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Clifford is a "small urban area" located in the former Minto Township in Wellington County in southwestern Ontario. In 1999, Minto Township became the municipality or Town of Minto.
Clifford is an unincorporated community in the Town of Minto in Wellington County in Southwestern Ontario, Canada.[1] It is on Ontario Highway 9 and Coon Creek, a stream in the Saugeen River drainage basin. The village of Clifford was founded around 1855 as Minto Village. After the opening of the post office in 1856, the settlement was renamed Clifford by the first postmaster Francis Brown after Clifford in West Yorkshire, England. Clifford was incorporated as a village in 1873. In 1999, Clifford was amalgamated with Palmerston, Harriston and Minto Township to create Minto. The first telephones in the community were installed in 1890 by Bell Canada.[2] Wightman Telecom, based in Clifford and owned by the Wightman family, has owned and operated a communication system in Clifford since 1908, with a telephone system that was originally operated out of a kitchen in Howick Township. Wightman bought out Bell's operations in Clifford, Ayton and Neustadt in 1928. The firm continues to operate the system .[2] On 17 March 2016 a wide EF1 tornado touched down near the community. [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
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