Place:Durham, Ontario, Canada

NameDurham
TypeCounty
Coordinates43.99°N 78.67°W
Located inOntario, Canada     (1792 - )
Also located inUpper Canada, Canada     (1792 - 1841)
Canada West, United Province of Canada     (1841 - 1867)
Northumberland and Durham, Ontario, Canada     (1850 - 1974)
See alsoHome District, Upper Canada, Canada1792-1802
Newcastle District, Upper Canada, Canada1802-1849
Ontario, Ontario, Canadaneighbouring county to west with which Durham merged in 1974
Northumberland, Ontario, Canadaneighbouring county to the east which acquired some of Durham's townships in 1974
Contained Places
Area
Rosebank
Cemetery
Bagshaw Cemetery ( 1974 - )
Hamlet
Ashburn ( 1974 - present )
Ballyduff ( - 1974 )
Borelia ( 1974 - )
Brougham ( 1974 - present )
Campbellcroft ( - 1974 )
Canton ( - 1974 )
Cherrywood ( 1974 - )
Clarke
Coppin's Corners ( 1974 - present )
Enfield
Glasgow ( 1974 - present )
Greenwood ( 1974 - present )
Janetville ( - 1974 )
Kinsale ( 1974 - present )
Leaskdale ( 1974 - present )
Lifford ( - 1974 )
Lovekin
Manvers (hamlet) ( - 1974 )
Maple Grove
Mitchell Corners
Mount Carmel ( 1974 - present )
Myrtle ( 1974 - present )
Nestleton
Newtonville
Pinedale ( 1974 - present )
Raglan ( 1974 - present )
Rosebank Station ( 1974 - )
Roseville ( 1974 - present )
Sandford ( 1974 - present )
Seagrave ( 1974 - present )
Siloam ( 1974 - present )
Solina
Utica ( 1974 - present )
Victoria Corners ( 1974 - present )
Welcome ( - 1974 )
Yelverton ( - 1974 )
Inhabited place
Ajax ( 1974 - present )
Beaverton ( 1974 - present )
Bethany ( - 1974 )
Bowmanville
Brooklin ( 1974 - present )
Cannington ( 1974 - present )
Claremont ( 1974 - present )
Columbus ( 1974 - present )
Courtice
Dunbarton ( 1974 - present )
Enniskillen
Epsom ( 1974 - present )
Fairport ( 1974 - present )
Goodwood ( 1974 - present )
Green River ( 1974 - present )
Greenbank ( 1974 - present )
Hampton
Kendal
Manchester ( 1974 - present )
Millbrook ( - 1974 )
Mount Pleasant ( - 1974 )
Newcastle
Orono
Oshawa ( 1974 - present )
Pickering Beach ( 1974 - present )
Pickering ( 1974 - present )
Pontypool ( - 1974 )
Port Hope ( 1793 - 1974 )
Port Perry ( 1974 - present )
Port Whitby ( 1974 - present )
Prince Albert ( 1974 - present )
Smithtown ( 1974 - present )
Sunderland ( 1974 - present )
Tyrone
Udora ( 1974 - present )
Uxbridge ( 1974 - present )
Vallentyne ( 1974 - present )
Whitby ( 1974 - )
Whitevale ( 1974 - present )
Zephyr ( 1974 - present )
Locality
Seaton ( 1974 - )
Municipality
Clarington ( 1994 - present )
Township
Brock ( 1974 - present )
Cartwright ( - 1974 )
Cavan ( 1817 - 1974 )
Clarke (township)
Darlington (township)
East Whitby ( 1974 - present )
Hope ( 1793 - 1974 )
Manvers (township) ( 1816 - 1974 )
Pickering (township) ( 1974 - present )
Reach ( 1974 - present )
Scott ( 1974 - present )
Scugog ( 1974 - present )
Thorah ( 1974 - present )
Uxbridge (township) ( 1974 - present )
Whitby (township) ( 1974 - present )
Uninhabited hamlet
Altona ( 1974 - present )
Vroomanton ( 1974 - present )
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names


NOTE: Durham went though a massive change in its structure and geography in 1974. In that year the southwestern portion of the county merged with Ontario County while the remaining three townships were transferred to the neighbouring counties of Northumberland (Hope Township), Victoria (Manvers Township) and Peterborough (Cavan Township).

The list of "Contained Places" shown here includes communities and townships that have been part of Durham County only since 1974 (before that they were part of Ontario County). Provincial records for events that occurred in these places prior to that time will be filed in Archives under county "Ontario".

The Archives of Ontario provide a map of the original Durham County, Ontario, and also a map of the Regional Municipality of Durham illustrating the county post-1974.

Image:DurhamRegion.png
Map from Wikimedia Commons

This drawing from Wikipedia shows the municipalities of Durham Region. It can be compared with a similar map from Ontario GenWeb illustrating Durham County prior to 1974.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Durham County (area ) is a historic county in Ontario, Canada. It was named for the English County Durham and city of Durham. It was created in 1792 but was later merged Northumberland County to form the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham. In 1974, the two counties were split and reorganized, with the former portions of Durham County reorganized into the Regional Municipality of Durham.

Research Tips

Most genealogical research will oblige checking the records of the former Durham County and the original townships within the boundaries of those counties. However, records of events after 1974 will be found under The Regional Municipality of Durham. Locally held records for the municipality will be found at its seat of administration:the Town of Whitby

The primary source for basic documents (vital statistics, land records, wills) for people who lived in the Province of Ontario is the Archives of Ontario, 134 Ian Macdonald Blvd, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M7A 2C5.

Early Records

Civil registration did not begin in the province until 1869. Before then there may be church records of baptisms and burials. For the most part these are still held by the denomination who recorded them. Copies of marriage records made pre-1869 had to be sent by individual clergymen to the registrar of the county in which the marriage took place. These marriage records are available through Ontario Archives, on micorfilm through LDS libraries, and on paid and unpaid websites, but because they were copied at the registrars' offices, they cannot be considered a primary source.

Vital Records after 1869

Birth, marriage and death registrations are not open to the public until a specific number of years after the event occurred. Births to 1915 are now available [October 2014]; dates for marriages and deaths are later. Birth and death registration was not universally carried out in the early years after its adoption. Deaths were more apt to be reported than births for several years. The more rural the area, the less likely it would be that these happenings were reported to the authorities.
Images and indexes of civil registrations for the "viewable" years can be found on paid websites, and indexes only on FamilySearch. The FamilySearch Wiki on Ontario Vital Records explains how these records are organized and their availability.
In September 2014 Ancestry.ca announced that its paid website has been subjected to a "houseclean" of its Ontario BMD database, adding data that had been omitted and making many corrections. Its provision now includes

  • Births, with 2,172,124 records covering 1869-1913.
  • Marriages, with 3,393,369 records for 1801-1928 including Ontario county, district and Roman Catholic origins as well as province-wide civil registration.
  • Deaths, with 2,190,030 records comprising Ontario civil registrations of deaths, 1869-1938 and registrations of Ontario overseas deaths for 1939-1947.

Land Records and Wills

Information on how to access land records and wills is best sought on the Archives of Ontario website. An ancestor's land holding might be found on Canadian County Atlas Digital Project if he was in occupancy circa 1878.

Association for the Preservation of Ontario Land Registry Office Documents (APOLROD). A list of Land Registry Offices for all Counties of Ontario.

Censuses

The original censuses are in the hands of Library and Archives Canada, known to Canadians as "LAC". Copies of original microfilms are online at the LAC website for all censuses up to 1921. Each census database is preceded with an explanation of the geographical area covered, the amount of material retained (some census division material has been lost), the questions on the census form, and whether there is a name index. Census divisions were redrawn as the population increased and more land was inhabited.
Other websites, some paid and some free, also provide Canadian census originals and/or indexes online. One can also view censuses on microfilm at the LAC, at the Archives of Ontario (see address above), or at large libraries throughout Canada.

Hard-to-Find Places

E-books, Books and Newspapers

  • The Internet Archive, particularly texts from Canadian universities, can contain interesting material
  • Our Roots is a Canadian website similar to The Internet Archive
  • Global Genealogy is an online bookshop specializing in Ontario material who will ship anywhere in the world.
  • The Ancestor Hunt is a blog listing old Ontario newspapers that are available online, both free and pay websites. This is a very extensive list.

Some websites with more local information on Durham County

source: Family History Library Catalog
This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Durham County, Ontario. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with WeRelate, the content of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.