Canada, Ontario Roman Catholic Church Records - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection will include records from 1760 to 1923.

This collection includes Catholic Church records from various Ontario parishes. The records include baptisms, marriages and deaths. Church records are an important way to track ancestors prior to civil registration. Civil registration began in Ontario in 1869 but was not fully implemented until 1930.

Records are included for the following dioceses:


 * London
 * Moosonee
 * Pembroke
 * Peterborough
 * Sault Ste. Marie
 * St. Catharines
 * Thunder Bay
 * Timmins

Records are included for the following archdioceses:


 * Kingston
 * Ottawa
 * Toronto

For a list of records by localities and dates currently published in this collection, select the Browse link from the collection landing page.

Record Content
Baptismal records usually contain the following information:


 * Name of child
 * Date and place of baptism
 * Date of child's birth
 * Legitimacy declared
 * Name of parents
 * Names of sponsors/witnesses
 * Name of priest performing baptism

Marriage records usually contain the following information:


 * Name of groom, his age and residence
 * Groom's birthplace
 * Groom's marital status and occupation
 * Groom's religious denomination
 * Names of groom's parents, including maiden name of mother
 * Name of bride, her age and residence
 * Bride's birthplace
 * Bride's marital status and occupation
 * Names of bride's parents, including maiden name of mother
 * Married by license of banns
 * Names of witnesses and their residence
 * Name of officiating priest

Death records usually contain the following information:


 * Name and age of deceased
 * Birthplace of deceased
 * Date and place of death
 * Cause of death
 * Name of officiating priest
 * Date of interment

How to Use the Record
To begin your search in the birth records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of parents
 * Approximate year and place of birth
 * Parish

To begin your search in the marriage records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of bride or groom
 * Approximate year and place of marriage
 * County

To begin your search in the death records, it would be helpful if you knew the following information:


 * Name of deceased
 * Approximate year and place of death
 * County

Search the Collection
To search the collection by image ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page: ⇒Select the appropriate "County" ⇒Select the appropriate "City/Town" ⇒Select the appropriate "Parish" ⇒Select the appropriate "Record Type and Year Range" which will take you to the images.

Search the collection images one by one, comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed to your ancestors to make this determination.

As you are searching, it is helpful to know such information as your ancestor’s given name and surname, some identifying information such as residence and age, and family relationships. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name as your ancestor and that your ancestor may have used nicknames or different names at different times.

Unable to Find Your Ancestor?

 * Indexes to church records are valuable tools to locate families in Canada, especially in the absence of census indexes, many of these indexes are of French Canadian families.
 * Small villages which did not have their own church were designated as belonging to a particular parish. Over time, some villages, chapelries, or "missions" may have belonged to several parishes as jurisdictions changed.

General Information About These Records
Church records were kept at the local parish of the church. A parish is a local congregation that may include many villages. Your ancestor may have lived in a village and belonged to a parish in a nearby larger town.

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org.] Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher and archive for the original records.

Suggested citation format for a record in this collection.

Related Websites

 * Canada History Links
 * Canada Historic Maps

Related Wiki Articles

 * Ontario
 * Ontario Church Records