lambton County.
December 15, 2001.
Ida Reed has provided me with a transcript of the Parish Register for Our Lady of Holy Angels Roman Catholic Church, Brudenell. Lots of Irish and French surnames, along with some German ones. Not indexed, so you will have to do a search for the names you want. Covers 1862 to 1910.
December 15, 2001.
Another of Ida Reeds' projects was to transcribe all of the Wills in the Algoma District Land Office, as well as films of records at the Archives. Lots of records, many of them for people who resided a long way from Algoma District. If you have missing ancestors who may have resided in Algoma District at one time, take a look for them here.
May 5, 2002.
Ida Reed has transcribed all of the 1901 Census of Manitoulin Island. Over 10,800 records. I've created an alphabetical surname index that will help you see if your missing ancestor was there at the time of this census. Check the Census.
July 20, 2002.
In 1784 Edward Umfreville made a journey of discovery from Pays Plat on Lake Superior to Boundary Island in the Winnipeg River. It began on June 16 and ended on July 23. During this time, Umfreville, his foreman, six voyaguers and various native and metis guides paddled their way across northwestern Ontario in a passage it was hoped would become part of a new route for the transport of furs from the west to Montreal. I've created maps to trace his route and permit the reader of his journal to follow along with the party. Not a lot of genealogy, but great history.
July 20, 2002.
In 1979 the Oliver Township History Committee produced a book about the township. It includes over 300 family stories, some very short but others several pages long. I've created a list of the titles of these 300+ stories. If you can find a surname of interest in this list you may want to borrow it. Oliver Township - The First Century Unfolding is on hand in both the Thunder Bay Public and Lakehead University libraries.
- Sep. 3, 2002.
  The book includes a list of voters in the township in 1894. It includes their LOT and CONCESSION numbers. It is reproduced here.
August 7, 2002.
Laurie Demill-Whatley of Calgary has supplied me with a transcription she has done for a 1912 Ontario Promotional Pamphlet she found in her grandmother's possessions. It is the type of brochure that many of our ancestors may have based their decision to emigrate to Canada on. An interesting read concerning the recruitment of domestic servants. Includes quotes from a number of the women who took the step of emigrating to Ontario.
August 13, 2002.
The Second Report of the Bureau of Archives for the Province of Ontario is a 2 volume set of books which contain the record of claims for losses for more than 1,200 persons who fled to Canada during and immediately after the American Revolutionary War. I have included the Index for these books here. There is also a list of sources for the books, transcribed by the Archives and originally printed in 1905. NOTE- the index is in the form of non searchable images. Use the alphabetical list of the pages to get to the desired part of the index.
November 27, 2002.
Ida Reed has provided me with another transcript of a Parish Register. This one is for Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Church, Sault Ste. Marie. A lot of these records are in Latin or French, so you may need a dictionary! Be cautious of spellings and translations. Covers 1870 to 1910.
December 9, 2002.
Ida Reed has provided me with another large transcription Project. This time Ida has transcribed notices from 'The Democrat', which ran under that name for only a few months, and then became 'The Sault Ste. Marie News.' These notices are from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan but include many Ontario family connections. Covers 1887 to 1900.
March 7, 2003.
Monument Inscriptions for Walford Cemetery and Maple Ridge Cemetery in Thessalon have been provided to me by the people who have done the transcriptions. My thanks to Ida Reed for arranging this addition.
March 15, 2003.
Macaulay Township Free Grant Settlers. This is a list of the settlers who used the Free Grant and Homestead Act of 1868 to settle land in this township in Muskoka District.
March 28, 2003.
Doreen Morgan has transcribed the Ontario Marriage Index for the Letter M for 1873, and has agreed to put them on this site while awaiting an official OVSI site. This is a large file of 3154 records in 56 pages, with an index.
Ida Reed has transcribed and indexed baptisms, marriages and burials recorded in the register of the Garden River RC Church. This is a large number of records covering 1856 to the 1930s. Many are native and metis surnames. Most of the records are in French or Latin.
James Richards has created an index to the book "The county: the first hundred years in Loyalist Prince Edward". If you think your ancestor was in Prince Edward County, check this index.
Joan Fraser has transcribed a partial census of Lancaster, Finch and Hawkesbury Townships from 1816. These entries are described as Return of Locations made in Lancaster by Alex'r McDonell Superintendant of Locations for disbanded Soldiers & Emigrants accompanying his letter of 6 March 1816. Inludes military affiliation or emigrant ship used.

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