Place:Clappison's Corners, Wentworth, Ontario, Canada

Watchers
NameClappison's Corners
Alt namesClappisonsource: Hamilton Spectator
Clappison Cut
Clappisons
TypeLocality
Coordinates43.312°N 79.918°W
Located inWentworth, Ontario, Canada
See alsoWest Flamborough (township), Wentworth, Ontario, Canadatownship in which Clappison's Corners located until 1974
East Flamborough, Wentworth, Ontario, Canadatownship adjacent to Clappison's Corners until 1974
Flamborough, Hamilton-Wentworth, Ontario, Canadamunicipality in which Clappison's Corners located 1974-2001
Hamilton, Ontario, Canadamunicipality or new city in which Clappison's Corners located since 2001

Clappison's Corners is at the intersection of the Ontario Highways 5 and 6. It is on the line (Ontario Highway 6) which divided the townships of East and West Flamborough. The nearest communities are Millgrove to the north, Waterdown to the east, Rock Chapel to the west and Hopkins to the south.

It was the site of the Clappison Inn. Thomas Clappison was granted a tavern licence in 1868. The Bee Hive and Chatterbox restaurants were located there in the 1950s and 1960s. The Clappison Drive-In Theatre, capable of holding many cars, was built in 1959 on the 4th concession East Flamborough now Parkside Drive. That property has since been subdivided.

The only church that stood there was the Cummins' New Connexion Methodist Chapel built by John Cummins. It stood on the north-west corner of the intersection at the northern tip of Lot 25, Concession 2 (West Flamborough) until 1874 when it was removed to Millgrove to become the Millgrove Hall.

It has several restaurants antique stores, several motels, stores, gasoline stations and a large municipal recreation centre.

Immediately to the south a very large amount of earth and rock was displaced from the cliff of the Niagara Escarpment to allow motorists to drive straight up to Clappison's Corners from downtown Hamilton on Ontario Highway 6. This is called Clappison Cut. It replaced the old Guelph Road which climbed the escarpment on switch-backs. The Cut is well known to geologists as it exposes the face of the escarpment making it easy to study the sedimentation.

A map from Wentworth GenWeb shows the location of Clappison's Corners in relation to the Township of West Flamborough.

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