Place:Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada

The United Counties of Leeds and Grenville are located Ontario, Canada. The population, as of the 2006 census, was 99,206. The United Counties have a land area of 3,383.92 square kilometres (1,306.54 sq mi). Leeds and Grenville are located in the the southern part of Eastern Ontario, and front on the St. Lawrence River--the international boundary between Canada and the United States. The county seat is Brockville.

Until 1824 the County of Lanark was a part of Leeds County.

History

Both Leeds and Grenville were first organized as counties in 1792 as sections of the Eastern District of Upper Canada. In 1800 the Eastern District was split because distances and administration work was too great and Leeds and Grenville became part of the new Johnstown District.

Leeds took its name from Francis Osborne, 5th Duke of Leeds (that is the city of Leeds in West Yorkshire, England). Grenville was named in honour of William Wyndham Grenville, 1st Baron Grenville, Secretary of State in 1790.

The first settlers were Loyalist from the United States who arrived as early as 1784-- many were recently disbanded officers and soldiers from serving British army companies after the Revolutionary War.

Western Leeds County was opened for settlement in 1788 and in the 1790s the "rear" townships were opened. Settlement was slow until after the war of 1812 when disbanded soldiers and British emigrants settled in the area. A majority of the British emigrants were from Scotland and arrived in 1816. Even more settlement occurred during the 1820's after the construction of the Rideau Canal.

A detailed history of the Leeds and Grenville area can be found on the Wikipedia page for Brockville, the principal town of the two counties.

In 1849-50 the District system of administration was abolished and Leeds and Grenville Counties were formed into the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville. At this point the province of Ontario was known as Canada West. It was to remain with this name until Canadian Confederation in 1867 when it took the name Ontario.

Townships and Municipalities

The original townships of Leeds county were

• Bastard (now part of Rideau Lakes)
• Elizabethtown (now part of Elizabethtown-Kitley)
• Front of Escott (now part of Leeds and the Thousand Islands
• Kitley (now part of Elizabethtown-Kitley)
• Front of Leeds and Lansdowne (now part of Leeds and the Thousand Islands)
• Rear of Leeds and Lansdowne (now part of Leeds and the Thousand Islands)
• North Crosby (now part of Rideau Lakes)
• South Burgess (now part of Rideau Lakes)
• South Crosby (now part of Rideau Lakes)
• South Elmsley (now part of Rideau Lakes)
• Front of Yonge (still exists)
• Rear of Yonge and Escott (now Athens)

and the original townships of Grenville were

• Augusta Township (still exists)
• Edwardsburgh (now Edwardsburgh/Cardinal)
• Oxford also known as Oxford-On-the-Rideau Township (now part of North Grenville)
• South Gower (now part of North Grenville)
• Wolford (now the Village of Merrickville-Wolford)

Since 1998, when Leeds and Grenville was restructured into a lesser number of "townships" or "municipalities", the list for the two counties is as follows:

• Township of Athens
• Township of Augusta
• Township of Edwardsburgh/Cardinal
• Township of Elizabethtown-Kitley
• Township of Front of Yonge
• Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands
• Municipality or township) of North Grenville
• Township of Rideau Lakes
• Village of Merrickville-Wolford
• Village of Westport

Separated from the county administration are

• the city of Brockville
• the town of Gananoque
• the town of Prescott

The new townships will be described as municipalities in the List of Contained Places.

The map of Leeds County circa 1951 and the map of Grenville County circa 1951 from Ontario Archives locates the individual townships, towns and villages. A handy rule of thumb: Leeds is on the left when looking from Lake Ontario.

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

• National Resources Canada's Index of Geographical Names: Query by Name. This database includes even the smallest places all over Canada and provides geographical co-ordinates and maps which extend out from the "found place". Correct spelling of a place is essential.
• Archives of Ontario have a web page titled "The Changing Face of Ontario" (which is very hard to find without this link). This provides maps of Ontario and its divisions in the 19th century (pre Confederation in 1867) and also includes links to series of historical maps of the individual counties as they were between 1867 and the 1970s when a huge reorganization of municipalities began. The Districts of Northern Ontario and Maps of Southern and Central Ontario circa 1951 show the townships of each county.

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 Leeds and Grenville Counties

• The Leeds and Grenville Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society has a list of publications available.
• A large number of historic Voters' Lists from Ontario communities for the latter part of the 19th century can be found on Internet Archive. Amongst these is what appears to be a complete set for Leeds and Grenville. Add "voters" and the township or town to the search box to find what is available.
• The Internet Archive has a very large collection of Ontario references.