Place:Orléans, Carleton, Ontario, Canada

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NameOrléans
Alt namesOrleanssource: Family History Library Catalog
TypeSuburb
Coordinates45.467°N 75.517°W
Located inCarleton, Ontario, Canada     ( - 2001)
Also located inOttawa, Carleton, Ontario, Canada     (2001 - present)
See alsoCumberland (township), Prescott and Russell, Ontario, Canadatownship in which part of Orleans was located before 2001
Gloucester (township), Carleton, Ontario, Canadatownship in which part of Orleans was located before 2001
source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog

The text in this section is a precis of an article in Wikipedia.

Orléans, also written Orleans, is a suburban area within the city of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is located in the eastern part of the city along the Ottawa River, about 16 km (9.9 mi) from downtown Ottawa. It became a ward of the City of Ottawa in 2001. Prior to 2001, the community of Orleans was spread over two municipal jurisdictions, the eastern portion being in the pre-amalgamation City of Cumberland, the western portion in the City of Gloucester.

Orléans is one of 3 areas of the post-amalgamated City of Ottawa to contain a significant francophone population, hence the city's name.


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

It was in the 1830s that the earliest pioneers arrived in the Orléans area. Amongst the first Francophones were the Dupuis, Besserer, Major, Duford and Vézina families. A few English-speaking families also made Orléans their home from the very beginning, such as the Kennys and the McNeelys. In 1880, the parish was made up of 43 Anglophone families and 131 Francophone families.

In 1858, the first subdivision plans (Lots 1 and 2) were registered in the County of Carleton, for Gloucester Township, thereby creating the Village of Saint-Joseph d'Orléans. In 1859, François Dupuis also registered his plan (Lot 3) including St. John (St-Jean), Dupuis (Dessere), and Scott Streets (St-Charles).

Orleans was named by Msgr. Ebrard in the late 1850s for the city of the same name in France. According to the Canadian Permanent Committee on Geographical Names files he applied for establishment of a post office "plus tard en 1859". It was granted in 1860.

In 1860, Father Alphonse-Marius Chaîne was appointed resident priest of the new Saint-Joseph d’Orléans parish, founded in October of the same year.

In 1885, the first church opened its doors. In 1922, a second church - the current one - replaced the first which had been destroyed by fire. The parish priest was Mgr. Hilaire Chartrand.

In the same year (1922) Orléans became a semi-autonomous municipality, known as a police village, and more decisions were made locally. The police village was governed by a council consisting of three volunteers elected to preserve peace, health, and public safety. At the time, the village was part of Gloucester Township, which in turn, was part of Carleton County. However, some parishioners lived in Cumberland Township, east of Champlain Street, the dividing line between the townships.

By the 1950s, St-Joseph Boulevard became a major artery, with storefronts multiplying everywhere and new restaurants opening up the length of the through fare. Social life took on a decidedly community flavour, with clubs and community associations being formed. Commercial life improved considerably in Orléans in 1955 with the establishment of the first Chamber of Commerce in Orléans, which campaigned on behalf of various causes, such as pressing for a decent water and sewer system in the 1960s. The quiet, rural community that was once Orléans lived its last moments in 1958, when developers hit the town, and from then on, things would never be the same. Orléans has known dramatic residential growth since then, which has led to profound social and linguistic changes in the make-up of the population.

The first major real estate development was Queenswood Heights with construction beginning in 1958. In 1970, the Grey Nuns of Charity Congregation sold 500 acres of land to the Costain and Minto real estate companies, which launched major developments in the Convent Glen, Orléans Wood, Chatelaine Village areas, etc.

On Jan. 1 1974, the village of Saint-Joseph d’Orléans was incorporated into the Regional Municipality of Ottawa-Carleton. It was in the 1970s that the first high schools opened their doors, and after-class hours had Orléans youth start setting up their own clubs.

The housing and population boom years for Orléans came in the decade from 1981 to 1991. The population of Orléans tripled and grew from 24,000 to 70,000 people. Orléans recorded the second-highest population growth rate in the entire country in the late 1980s.

In 1989, Orléans became a municipality, Cumberland Township moved its city hall from Leonard, Ont. to Orléans. Orleans continued its residential developments through the 1990s. In addition to the residential developments, the 1990s in Orleans saw the final expansion of the Place d'Orléans shopping centre, a movie theatre, several new restaurants, new businesses, four new high schools, etc.

In 2001, Orléans was amalgamated into the City of Ottawa, becoming Urban sub-area No. 16 (now No. 15). The country-wide housing boom starting from 2000 has also seen an extremely large amount of housing and residential areas being developed in the eastern Orléans area west of Trim Road and south of Innes Road, such as the new communities Avalon, Notting Gate (including Notting Hill). The population and business growth in the area prompted the re-development of Innes Road from a two-lane to a four-lane road in 2005. With the Innes Road expansion, newer business areas along Innes Road between Trim and Pagé Roads, consist of many large retail outlets, restaurants, gyms, a movie theatre, etc.

Map of Ottawa and Carleton County from Wikipedia Commons

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.

Researching in Eastern Ontario

The website of the Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society offers a number of search engines for databases of material they maintain:

The Society covers the counties of Carleton (combined with the city of Ottawa), Lanark, Renfrew, Prescott and Russell. There is a note on the website that the URL will be changing soon (Jun 2012). It may be best to “google” the Ottawa Branch of OGS.