VITAL RECORDS: BIRTHS/DEATHS/MARRIAGES
Birth
- 1869 - 1911 Ontario Births, 1869-1911 at FamilySearch
- 1858 - 1913 - Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913 at Ancestry.com $
- 1801-1858 - Ontario, District Marriage Registers, 1801-1858 at FamilySearch
- 1801-1928, 1933-1934 - Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934 at Ancestry.com $
- 1858-1869 - Ontario, County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869 at FamilySearch
- 1869-1937, and partial 1939-1947 - Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947 at FamilySearch
- 1869-1938, 1943-1944, and partial 1939-1947 - Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938, 1943-1944, and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947 at Ancestry.com $
CHURCH RECORDS PRE 1869
Vital Registation did not begin in Ontario until 1869. Church records are scattered and incomplete. You will need to consult church registers for records of baptisms, marriages, and burials before 1869. Do not neglect other denominations for an ancestor's records since very often the family simply used the nearest church for baptisms, regardless of their religion.
Marriages could only be performed by certain religious denominations at various times in Ontario's history. Briefly those time periods are:
Wesleyan Methodist Baptism Register for all Ontario from 1840
See Church Records in Ontario and look under your County of interest for more links to online records
Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923., Not indexed, only partial records, images only, on FamilySearch
Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923, index and images on Ancestry
Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1802-1967 on Ancestry
Ontario Church Archives Links for all Religions
Marriages could only be performed by certain religious denominations at various times in Ontario's history. Briefly those time periods are:
- Before 1793 only Anglican and Roman Catholic could perform marriages
- 1793-1798 District clerks could now also perform marriages if a couple lived more than 18 miles from the nearest Anglican clergy. Some Lutheran and Presbyterian ministers did perform marriages although it was illegal.
- 1798-1831 Anglican, Roman Catholic, Church of Scotland, Lutheran, and Calvinist clergy could now perform marriages.
- 1831-1858 Methodists, Baptists, and Presbyterians were added to the religious denominations from 1798-1831 as those allowed to perform marriages.
- 1858-1869 All clergy could perform marriages
Wesleyan Methodist Baptism Register for all Ontario from 1840
See Church Records in Ontario and look under your County of interest for more links to online records
Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records, 1760-1923., Not indexed, only partial records, images only, on FamilySearch
Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923, index and images on Ancestry
Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1802-1967 on Ancestry
Ontario Church Archives Links for all Religions
The Ancestor Birth Record Finder, Ancestor Marriage Record Finder, and Ancestor Death Record Finder may be of help ($)