Place:Actons Corners, Leeds and Grenville, Ontario, Canada

The text in this section is based on an article in Wikipedia.

Actons Corners is a small rural community in eastern Ontario in the municipality of North Grenville in the County of Leeds and Grenville. It is located on County Road 43 (formerly provincial Highway 43) between Kemptville and Merrickville at the intersection of Actons Corners Road (north to the Rideau River) and County Road 25 (south to Oxford Mills).

History

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

The intersection was created between Lots 15 and 16 of Concessions 2 and 3 of Oxford Township in the early 19th century and was originally named Bobtown, with only a Blacksmith's shop in the area. In the late 1820s, Robert Acton (for whom the community is named) and his family arrived from West Connaught, Ireland, and settled on Lot 16, Concession 3. Robert's son, John Acton, was a capable shoemaker, but worked on the Rideau Canal as a stonemason and later constructed several buildings in the township including the grist mill at Oxford Mills and the stone house at Actons Corners that replaced the family's original log dwelling.

At its height, Actons Corners boasted a post office, a school, two churches, a cheese factory, and an Orange Hall.

The post office operated between the 1890s and 1912, when it was replaced by rural mail delivery from Kemptville. A stone school was first opened in 1858 to replace two log schools to the east and west of the village. In 1905 the school was demolished and replaced with a new stone building which became the North Grenville Archives in 1998. A white-framed Methodist Church was constructed in 1875 and a stone Anglican church, St. Augustine, was built in 1879. The Methodist church was sold and removed in 1963, while the Anglican church remains standing, though it has been deconsecrated and is now privately owned. Scott's Cheese Factory was built in 1886 and operated until 1948. The Orange Hall served as a community centre until it was closed and the building sold and moved in the late 1930s.

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.