Finding Ontario Marriages (National Institute)

District Marriage Registers 1801-1858
Archives of Ontario, RG 80-27-1, Appendix A18

It should be emphasized again that Anglican and Roman Catholic clergy did not send all of their records of the marriages they performed to the District Clerk. This list of District Marriage Registers held at the Archives of Ontario is therefore not a complete collection of all marriages that took place, 1831-1858. Marriage registers for the Districts of Niagara, Midland and Dalhousie have never been found. The Wellington District register is available only at the Wellington County Archives in Fergus, but it has been transcribed by Dan Walker and published by Global Heritage Press.

Anglican church registers and Catholic church registers should be consulted if your ancestors were either Anglican or Catholic. Also, if you cannot find your ancestor’s marriage record in the District Marriage Registers, it would be wise to consult these churches as well. The appropriate Anglican diocese archives can be determined by referring to The Guide to Ecclesiastical Holdings of the Province of Ontario, published by Generation Press Inc., of Agincourt.

If you are looking for Catholic church marriage registers, the Archives of Ontario have some available on microfilm. The following list will give you the reel numbers required for the parishes and missions described. There is an index (in book form) of these films that was compiled by R. Rumpel titled Roman Catholic Marriage Registers 1828-1870. Checking this index will save time in determining if you need to view these films or not. A copy is available at the Archives of Ontario or can be interlibrary loaned.

Roman Catholic Marriage Registers
Archives of Ontario - Sub-Series RG 80-27-4, Appendix A21, Microfilm Series 248 (MS 248)

There are also other Catholic records at the Archives of Ontario or Library and Archives Canada for a few of the early individual churches. See their inventory descriptions and catalogues, especially under place names, e.g. Library and Archives Canada’s Checklist of Parish Registers.

As well, the Drouin collection of French and English Catholic church baptismal, marriage and death records is searchable online on Ancestry.ca (subscription site) with digital images available.

Many ‘Répertoires’ have been compiled for French Catholic churches in Ontario. Volunteers from the Société franco-ontarienne d’histoire et de généalogie have compiled a large number of registers of marriages. These registers can save you lots of time. If you are searching for Anglican Church Marriages for St. James Cathedral in Toronto, a book created by the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, transcribing this marriage register, may be useful. It is called, St. James Marriages 1807-1908. These marriages will not be found within the Home District Registers. Of course, there are registers of Anglican marriages for all of Ontario and they are housed at the appropriate Anglican archives. Please refer to the above mentioned Guide to the Ecclesiastical Holdings of the Province of Ontario in order to get the location.

District Maps
Map of Province of Upper Canada

Original Districts of 1788 (broken line) and Districts in 1802 (solid line)

Map of Province of Upper Canada, Districts in 1836

Map of Province of Canada West, Districts in 1849



County Marriage Registers of Ontario, 1858-June 1869
Archives of Ontario, RG 80-27-2, Appendix A19, Volumes 1-86


 * “In 1857, legislation was enacted to provide for the registration of all marriages performed by clergymen in the Province of Canada West (later Ontario). This led to the creation of a series of volumes known as the COUNTY MARRIAGE REGISTERS, which contain records of marriages performed by clergy from 1 January 1858 until 30 June 1869, at which time a new system of registration was established. Most marriage records found in the registers fall within these dates, but there are occasional records of marriages performed before 1858 and during the latter half of 1869. One minister from Perth County sent in marriage records dating back to 1850, which were duly copied into the register.”


 * “There is, however, ample evidence that marriage returns from many ministers operating within the province never reached the County Marriage Registers. And in virtually every register, there are not as many marriages for the half-year of 1869 as should be expected, making it obvious that many records at this time were lost during the transition from one system of registration to the other.”

These marriage registers have been microfilmed and are at the Archives of Ontario MS248. See the finding aid for the reel number needed. They have been transcribed, indexed and published by Elizabeth Hancocks, CG of Generation Press under the title County Marriage Registers of Ontario, Canada 1858-1869.