Place:Cayuga, Haldimand, Ontario, Canada

Cayuga is an unincorporated community and the county seat of Haldimand County. It is located at the intersection of Highway 3 and Munsee Street and along the Grand River in Haldimand County. It was formerly surrounded by the Township of North Cayuga.

History

See also: Indiana, Ontario

Cayuga was incorporated as a village in 1859 ane became the county seat for Haldimand County because of its central location. It is named after the Cayuga, one of the Six Nations of the Grand River Natives who were awarded land in the area for siding with the British in the American Revolution. As the county seat, it is the location of the Court House, jail and a museum. In the late 18th century and early 19th century, public hangings were held in the courtyard and the prisoners buried on site. The Highway 3 bridge over the Grand River (Cayuga Bridge) is a very well recognized bridge over the Grand River and is commonly used as a symbol of Haldimand County and the Grand River.

The village's population grew to about 2,500 in the mid-19th century because the Grand River was such an important commercial route. There were locks constructed at Indiana just north of Cayuga. However when the Welland Canal was completed, the Grand became obsolete for commercial traffic. Further, an impassable dam was built down river from Cayuga at Dunnville. Originally part of the Welland Canal, the purpose of the dam and a canal at Port Maitland was to keep the level of the canal consistent. For most of the 20th century the population of Cayuga dropped to around 1000, but has recovered to approximately 1,500.

In 1974, the village was amalgamated into the new town of Haldimand within the Regional Municipality of Haldimand-Norfolk. Despite nearby Caledonia being the largest community in the former county, the town hall was located in Cayuga because of its central location. In 2001, Haldimand and all other municipalities within the region were dissolved and the region was instead divided into two single tier municipalities with city-status but called counties. Cayuga is now an unincorporated community in Ward 2 of Haldimand County.

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 Haldimand County

• Haldimand County Rootsweb. There's more to this website than immediately hits the eye. The township notes used in WeRelate were found here. It also has a very good explanation of the Ontario Land Records System including a list of all the FHS films township by township.
• The Haldimand Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society

Two books referenced in Wikipedia in printed form which can be found on Our Roots, an online e-book site

• Nelles, Robert Bertram, County of Haldimand in the days of auld lang syne originally published in book form by Hamly Press Book Printers of Port Hope, Ontario, 1905, and reproduced online by www.ourroots.ca
• Harper, J. Russell, The Early History of Haldimand County, originally published in book form by Grand River Sachem of Caledonia, Ontario, 1950, and reproduced online by www.ourroots.ca

source: Family History Library Catalog