Q: Can I buy cemetery transcriptions? How much would it cost?
A: Yes. The Ontario Genealogical Society has compiled and is selling cemetery transcriptions of most of Ontario's cemeteries. Prices vary depending upon the size of the cemetery but most branches have their publication lists available on their branch website.
Many OGS branches now offer their cemetery transcripts on CD-ROM, for smaller cemeteries you can purchase a CD for usually or less and get several transcripts (sometimes an entire township!). Because this medium allows a considerable amount of information in a tiny package many previously unavailable transcripts (too large for print!) are now available for purchase on CD.
Also keep in mind that transcripts can be a lasting record for older headstones that have deteriorated. If you know an ancestor was buried in a cemetery but cannot locate the headstone consult the transcript to learn if a stone was present at the time of first transcription (for some OGS branches this would be the mid-1970’s).
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Q: Can you give me the address for a certain cemetery?
A: Most cemeteries are rural (not in cities) and don't have a postal address. If you're seeking an address to write to a rural cemetery there won't be one. Even some city cemeteries don't have postal addresses. But all known cemeteries have location addresses (for rural cemeteries, this may mean Con 1 Lot 29 of such-and-such Township) that will allow you to find the cemetery for a visit.
If you're seeking an address to a cemetery and it's not on the county page, the county host still might be able to tell you, if you email and ask. Or you can try CanadaGenWeb's Cemetery Project, or the Ontario Genealogical Society. Your OGS branch will be able to tell you where a cemetery is, and they may even do a better job of locating it than the GenWeb host because if they have transcribed the cemetery, they have actually visited it (and the GenWeb host hasn't necessarily been there!). You can get the address for a particular branch of OGS from the OGS website.
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Q: In researching my husband's family in Simcoe County, references are made to one being buried in FLANDERS FIELDS, another was a MASTER MARINER (I would assume on the Great Lakes), and the third, at one time drove on the WASSAGA STAYNOR STAGECOACH. Any suggestions on how to proceed on the above information. Thank you.
A: Have you typed any of these search words into a search engine to see what appears?
From Shelley: Your relation that was a Master Mariner, could have been the Captain of a ship or ferry. Wasaga is on the shores of Georgian Bay, and not far from Collingwood. Collingwood was a ship building town, unfortunately they no longer build ships there. Stayner is south of Collingwood and south west of Wasaga Beach. You could try either posting the information on one of the numerous free genealogy sites. Post under the surname or the areas that have to do with your queries. Good luck.
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Q: Is there anywhere I can get information on St John's Anglican Cemetery, Ida, Lot 12, Con 11, Cavan Township. Can you please tell me what the Ida, means?
A: The 'Ida' refers to the town that the cemetery can be found in. I would assume from your question that you obtained this information from OCFA -- if so, visit the site as they give contact information for all the cemeteries they list in their database.
From L. Johnson -- Through my own research of family that is buried in any Anglican cemetery,whether it be a churchyard or not I have found the Anglican Archives in Toronto to be extremely helpful...especially if you know the date of death and if the people are buried in the said cemetery.
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Q: Who can do OCFA lookups?
A: Visit OCFA and read the FAQ for information on how to contact contributing organizations (the ones who submitted the cemetery indices). Then write to the organization and include an SAE and 2 IRC's. Most will do the lookup for you for a nominal fee. Whenever possible, before writing, find out more about the organization. Most have OCFA policies that are explained on their websites, and these policies may state that the fee is required before they will do a lookup. Also, you should look for a publications list, because you might find that purchasing the entire cemetery transcription is only a few dollars.
Also read OCFA: What it is and how to use it, an article written by a member of the Perth County Branch OGS in response to OCFA queries.
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