Place:Haldimand, Ontario, Canada

Watchers
NameHaldimand
Alt namesHaldimand Countysource: Wikipedia
TypeCounty
Coordinates43°N 79.9°W
Located inOntario, Canada     (1800 - )
Also located inUpper Canada, Canada     (1792 - 1841)
Canada West, Canada     (1841 - 1867)
See alsoHome District, Upper Canada, Canadaadministrative district 1792-1800
Niagara District, Upper Canada, Canadaadministrative district 1800-1850
Haldimand-Norfolk, Ontario, Canadacounty municipality which replaced Haldimand from 1974 to 2001
Contained Places
Hamlet
Canboro
Decewsville
Diltz
Hartford
Kohler
Lowbanks
Mount Healy
Port Maitland
Rainham Centre
Sinclairville
South Cayuga
Tyneside
Inhabited place
Caledonia
Canfield
Cayuga
Dunnville
Hagersville
Halidmand ( 1974 - 2001 )
Jarvis
Nanticoke
Selkirk
York
Township
Canborough (township) ( 1800 - 1974 )
Cayuga (township) ( 1800 - )
Dunn ( 1800 - 1974 )
Moulton ( 1800 - 1974 )
North Cayuga ( - 1974 )
Oneida ( 1800 - 1974 )
Rainham ( 1800 - 1974 )
Seneca ( 1800 - 1974 )
Sherbrooke ( 1800 - 1974 )
South Cayuga (township) ( - 1974 )
Walpole ( 1800 - 1974 )
source: Family History Library Catalog


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

Haldimand County is a rural city-status single-tier municipality on the Niagara Peninsula in Southern Ontario, Canada, on the north shore of Lake Erie, and on the Grand River. Despite its name, it is no longer a county by definition, as all municipal services are handled by a single level of government. Municipal offices are located in Cayuga.

The county is adjacent to Norfolk County, the County of Brant, the City of Hamilton, and the Regional Municipality of Niagara.

History

From Haldimand County GenWeb and Wikipedia

Haldimand was named after the Governor-in-Chief of Canada (1778-1786) Sir Frederick Haldimand. In 1844 the land was surrendered by the Six Nations Indians to the Crown in an agreement that was signed by the vast majority of Chiefs in the Haldimand tract. In return, Joseph Brant and his followers, known as the Six Nations, were granted six miles of land on each side of the Grand River in which to settle. Brant, who originally lived in New York State, took the British side during the American Revolutionary War. When he and his followers were awarded the lands on the Grand River, he invited many fellow Loyalists not of native heritage to settle there too. These white settlers arrived in 1784. The county had to be re-purchased from the Indians and was not opened for general settlement until 1832.

In 1816 the townships of Ancaster, Barton, Binbrook, Glanford, and Saltfleet were removed from Haldimand County and established as Wentworth County in the Gore District.

During the early days of Haldimand County, an important industry was lumber. Once the forests could no longer support this industry farming took over. The Grand River, flowing west to east across the centre of the county, had great importance as an internal shipping route during the many years of building the Welland Canal.

In 1974, Haldimand joined with Norfolk, its neighbouring county to the west, as the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk.

In 2001, the counties were separated again, but this time each county became a single-tier municipality under their old names. Haldimand was re-formed through the amalgamation of the former Towns of Haldimand and Dunnville, and the eastern half of the City of Nanticoke.

Historic Townships

The map of Haldimand County circa 1951 from Ontario Archives locates the individual townships, city, towns and villages of the county. (Click at the bottom of the page to see the map enlarged.)

A sketchmap from Ontario GenWeb provides a simple illustration of the location of the former townships.

  • Canborough: area 21,586 acres (87 km2). Granted in 1794 by Joseph Brant to John Dochstader of Butler's Rangers. Purchased by Benjamin Canby in 1810 for £5,000, he named the village-site "Canborough". Population centres: Canborough, Darling, and it touches Dunnville.
  • Dunn: area 15,122 acres (61 km2). Opened for settlement in 1833. Population centre: Dunnville.
  • Moulton: area 27,781 acres (112 km2). Landowner Henry John Boulton named the township from the Boulton family seat in England.
  • North Cayuga: area 32,825 acres (133 km2). Population centre: Cayuga, Decewville.
  • Oneida: area 32,598 acres (132 km2). Joseph Brant granted a 999 year lease of part of Oneida and Seneca townships to Henry Nelles, of Butler's Rangers and his sons, Robert, Abraham, William, Warner and John. Population centres were: Caledonia, Dufferin and Hagersville.
  • Rainham: area 25,705 acres (104 km2) Population centres: Balmoral, Selkirk, Rainham Centre and Fisherville.
  • Seneca: area 41,721 acres (169 km2). Population centres: York and Caledonia.
  • Sherbrooke: area 5,098 acres (21 km2), the smallest township in Ontario. Opened in 1825 and named from Sir John Coape Sherbrooke, a Governor-General of Canada. The township was granted by the Indians to William Dickson (a lawyer) as a professional fee. Population centres: Stromness and Port Maitland.
  • South Cayuga: area 13,293 acres (54 km2). Population centre: South Cayuga.
  • Walpole: area 66,213 acres (268 km2). Population centres were: Hagersville, Jarvis, Selkirk, Cheapside and Nanticoke.

The ghost towns of Cranston, Dufferin, Erie, Indiana Lambs Corners, Lythmore, Sandusk, Upper, Varency, are also located within Haldimand.

Research Tips

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 Haldimand County

Two books referenced in Wikipedia in printed form which can be found on Our Roots, an online e-book site

This page uses content from the English Wikipedia. The original content was at Haldimand 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.