Canada, Ontario Marriages, 1869-1927 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada Ontario

What is in this Collection?
The collection covers marriages from 1869 to 1927.

Registration of marriages began as early as 1801 in various districts and in counties formed from those districts. Province-wide registration by civil authorities of births, marriages, and deaths officially began in Ontario on 1 July 1869. A significantly complete registration was reached by 1930. Some people in Ontario were married in the United States because requirements were less strict there than in Canada.

Only a few marriages were reported to district authorities between 1801 and 1831. Many more marriages were recorded in district marriage registers between 1831 and 1857. By 1858, the counties had become functioning governments in southern Ontario, and marriage registers were kept by counties. From 1858 to 1869, the province required the counties to keep marriage registers. Clergymen of all faiths were supposed to record information from their parish registers in county marriage books.

Civil authorities requested local clergy to turn in copies of their marriage records to local governments. Copies of these copies were then made and forwarded to district or county authorities. Those copies were then copied into register books. Therefore, the register books are a copy of a copy of a copy of the original church records. For more information about Ontario Marriages, see the article Ontario Vital Records.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Marriage records may contain the following information:


 * Full name of groom
 * Full name of bride with maiden name
 * Occupation of groom
 * Age of bride and groom
 * Names of the parents of the bride and groom
 * Religious Denominations of the bride and groom
 * Date and place of marriage
 * Place of birth for bride and groom

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * At least one other piece of information

Search the Index
Search by name by visiting the Collection Page.
 * 1) Fill in the search boxes on the Collection Page with the information you have
 * 2) Click Search to show possible matches

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select Record Type
 * 2) Select Year
 * 3) Select Registration Number Range

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the ages to calculate birth dates and to find other records such as birth, christening, land and death records.
 * Use the names of the parents and the places of birth to search for additional family members in the Ontario Census.
 * Use the birth place information, and the name of the mother and father to search for birth dates in the Ontario Births (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Search for your ancestor in the Ontario, County Marriage Registers or the Ontario, District Marriage Registers.
 * See if you can find the marriage in the Ontario, Roman Catholic Church Records (FamilySearch Historical Records).
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search. Many people crossed the border and got married in the United States. A common place for people from Ontario to go to get married was Michigan, St. Clair, Port Huron. Some records from this area can be found in the Michigan Marriages collection.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name, especially French or Latin versions.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Ontario, Canada Genealogy.
 * Search in the Ontario Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

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.

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image. Collection Citation: Record Citation (or citation for the index entry):

Image Citation:

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