Genealogy Tip: 1842 Canadian Census Returns

Genealogy Tip: Census records for Canada were taken in 1842. Enumerators visited 17 census districts, divided into sub-districts. These units were made up of cities, towns, parishes, villages and townships. Not all returns survived. The returns for eight districts and 51 sub-districts have been preserved and are accessible at Library and Archives Canada.

1842 Census Headings Columns 1-51

HOWEVER not all pre 1851 census are online! Library and Archives Canada has the census of 1842 for Upper Canada (Ontario) online BUT their database only includes the census returns held by Library and Archives Canada.

The Archives of Ontario holds the census returns that still exist for other places; however, they are not digitized, not available online and not included in LAC's database. So you would have to consult Archives of Ontario if your folks don't show up in the online LAC database

When using LAC online searchable 1842 census, be aware that the 1842 Census for Canada West consists of 2 pages:

• Columns 1 to 51 appear on the first page.
• Columns 51 to 89 appear on the second page.

The first page is on the digitized image link to an entry in the database for an individual.  If you want to view the second page, increase by one the last digit of the url address of an image that appears in the navigation box of your browser.

Talbot Settlement Maps of Elgin County Now Online

Col. Thomas Talbot was a controversial figure in early Ontario settlement. In the early 1800s in what was then called Upper Canada, Talbot was allowed to dole out land in Elgin County. Every time he gave, at his whim, 50 acres to a settler, he received land for himself. 

He made decisions arbitrarily based on who he liked, and single-handedly managed to create a lot of discontent among early settlers. He was often accused of erasing a settler's name from a previous land allotment and assigning the land to someone else, if the original settler displeased him. In fact my own ancestor's brother suffered such a fate under Talbot's despotic rules. 

In 1819 Jacob Peer submitted a petition stating that Talbot had granted him land, and promised that he, Jacob, could extend to the land bordering his in order to build a mill. Then Talbot denied that promise, forcing Jacob to purchase the land. To make things worse, Talbot then assigned the land that Jacob owned to another settler. 

Here is an interesting excerpt from some of the letters exchanged during Peer's petition.

Letter dated 20 Dec. 1819 from York from T. Rideout to the Surveyor General's Office stating that "how far Colonel Talbot was authorized to remove a settler when once located I am unable to say." Another letter from William Powell to Sir Peregrine Maitland points out that if the petitioner Jacob Peer wins his suit, it could have other consequences and that it is doubtful that Talbot would consider himself accountable to the Board. He therefore recommends that the petition from Jacob be directed to Talbot personally and that Talbot report on it. Talbot writes a  letter dated 30 April 1819 to Wm. Myers stating that "in consequence of your not having moved on the Lot 75 west on the North Branch of Talbot Rd. in Westminster, I have located the said lot to Mary Schram" and that the lot is estimated to be worth 50 dollars which will be paid to him. ^FN2
 
Jacob filed many petitions and affidavits from other settlers who swore they had been present when Talbot promised the land freely to Jacob but it was all in vain. Jacob lost his case and was ruined financially, having built a grist mill and saw mill at his own expense on the land he purchased, and which was taken from him and given to another settler. All because he displeased Talbot. 

However Talbot's maps are an invaluable source for genealogists!  Thanks to the Elgin County Archives and the Archives of Ontario, Talbot's maps are now onlline. The Archives of Ontario lent the maps to Elgin County Archives so that they could be digitized and made available to the public.
 
Talbot  made note of villages, First Nations settlements and footpaths, industrial sites such as mills, and early transportation routes throughout the region. The documents also include the names and locations of landowners. ^FN1. This gives us names and locations of early settlers and will be extremely useful to genealogists. 

Each of the 45 documents, registered between 1802 and 1849, are available to the public at the archive's website. The complete listing of Talbot's maps is available to historians and genealogists. Elgin County Archives tells us that

"The fonds includes 45 large-format plans (registered 1802-1832; incorporating annotations dated 1810-1849) and a lease settlement register (created and maintained 1842-1846; includes retroactive entries dated 1825-1836) documenting land distribution in the Town of London and 30 townships in 6 Counties throughout southwestern Ontario in which Talbot controlled land allocation. The plans show survey grids, clergy and school reserves, town sites (including London), first nations villages, mill seats, footpaths, trails, waterways and crossings, local and regional roads. Most significantly, perhaps, the plans include personal land settlement information, with the names of grantees and dates of occupation pencilled in by Talbot on individual lots."

^FN1: Source: http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/2016/03/15/snapshot-of-talbot-settlement-life-now-online
^FN2: UCLP P12/152: Petition from Jacob Peer of Flamboro West in Gore District dated 21 Dec. 1819

New Births, Deaths & Marriage Records Available for Ontario

The Archives of Ontario has completed microfilm of  Vital Statistics records from the Office of the Registrar General for the 1913 birth, 1928 marriage, and 1938 death indexes and registrations.

Consisting of over 127,000 scanned images, the microfilm and its related finding aids are available  at the Reading Room at 134 Ian Macdonald Boulevard in Toronto, Ontario, on York University's Keele Street campus, and at local libraries through the Interloan program. 

The Vital Statistics records for 1914 birth, 1929 marriage, and 1939 death indexes and registrations, are currently being scanned and the resulting 130,000 images checked for clarity and completeness. 

Ontario Archives is working to have these records available online in a searchable format in 2011. They also hope to make the 1915 birth, 1930 marriage, and 1940 death registrations available later in the same year. As the work progresses, further details will be released through Archives of Ontario website.

Genealogists! Help Needed to change Restricted Archives of Ontario Hours

The Archives of Ontario has moved to a wonderful new state of the art archives building. We now have the proper facilities to access and research our history but many people are unaware that with the move we now have restrictedhours of operation.

We need your help

* At the present time the hours of operation of the Archives of Ontario are 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday only

* In effect this means that any Ontario taxpayer and visitor from outside the province who works fulltime and or lives at a distance not longer have access to their records.

* If we want to have evening and weekend hours we have to make our concerns known.

* We will not get the old hours of 8:15 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday back. A good compromise might be 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. The benefit is that those who will visit during the extended hours will have archival staff on hand to advise and assist you them.

Why do we need your help?

* Not all records are available online or will be for the foreseeable future.

* To access the full range of records to research your family you do need to visit archives for such records as estate files, Crown land records, Private Property land records, education records, divorce files, maps, and private papers such as the T. Eaton Co.

What can you and/or your group do?

* Go to the Archives of Ontariowebsite and click on Feedback (left side of page half way down). They ask you to "Please take a few moments to send us your comments by filling in the form below." Politely request extended hours back. Fill in your email address and you will in time get a personal reply. We want to flood the Archives with requests so they can show the government the need for the extended hours.

* Contact your local MPP if a resident of Ontario

When contacting your MPP please politely emphasis your use of the Archives of Ontario, its importance to the province and that these are our records and it is our right to have access to them.

* Sign our petition - contact Kathie Orr at kathie.orr@sympatico.ca if you belong to a group who will be meeting over the next month or so and she will email you the petition. In your email please use subject line "Petition re Restricted Archives of Ontario Hours"

* Have your group and any other interested parties sign our petition.

* Encourage others to do the same.

We are counting on YOU to help make the Archives of Ontario a place where all can go to use the documented heritage of our province.

Send completed petitions to

Petitions
c/o Ruth Burkholder
Ste 103 -12140 Ninth Line
Stouffville ON L4A 1L2

or

Petitions
c/o Kathie Orr
405 - 100 Maitland St
Toronto ON M4Y 1E2

Using Medical Records to Find an Ancestor

Medical records are an often-overlooked genealogy resource. If you want to hunt for your ancestor in medical records you will need to investigate what records were kept for your area of interest, where they are archived and if you can access them.

Medical Records in Ontario are held in various places - some are at the Ontario Archives, others are with the original institution.

To obtain these records, you should begin with the Ontario Archives. Find out what they have, and then how to request it. For example, Queen Street Hospital in Toronto has records that go back to 1839. There are nineteenth century records for institutions in London, Hamilton, and Kingston and from Penetanguishene from 1904.

Files less than 100 years old are restricted under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.Requests for access must be submitted in writing to the
Access Unit of the Archives of Ontario.

Files created in whole or in part on or after 6 April 1954 are restricted under the Mental Health Act. Requests for access to records in Archives' custody must be submitted in writing to the Administrator of the appropriate psychiatric
hospital.

Here's a partial list of the Ontario Archives psychiatric files and holdings

My husband and I were able to obtain almost 100 pages of one of his great-aunt's medical files from the Insane Asylum in London Ontario for 1912, by applying to the Ontario Archives under the Freedom of Information Act. Some of the information in her files was blacked out by the Chief Archivist because it was not felt those notations should be read by us, but overall, the information found in the notes was amazing and very detailed.

Archives of Ontario UPDATE

The Archives of Ontario will be closing the doors of their 77 Grenville St location at 5:00 pm on Thursday March 26, 2009. The Archives will re-open with full service at their new facility on Thursday April 2, 2009 at 8:30 am.

The Archives' new address is:
134 Ian Macdonald Blvd
Toronto Ontario M7A 2C5

Phone numbers and email addresses will remain the same.

Visit the Archives of Ontario website for more information.

For those planning on attending the OGS Conference 2009, a Tour and Research
Day at the new Archives is planned for Friday May 29. Complete information
is available on the OGS Conference website.