Place:Northumberland, Ontario, Canada

Northumberland County is situated on the north shore of Lake Ontario, in central Ontario, Canada. It is located east of Durham County (now the Regional Municipality of Durham), west of Hastings County, southeast of the Kawartha Lakes and south of Peterborough County. The county seat is Cobourg. Together with Durham County, it formed the Newcastle District from 1798 to 1849 and the United Counties of Northumberland and Durham from 1850 to 1973.

The first settlers were United Empire Loyalists who left the former 13 British American Colonies in the late 18th century. The Crown provided plots to the settlers for nominal sums (with the stipulation of making the land productive in a set number of years) or gratis to those who had served against the American Colonial Army. Following the War of 1812 many port towns, Cobourg in particular became important centres for commercial activity and a landing point for European immigrants arriving on steamers.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Northumberland, Ontario.

The Archives of Ontario has a map of Northumberland County as it looked between 1945 and 1951.

A sketchmap from Ontario GenWeb shows the outlines of the original townships.

The original eight townships (together with the administrative reorganizations in the latter quarter of the 20th century), are listed below. The order of the list is from west to east, then south to north.

• Hamilton which surrounds the independently incorporated Town of Cobourg. It should not be confused with the City of Hamilton at the westernmost point of Lake Ontario.
  
• Haldimand which merged with Alnwick Township to become the municipality or Township of Alnwick-Haldimand in 2000. It should not be confused with Haldimand County on the north shore of Lake Erie.
• Cramahe which became a municipality of the same name after amalgamating with the independently incorporated town of Colborne which lies within its geographical boundaries
• Brighton Township which became a municipality of the same name after amalgamating with the independently incorporated town of Brighton which lies within its geographical boundaries
• Murray was transferred to Hastings County in 1998 where it formed part of the City of Quinte West
• South Monaghan which was transferred to Peterborough County in 1974 and has since merged with Otonabee Township to become Otonabee-South Monaghan Township
• Alnwick which merged with Haldimand Township in 2000 to become the municipality or Township of Alnwick-Haldimand.
• Percy which became part of the City of Trent Hills in 2001.
• Seymour which also became part of the City of Trent Hills in 2001.
• In addition, Hope Township and the Town of Port Hope were added to Northumberland from Durham County to the west in 1974 and are now combined into the Municipality of Port Hope.

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 Northumberland County

• The wording from the Northumberland County historical plaques set up around the county describing "what happened here". Altogether they give an overview of the history of the county.
• The Kawartha Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society serves Northumberland County (as well as Victoria, Peterborough and Haliburton). It is based in the city of Peterborough. Its website includes a series of photographs of the places of worship in the area, and a publications list (currently all publications are on paper)
• At the time of writing (Nov 2012) Northumberland GenWeb advises that it is looking for someone local to update their website and all links revert back to OntarioGenWeb's general advice.
• Cobourg History is a website providing background information on the largest urban settlement in the county. Cobourg was founded in 1780. Its harbour has always made it quite important.
• A website provided by the West High School of Cobourg history department exhibiting their work on local participation in the War of 1812 and land assessment records for Hamilton and Haldimand Townships up to 1850
• The Cobourg Public Library lists their local history provisions.
• Northumberland County Genealogy and History is a large website with summarized lists of heads of households and marriages from the area provided by Michael Stephenson.

source: Family History Library Catalog