Place:Renfrew, Ontario, Canada

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names

The following is based on an article in Wikipedia.

Renfrew County is in the eastern part of Ontario, Canada. It is situated northwest of Ottawa and extends southward and westward from the Ottawa River. The seat of county government is in Pembroke, a city that is politically independent of the county. In terms of area it is the largest county in Ontario. (end of Wikipedia contribution)

Early History

This section is based on the article on Renfrew County in Ontario GenWeb.

The first settlers to the area arrived in the 1820's. "A survey was conducted in 1825 by Quinn and the county was for a time known as Horton." (source: Places In Ontario by Nick & Helma Mika, 1977)

The county, named for Renfrewshire, Scotland, was established in 1838. "The townships of Packenham, McNab, Horton, Ross, Westmeath and Pembroke, together with the unsurveyed lands within the district of Bathurst, and all the Islands in the Ottawa River, wholly or in greater part opposite to the said townships and unsurveyed lands, do from the time that the said new district goes into operation, compose a county, to be called the county of Renfrew." (source: A Statutory Chronology of Eastern Ontario, 1788-1981 by Thomas A. Hillman) Pakenham Township has since been moved into Lanark County.

When the District form of administration was abolished in 1849, Renfrew joined with the neighbouring county of Lanark in a judicial union. This was dissolved in 1866 and the counties have since been independent of each other.

Communities

The reorganization of county administration that took place in 2000 and 2001 replaced the 37 original townships with 17 new towns and townships. In the list of Contained Places the newly renamed townships and towns are referred to as "municipalities".

Ontario GenWeb has a sketchmap of the original townships.

The map of Renfrew County circa 1951 from Ontario Archives locates the individual municipalities, townships, city, towns and villages of the county.

Municipalities

• Town of Arnprior
• Town of Deep River
• Town of Laurentian Hills
• Town of Petawawa
• Town of Renfrew
• Township of Admaston/Bromley
• Township of Bonnechere Valley
• Township of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan
• Township of Greater Madawaska
• Township of Head, Clara and Maria
• Township of Horton
• Township of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards
• Township of Laurentian Valley
• Township of Madawaska Valley
• Township of McNab/Braeside
• Township of North Algona Wilberforce
• Township of Whitewater Region
• City of Pembroke (politically independent).

Original townships

• Admaston (now part of Admaston Bromley)
• Alice (now part of Laurentian Valley)
• Bagot (now part of Greater Madawaska)
• Blythfield (now part of Greater Madawaska)
• Bromley (now part of Admaston Bromley)
• Brougham (now part of Greater Madawaska)
• Brudenell (now part of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan)
• Buchanan (now part of the Town of Laurentian Hills)
• Burns (now part of Madawaska Valley)
• Fraser (now part of Laurentian Valley)
• Grattan (now part of Bonnechere Valley)
• Griffith (now part of Greater Madawaska)
• Hagarty (now part of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards)
• Head, Clara and Maria (townships have always been unified)
• Horton (still exists)
• Jones (now part of Madawaska Valley)
• Lyndoch (now part of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan)
• Matawatchan (now part of Greater Madawaska)
• McKay (now part of the Town of Laurentian Hills)
• McNab (now McNab/Braeside)
• North Algona (now part of North Algona-Wilberforce)
• Pembroke (now part of Laurentian Valley)
• Petawawa (now the Town of Petawawa)
• Radcliffe (now part of Madawaska Valley)
• Raglan (now part of Brudenell, Lyndoch and Raglan)
• Richards (now part of Killaloe, Hagarty and Richards)
• Rolph (now part of the Town of Laurentian Hills)
• Ross (now part of Whitewater Region)
• Sebastopol (now part of Bonnechere Valley)
• Sherwood (now part of Madawaska Valley)
• South Algona (now part of Bonnechere Valley)
• Stafford (now part of Laurentian Valley)
• Westmeath (now part of Whitewater Region)
• Wilberforce (now part of North Algona-Wilberforce)
• Wylie (now part of the Town of Laurentian Hills)

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 Renfrew County

• Renfrew GenWeb has a list entitled Renfrew County Resources at the bottom of its homepage.
• The Ottawa Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society covers the Renfrew County area.
• Internet Archive has a very large collection of Ontario references including voters' lists of the late 19th century and directories for some townships and towns. This is limited for Renfrew but there is a Vernon's Farmers' Directory.

source: Family History Library Catalog