Canada, Ontario Census, 1861 - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada Ontario

What is in this Collection?
This census was taken on January 14, 1861 and applied to the residents as of the previous night (January 13, 1861).

Census schedules were taken on large sheets of paper with pre-printed rows and columns. They are bound into volumes, arranged by county, then by township and enumeration district.

The Census contains the 1861 census for the province of Ontario. At this time Ontario was not yet part of the Dominion of Canada but was called Canada West.

The census taker took the information on the census day starting January 14, 1861. Census takers were asked to record information about all those who were in each household on the census day. A census taker might have visited a house on a later date, but the information he collected was supposed to be about the people who were in the house on the census day.

Collection Content
Enumeration was by census district. Census districts were voting districts, not counties, although most have the same names as counties. For the most part, census districts were synonymous with cities and counties, and sub districts were synonymous with towns, townships, and city wards. Villages, small towns, and parishes were generally enumerated as part of the township in which they were located. Census district and county boundaries were not always the same and there were many variations from location to location.

Canadian census records were taken to enumerate the population for representation, taxation, and other purposes.

What Can this Collection Tell Me?
Census records may contain the following information:


 * Name of resident
 * Gender
 * Age
 * Marital status
 * Religion
 * Place of birth
 * Approximate year of birth
 * Place of residence

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor.
 * The approximate age of your ancestor.
 * The place where your ancestor lived.
 * The names of other family members and their relationships.

Search by Name by visiting the Collection Page: Fill in the requested information in the initial search page. This search will return a list of possible matches. Compare the information about the ancestors in the list to what you already know about your ancestors to determine if this is the correct family or person. You may need to compare the information about more than one person to find your ancestor.

What Do I Do Next?
When you have located your ancestor’s census record, carefully evaluate each piece of information about them. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?
When you have located the record of your ancestor, the following can help you further your research:
 * Use the calculated birth year and birthplace to search for a birth record in the Ontario Births and Baptisms (FamilySearch Historical Records) collection.
 * Check the other Ontario collections available on FamilySearch, to continue research on this family.

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

 * Spelling was not standardized, so make sure to check all possible spellings of surnames.
 * Find where your ancestors lived using other records such as the Ontario Deaths. Always go from the 'known' to the 'unknown.'

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):