Canada, Ontario Deaths and Overseas Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
This collection includes an index of death records from July 1869 through 1937 and overseas deaths of Ontario military personnel, 1939-1947.

Registrations were kept on printed forms and then bound into volumes. The entries are arranged chronologically by date of registration.

A provincial act to register births, marriages, and deaths went into effect on July 1, 1869. This act created the Office of the Registrar General, and in each county or incorporated city or town, a clerk of the peace acted as the district registrar. Each municipality (city, village, town, township, or district) had a division registrar who sent all their books to a district registrar. This district registrar then transmitted the records to the registrar general at the provincial level. In 1875, the office of district registrar was eliminated, and the division registrars began sending their registrations directly to the registrar general.

In 1896, the process was altered. Division registrars received a copy of the registration forms from the person who reported the event. These forms were then indexed and entered into new registers. The division registrar made a copy of the form and every six months sent them to the Office of the Registrar General. After 1908, the division registrar made two copies of the original forms, who then kept one locally and sent the other quarterly to the registrar general. Later, the registrar general began indexing the registers.

Deaths were recorded in Ontario to better serve public health needs. They were also used in connection with the probate of wills and the administration of estates.

The information pertaining to death is usually reliable. This includes the cause of death, the name of the attending physician or medical professional, the name and address of the funeral home, and the exact date and place of burial. The accuracy of other information depends on the reliability of the informant (often a family member).

Record Content
Before 1908, the death records may contain the following information:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Death and registration date
 * Birthplace of the deceased.
 * Name of the informant
 * Registrations for 1907–1908 may include either the spouse's name (if married) or the father's name (if single)
 * Age
 * Gender
 * Relationship to the informant (often a relative)
 * Former residence of the deceased, 1896–1906
 * Residence of the informant, 1869–1896

After 1908, the death records added the following information:


 * Full name of the father and maiden name of the mother
 * Place of death. The place of death was implied by the divisions and county where the event was registered
 * Birthplace of the parents

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


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

Search the Collection
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 look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. 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 look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images 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.

For tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line video at FamilySearch Search Tips.

Using the Information

 * Use the age to calculate the approximate birth year
 * Search for the names of the parents in the Ontario Marriage collections.

General Information About These Records
Death registrations are the best source of death information for an individual. These records may list a person's age, occupation, religious affiliation, and birthplace. You can use this information to then search for additional records. In addition, death records may provide clues for searching for other individuals related to your ancestor. Usually the person who provided the death information was a child or other relative of the deceased. Death registrations after 1907 list the names and birthplaces of parents.

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.

Related Websites

 * Canada History Links
 * Canada Historic Maps
 * Deaths Registrations for Ontario

Related Wiki Articles

 * Ontario
 * Ontario Civil Registration-Vital Records

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.

The sources of this collection are located in the Archives in Ontario and the following citations follow their preferred citation style:


 * Archives of Ontario. RG 80-8. Registrations of deaths, 1869-1937.
 * Archives of Ontario. RG 80-10. Indexes to deaths.
 * Archives of Ontario. RG 80-21. Registrations of Ontario overseas deaths, 1939-1947.