Canada, Ontario Deaths and Overseas Deaths - FamilySearch Historical Records

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.

What Can These Records Tell Me?
The following information may be found in these records:

Death before 1908
 * 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)

Death after 1908
 * 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 This 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

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the :
 * 1) Select Record Type
 * 2) Select Year
 * 3) Select Registration Number Range to view the images.

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. Keep track of your research in a research log.

I Found the Person I Was Looking For, What Now?

 * Cite the record. See below for help citing this collection
 * Look at an image of the original record. The original may contain information that was not recorded in the index. To find a copy of the original record, visit the Archives of Ontario page
 * Use the information you have found to find the person in census records
 * 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 the Person I’m Looking For, What Now?

 * If your ancestor does not have a common name, collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This can help you find possible relatives
 * Search the records of nearby areas
 * Check for other names. An individual might appear under an unexpected name for a variety of reasons:
 * They might have been listed under a middle name, nickname, or abbreviation of their given name
 * A woman may have returned to her maiden name after the death of her husband

Research Helps
The following articles will help you in your research for your family in Ontario.
 * Record Finder
 * Canada Research Tips and Strategies

Citing This Collection
Citations help you keep track of places you have searched and sources you have found. Identifying your sources helps others find the records you used.


 * Collection Citation: "Ontario Deaths, 1869-1937 and Overseas Deaths, 1939-1947." Database with images. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 13 March 2019. Citing Registrar General. Archives of Ontario, Toronto.