Place:West Flamborough (township), Wentworth, Ontario, Canada

NameWest Flamborough (township)
Alt namesWest Flamborough Township
Flamboro West
Flamborough West
W Flamborosource: abbreviation
West Flamborosource: abbreviation
West Flamboroughsource: WeRelate abbreviation
TypeTownship
Coordinates43.32°N 80°W
Located inWentworth, Ontario, Canada     (1854 - 1974)
Also located inHome District, Upper Canada, Canada     ( - 1816)
See alsoFlamborough, Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario, Canadamuncipality or town joined by East Flamborough in 1974
Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario, Canadaregional municipality which replaced Wentworth County in 1974
Hamilton, Ontario, Canadaone-tier municipality which replaced Hamilton-Wentworth in 2001
source: Family History Library Catalog

Notes provided by the Hamilton Public Library.

Before 1816 there was a single Township of Flamborough in the Home District. With the establishment of the Gore District in 1816 it was decreed to be in Halton County. It was moved to Wentworth County when the union of the two counties broke up in 1854. The two townships were in existence by 1875 (see map reference below).

When regional government was implemented in 1974 the townships of East and West Flamborough, the Town of Waterdown and the Township of Beverly were amalgamated to form the Town of Flamborough in the Regional Municipality of Hamilton-Wentworth.

end of Library contribution

The map of Wentworth 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.

A map from Wentworth Genweb shows concessions, sideroads with current names, and cemetery locations. This is a modern map employing the township boundaries of 1875.

For more information, see the EN Wikipedia article Flamborough, 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

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 Wentworth County