Menu
- Home
- Search▼
- List▼
- Add▼
- My Relate▼
- Admin▼
ViewsWatchers |
Severn Bridge is a small community in the Town of Gravenhurst, of the District of Muskoka in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is located approximately 160 kilometres north of Toronto, on the Severn River, roughly halfway between Orillia and Gravenhurst. Its population was around 300 in 1992. It was founded in the nineteenth century. The village is served by important road, rail, water links and its postal services and rural route are handled in Washago, Ontario. [edit] History
Severn Bridge came into existence in the year 1858, when the Muskoka Road was surveyed and constructed from the head of navigation on Lake Couchiching at Washago Mills, to a crossing of the Severn River. The supervisor of the bridge's building was David Gibson, the Inspector of Crown Lands Agencies and Superintendent of Colonization Roads. By the end of that year, provincial land surveyor Charles Rankin was issued instructions to continue the road northward from the "Bridge" constructed across the River Severn. Work on the road resumed the following Spring. The settlement was officially given its name in 1861, when a post office was opened there. James H Jackson was the first postmaster and the first settler north of the river, having arrived there in 1858 . In 1873, the Toronto, Simcoe and Muskoka Junction Railway reached Severn Bridge, but as a result of the panic of 1873, further construction was stalled. Two years later, this line was acquired by Northern Extensions Railway and upon completion of the line to Gravenhurst in 1875, was absorbed by the Northern Railway of Canada. The line was extended to make a connection with Canadian Pacific Railway near Lake Nipissing in 1886, by the Northern and Pacific Junction Railway, a subsidiary of the Northern. The entire route from Toronto to North Bay was subsequently purchased by the Grand Trunk Railway, (which in turn became part of Canadian National Railways). In September 1906, many of the homes and businesses of Severn Bridge were destroyed by fire. Between 1925 and 1927, the provincial government under the leadership of Howard Ferguson, created a road, known as the Ferguson Highway, beginning at Severn Bridge and extending to the Clay Belt of "New Ontario," it is now part of Highway 11. There is a small hydroelectric dam in Severn Bridge. Like many of the communities around it, tourism makes up a significant part of the economy. [edit] Research TipsThe 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. [edit] Early RecordsCivil 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. [edit] Vital Records after 1869Birth, 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.
[edit] Land Records and WillsInformation 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. [edit] CensusesThe 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. [edit] Hard-to-Find Places
[edit] E-books, Books and Newspapers
|
||||||||||||||||||||
