Source Information
Ontario, Canada, Select Marriages. Archives of Ontario, Toronto
A full list of sources can be found here.
About Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1826-1942
This database is an index to marriages recorded in Ontario, Canada between 1826 and 1942. The indexes contained in this collection were created by two different organizations – Ancestry and the Genealogical Research Library in Brampton, Ontario. The following list is a breakdown of the records included in this database and who created the index to them.
Indexed by Ancestry (includes images of the records):
- Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1942 (MS 932, Archives of Ontario)
- Division Registrar Vital Statistics Records, 1858-1918 (MS 940, Archives of Ontario) [However, there are very few marriages in this record set.]
- Marriage License Books, 1907-1910 (MS 945, Archives of Ontario)
- Delayed Registrations of Marriages, 1892-1919 (MS 948, Archives of Ontario)
- District Marriage Registers, 1801-1858 (MS 248, Archives of Ontario)
- Roman Catholic Marriage Registers, 1828-1870 (MS 248, Archives of Ontario)
Indexed by Genealogical Research Library (no images available):
- Registrations of Marriages, 1869-1919 (MS 932, Archives of Ontario)
- County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869 (microfilm, Family History Library) (the FHL microfilm is of Archives of Ontario microfilm series MS 248, reels 5-18)
*Note: Notice that both Ancestry and the Genealogical Research Library indexed Registrations of Marriages (MS 932). Therefore, there are many marriages that will appear in this database at least twice, from the same original source. By including both indexes in this database, researchers may be better enabled to find their ancestors.
What kind of information can I find in this database?
The type of information available in marriage records varies according to the time period and the person/agency creating the record. However, generally the following information is available in this database:
- Names of each spouse
- Ages of each spouse
- Residences of each spouse
- Birthplaces of each spouse
- Names of both spouses’ parents
- Marriage date
- Marriage place (county)
- Source Information (a Family History Library or an Archives of Ontario microfilm number)
Additional information may be found on the original record. Be sure to view the corresponding image, if there is one available. If no online image is available, be sure to use the information found in this database to locate your ancestor in the original records that the index references – more information is usually available in the records themselves than is found in an index.
About Marriages in Ontario:
Civil registration of marriages Province-wide began in 1869. Prior to that time, ministers, priests, and other persons qualified to perform marriages submitted copies of their documentation to county courthouses. The vast majority of these marriage documents included details about each spouse, including place of residence and birthplace. Additionally, each spouse had to supply names of their parents. In many cases the maiden name is supplied for the mother.
Many of these spouses were born in various European countries or in the United States. Thus, this information could be valuable for Canadians and Americans, as well as Europeans wishing to trace a family member who got married in Ontario before moving on to settle in other parts of Canada or America.
Updates:
10 Jan 2024: Added 247,918 new records from 1940.