Renfrew County, Ontario Genealogy

Guide to Renfrew County ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Birth

 * 1869 - 1911 at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1858 - 1913 - Ontario, Canada Births, 1858-1913 at Ancestry.com--index and images. ($)
 * 1869 - 1912 - Ontario Births, 1869-1912 at --index. ($)

Marriage

 * 1801-1858 - at FamilySearch — index and images.
 * 1801-1928, 1933-1934 - Ontario, Canada, Marriages, 1801-1928, 1933-1934 at Ancestry.com--index and images. ($)
 * 1858-1869 - at FamilySearch — index and images.

Death

 * 1869-1937, and some 1939-1947 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1869-1938, 1943-1944, and some 1939-1947 - Ontario, Canada, Deaths, 1869-1938, 1943-1944, and Deaths Overseas, 1939-1947 at Ancestry.com--index and images. ($)

Writing for a More Recent Birth, Marriage, or Death Record

 * ServiceOntario, Birth Records is the only government-authorized source for obtaining birth certificates. Go to the section entitled "Order a Birth Search".  This is the most economical, searches the widest time period, and allows searches for people not immediately related. A letter of information is provided rather than a certificate.
 * ServiceOntario, Marriage Records offers a marriage search option and a historical certificate option.
 * ServiceOntario, Death Records offers a death search option and a historical certificate option. Also official death certificates are available to a wider range of relatives than birth and marriage certificates.

FamilySearch Library Microfilmed Records
Some of the church/civil records have been microfilmed by FamilySearch.These microfilms may be available for viewing at Family History Centers around the world. To find a microfilm:
 * a. Click on records for Canada, Ontario, Renfrew County. You will see a list of available records for the county.
 * b. You will also see above the list the link Places within Canada, Ontario, Renfrew County. This will take you to a list of towns in the counties, which are links to records for the specific town.
 * c. Click on any topic. Click on the blue links to specific record titles.
 * d. Some combination of these icons will appear at the far right of the microfilm listed for the record. FHL icons.png. The magnifying glass indicates that the microfilm is indexed. Clicking on the magnifying glass will take you to the index. Clicking on the camera will take you to an online digital copy of the microfilm.

Church Records
Church records can include baptisms, marriages, burials, membership lists, financial business, and other records for a particular congregation. They may be available online or on microfilm, but frequently they are still with the local church or in centralized archives by religion. The Canadian census records asked for the religion of those listed, so you will be able to narrow down which archives to consult. For help with writing a letter requesting copies of records, see Letter Writing Guide for Genealogy.
 * Link to Anglican church archives
 * Link to Baptist church archives
 * Link to Catholic church archives
 * Link to Lutheran church archives
 * Link to Moravian church archives
 * Link to Presbyterian church archives
 * Link to United Church of Canada (including Methodist) church archives

Online Church Records
These records are incomplete. ($).
 * collection includes indexed Ontario church records.
 * , images only.
 * Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1760-1923, index and images, ($).
 * Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1802-1967
 * Ontario, Canada, Catholic Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1802-1967
 * Ontario, Canada, Roman Catholic Marriages, 1827-1870, ($).
 * Various individual church records at FindMyPast, ($).

Cemetery Records
See, Ontario Cemeteries for information on cemetery record collections not yet digitized, but available in published sources and on microfilm.

Online Cemetery Records

 * Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid website has a free, searchable database of over 2 million burials in Ontario. It can be searched by name, cemetery, county and town, but its references do not include dates of death.  Although it does not include any gravestone inscriptions, it can be used to locate graves in Ontario.
 * Ontario Cemetery Ancestory Index
 * Ontario Name Index (TONI)
 * The Ontario section of Canada GenWeb Cemetery Project
 * Ontario, Canada Headstones.com
 * Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current
 * Canada, Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current

Websites
The Forebears website will give you an extensive list of websites that could have information for people who lived in this county. Some sites cover just the county, some cover all of Ontario, and some cover all of Canada. Some sites are databases of names and facts about people; other sites cover background information such as maps, history, geography, or genealogy strategies and methods for the region.


 * Forebears, Renfrew County

Populated Places
Renfrew County is rather large and has several population centers: Deep River, Pembroke, Laurentian Hills, and Petawawa in the north, Arnprior in the southern area of the county, the city of Renfrew and Cobden. Barry's Bay is to the west.

Neighboring Counties
To the east is the Province of Quebec and Pontiac County, Along the southern border is Lanark County and Carleton County, and further east is the county of Frontenac, then Lennox and Addington County. Hastings County is along the western southern border of Renfrew. To the north of the county is the Nipissing District.

Cemeteries
Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society Cemetery Search This database covers the counties of Carleton, Lanark, Renfrew, Prescott and Russell.

Also search the Ontario Genealogical Society Ontario Cemetery Ancestor Index, Ontario Cemetery Finder.

These two databases are similar, but some content is different, so check both sites.

Societies and Libraries
When doing genealogical research in the Renfrew County area of Ontario keep in mind researching both sides of the Ottawa River (Outaouais, the French version). It is wise to consult archives in Ontario and Quebec such as Renfrew County, Ontario, Gatineau, Quebec, Ottawa and Montreal. Your ancestors did not stay in one area and would frequently move back and forth across, up and down the Ottawa river with ease.

Here is a list of archives:

Upper Ottawa Valley Genealogical Society Group, 225 Dickerson Ave., Pembroke, Renfrew Co., Ontario. This society is in the lower floor of the Masonic Building in Pembroke, Ontario. This society covers all of Renfrew County and further north in the area on the Ontario side, as well as Pontiac County, Quebec. They have family histories, newspapers, books, cemetery records and more. Consult their website for their holdings, hours, and research policies:Upper Ottawa Valley Genealogical Society Group

Arnprior McNap/Braeside Archive, 21 B Madawaska St., Arnprior, ON K7S 1R6 This archive is in the public library of Arnprior, Ontario. This archive's emphasis is more on Renfrew County and surrounding areas but again our ancestors moved around more than you think. Consult their website for their holdings, hours and research policies. Archives

The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society their library is at 100 Tallwood Drive, Ottawa, Ontario. Mailing address is P.O. Box 8346 Station T, Ottawa, Ontario K1G 3H8. They cover the counties of Carleton, Lanark, Renfrew, Prescott and Russell, which all are in Ontario but again our ancestors migrated a lot more than we think and had family ties in various areas. Check their website for more information: The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society

Libraries and Archives Canada 395 Wellington Street, Ottawa, ON K1A ON4, Canada. This is the Canada's main government archive. Consult their online website for more information all topics of genealogy in Canada: Libraries and Archives Canada

The Archives of Quebec has the main building in Montreal and branches throughout Quebec. The main building is at 535 Viger Avenue W. in Montreal. The Branch for Pontiac is located in Gatineau. The Archives of Quebec

Ottawa Chapter of the Ontario Genealogical Society in Ottawa. Link They have cemetery records for Renfrew, Pontiac, Gatineau and areas along the Ottawa River.