Place:Oro, Simcoe, Ontario, Canada

Oro is a former township in southwest Simcoe County in Ontario, Canada. In 1994 it amalgamated with its neighbouring township Medonte, to form the municipality or Town of Oro-Medonte.

The map of Simcoe County circa 1951 from Archives of Ontario identifies the individual cities, towns and villages covered by the sketchmap. There is a faility to enlarge it at the bottom for the page.

Two sketchmaps from Simcoe GenWeb show the whole of Simcoe County and the alterations of boundaries that came with the change from townships to municipalities in the 1990s. The web page also leads to a considerable amount of information about Oro Township and its history.

1880 Map of Oro Township

1880 Map of Oro Township. From the Canadian County Digital Atlas Project. Larger image available at this link

Cemeteries

Oro United Church Cemetery, Oro Station, Concession 6, Lot 25, Oro Township

• See Simcoe County Branch Ontario Genealogy Society for more information.
• Photos of headstones available at www.waynecook.com.

St. Thomas Anglican Cemetery, Shanty Bay, Concession 2, Lot 28, Oro Township

Guthrie Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Guthrie, Concession 5, Lot 20, Oro Township

Rugby Cemetery, Old Barrie Road, Concession 11, Lot 10, Oro Township

• See Simcoe County Branch Ontario Genealogy Society for more information.
• Photos of headstones available at www.waynecook.com.

Esson Church Cemetery, Old Barrie Road, Concession 11, Lot 10, Oro Township

St. Mark's Cemetery, East Oro, Concession 11, Lot 16, Oro Township

West Oro Baptist Church Cemetery, Concession 5, Lot 5, Oro Township

Edgar Cemetery, Old Barrie Road, Concession 5, Lot 11, Oro Township

Bethesda Congregational Church Cemetery, near Edgar, Concession 3, Lot 10, Oro Township

African Episcopal Church Cemetery, Concession 4, Lot 11, Oro Township

Craighurst Anglican Church Cemetery, Concession 1, Lot 40, Oro Township

Knox Presbyterian Cemetery (old section north end), Concession 9, Lot 10, Oro Township

Leigh's Corners Cemetery, Concession 12, Lot 16, Oro Township

• See Simcoe County Branch Ontario Genealogy Society for more information.
• Photos of headstones available at www.waynecook.com

Two lone plots along Old Barrie Road, Concession 6, Lot 11, Oro Township

Cameron Family burial ground, Concession 13, Lot 6, Oro Township

McPherson Family burial ground, Concession 13, Lot 7, Oro Township

McLeod Cemetery, Concession 12, Lot 12, Oro Township

Cemetery, Concession 6, Lot 11, Oro Township

Johnson Cemetery, Concession 14, Lot 7 West 1/3, Oro Township

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.
  
  

Websites with more local information on Simcoe County

• Simcoe County Museum
• Simcoe Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society. Has a Settlers' Database, amongst other things.
• The Simcoe GenWeb site. Everything you might want to know about 19th century Simcoe County and more! This is a huge site with information on each of the new municipalites and links to the earlier townships that were amalgamated into each one. Names and histories of settlers, cemetery listings, and all sorts of things.
• Barrie Public Library houses the library of the Simcoe Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society.
• Simcoe County Archives. Has an online database of its holdings. The place to visit for an "in depth" investigation.
• Simcoe County Settlers Database
• Hunter, A.F. (1909). History of Simcoe County. Reproduced online.
• Barrie Heritage provides a lot of material on the City of Barrie.
• Collection of links relevant to the history of Oro and Medonte Townships
• The Story of Oro. Oro Station, Ontario: Township of Oro, Historical Committee, 1987
• Land Settlement in Oro Township

source: Family History Library Catalog