Canada, Ontario Deaths and Overseas Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada Ontario

What is in this Collection?
This collection includes an index of death records from July 1869 through 1937 and overseas deaths of Ontario military personnel from 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 sent it to the Office of the Registrar General every six months. 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.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Before 1908, the death records may contain the following information:


 * Name of the deceased
 * Death and registration date
 * Birthplace of the deceased.
 * Either the spouse's name of deceased or, if single, the father's name (1907-1908)
 * Age at death
 * Gender
 * Name of the informant
 * Informant's relationship to deceased (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
 * Parents' birthplace
 * Place of death. The place of death was implied by the divisions and county where the event was registered

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
 * The name of a relative or date of the event

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 information to locate funeral home, obituary or cemetery record.
 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, marriage, census, land and probate records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * 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.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by 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.
 * 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 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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