Q: I am trying to find a family on the 1851 and 1861 censuses. The parents were married in 1849 in St. Paul's RC Church in Toronto but I don't know the ward or township of that church and it might lead me to the township of the family. How can I find St. Paul's location?
A: [From Pat Jeffs] St Paul's RC Church was in St David's Ward. The 1851 census for Toronto was lost, so the only possibility is 1861
[From Susan] There is a website called ontarioroots.com that has a transcription of the tax rolls for Toronto for 1853. It was created because of the lack of an 1851 census. All heads of households are listed, whether home owners or tenants. To to the site and look on the left for "tax rolls". There's a search engine.
Do you have an answer for this question?
Q: I have a certificate of Baptism for my father from the Presbyterian Church in Canada. I am trying to decipher his place of birth (the writing is hardly readable and it is an original certificate from 1901). I know it is from Ontario and to the best of my ability is says Ron Twp (which I presume is township).The signature is from Rev CA Ferguson at St Andrews Church Ron. Searching the other sites I can find absolutely nothing for this, can you help?
A: Have you tried the Ontario Locator? It specializes in this type of dilemma. You could also try Canadian Geographical Names which is the official website of Canadian place names. Never heard of a place just called "Ron" though so you might want to double-check the handwriting and see if it could possibly be something else. Is it possible he wasn't baptised in the place of birth? Perhaps he was born outside of Ontario. Where were other family members born? Where were his parents married? Where did he grow up? These places may provide a clue as to which part of Ontario "Ron" may be located - that could be important!
[From Terr] -- This could be a short way of writing alonger name due to space limitation. e.g. Region of Niagara.
Do you have an answer for this question?
