Ontario, Canada, County Marriage Registers, 1858-1869

This database is an index to approximately 158,000 individuals who were married in Ontario, Canada between 1858 and July 1869. Information that may be found in this database for each entry includes name, age, residence, and birthplace of each spouse, names of parents, marriage date, location, and source information (including Family History Library microfilm numbers). Marriage records are great sources for genealogists because they document an individual in a particular place and time as well as provide details about that person's marriage.

It is important that you use the information found in this data set to locate your ancestor in the original records that this index references as usually more information is available in the records themselves than is found in an index. The records used to create this index are located at the Family History Library. However, the same records may also be located at the Archives of Ontario in Toronto, Canada.

Civil registration of marriages Province-wide began in 1869. Prior to that time, ministers, priests, and other persons qualified to perform marriages submitted copies of their documentation to county courthouses. The vast majority of these marriage documents included details about each spouse, including place of residence and birthplace. Additionally, each spouse had to supply names of their parents. In many cases the maiden name is supplied for the mother.

Many of these spouses were born in various European countries or in the United States. Thus, this information could be valuable for Canadians and Americans, as well as Europeans wishing to trace a family member who got married in Ontario before moving on to settle in other parts of Canada or America.