Course Description

Upper Canada. Canada West. Ontario. Since the 1780s, thousands of settlers have flocked to what would eventually become the Trillium province in search of freedom, land and opportunity. This course delves into the records for researching Ontario’s settlers during the late 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries.

Pre-requisites:

• Familiarity with Library and Archives Canada website and Canadiana.ca
• A basic understanding of Canadian history and geography.
• Suggested reading: Morton, Desmond, A Short History of Canada, 7th ed., 2017.

Required subscriptions/reading

• Suggested membership websites: Ancestry.ca and Newspapers.com
• FamilySearch.org account
• WikiTree account
• Membership with The Ontario Genealogical Society is encouraged including individual branch/SIG
• Membership in counties or special interest groups applicable to your research.

Class Objectives

Students taking this course will:

• gain a better understanding of Ontario’s geography, history, and people
• learn how to identify the religious denomination(s) of their ancestors and where to find religious records
• locate their ancestors’ county, township, and city/town
• determine if their ancestor was a property owner and how to find that property
• create a resource guide specific to their Ontario research needs

Session 1:

• The Early Settlers of Ontario
• Making Sense of the Canadian Census, 1842-1861
• Making Sense of the Canadian Census, 1871-1921

Session 2:

• And Your Petitioner Will Ever Pray: Crown Land Records of Upper Canada
• Digging into Ontario Land Registry Records

Session 3:

• Coming to Canada: Border Entry and Immigration Records
• The Importance of Religion in Ontario: Church Records
• Understanding Ontario’s Registrations of Birth, Marriage and Death Records

Session 4:

• Researching Those Above and Under the Law in Ontario
• Wills and Estate Records in Ontario
• For King and Country: Service in the First and Second World Wars