Finding a Marriage Registration - A Pathfinder

The Archives of Ontario holds marriage registrations from ca. 1780 to 1925. Prior to 1869, these records are very incomplete.

An additional year of registrations and indexes is transferred annually from the Office of the Registrar General and microfilmed. The 1926 marriage registrations will be available to the public some time in 2008.

To determine which microfilm reel contains the registration you're searching for, follow the path below.

The first step is to identify a Registration Number using an Index. To do so, you must know the peoples' names and when the marriage took place.

Did the marriage occur?...

The District Marriage Registers - 1801-1858 - RG 80-27-1, Appendix A18 consist of marriage registers from the districts and indexes for these registers. Under the 1831 Upper Canada Marriage Act, the District Clerks of the Peace compiled these registrations dating from 1831-1858. They are among the earliest registrations of marriages available at the Archives of Ontario. Post-1858 registrations were compiled by either a County Clerk of the Peace or a Division Registrar.

This sub-series also includes some marriage certificates from the Johnstown District and the personal registers of the Rev. James Harris (Home District), which includes baptisms and entries concerning the dispensing of the Eucharist.

Marriage Records Collection (RG 80-27)

The 1896 Registration Act allowed the Office of the Registrar General to assume custody of any marriage records compiled by County Clerks of the peace. As many clerks also held marriage registrations compiled by the earlier District Clerks of the peace, these records were also transferred to the Register General.

The 1919 Vital Statistics Act allowed for the deposit of records of births, marriages, baptisms, and deaths held by any church, historical society, association, corporation or individual. Transferred to the Archives of Ontario, this Series (RG80-27) has been described in five sub-series:

District Marriage Registers - 1801-1858
-Sub-Series RG 80-27-1, Appendix A18
County Marriage Registers - 1858- June 1869
-Sub-Series RG 80-27-2, Appendix A19
Registers By Clergy
-Sub-Series RG 80-27-3, Appendix A20, Appendix B4
Roman Catholic Marriage Registers
-Sub-Series RG 80-27-4, Appendix A21
Miscellaneous Registers.
-Sub-Series RG 80-27-5

There are no computer-generated indexes for marriages registered from 1870 to 1872. For marriages during that time period, check this Original Index Books to Marriage Registrations - 1870-1872 - RG80-24, Appendix A13, to determine which reel of MS 941 you need to consult.

For marriages that occurred between 1873 and 1925 consult the document Indexes to Marriages - 1873-1925 - RG80-7, Appendix A6 to determine which reel of MS 934 you need to consult.

Look up the person's name in the appropriate Index. The names in the Indexes are arranged:

• By marriage year
• Then, alphabetically by last and first name

If you haven't used a marriage index before you may wish to consult the document: How to Use the Indexes to Marriage Registrations (RG 80-7).

The marriage registrations for 1926 were transferred to the Archives of Ontario in 2007. They are closed for microfilming which takes approximately one year from the date of transfer. The should be available to the public some time in 2008.

The Archives will search for and copy 1926 marriage registrations only if the information is required to meet urgent legal or humanitarian needs. Requests for this information must include: the name of the person on record, the year of the marriage, the place of marriage if known, and the legal or humanitarian reason for making the request.

Please submit your request and contact information to:

An Archives of Ontario staff member will contact you to confirm receipt of your request and to discuss any copying charges that may apply.

Contact:

There is a slight chance that the Registration was only indexed in the original hand-written Indexes.

- For July-December 1869, check the Original Index Books to Birth, Marriage and Death Registrations - 1869 - RG 80-11

- For 1870-1911 check the Original Index Books to Marriage Registrations - 1873-1911 - RG80-24, Appendix A13.

The Original Marriage Index is arranged:

• First, by surname initial;
• Second, by name of the County or District (City of Toronto registrations were often separately listed at the beginning of each year's index)

If you find a Marriage in either series of the Original Marriage Indexes (RG 80-11) or (RG 80-24), you will have the year of registration, a Liber (volume) and the Folio (page) number. Once you have this information, proceed to the Registrations of Marriages (Listed Geographically) - 1869 to 1911, 1920-1925 - RG 80-5, Appendix B2. The table there will list the reel of MS 932 microfilm that you should order. When you receive the reel, find the correct Liber (volume) on the microfilm and look up the Folio (page) within it.

Is the Registration Number...

If the Registration Number listed in the Marriage Indexes is between 200,000 and 399,999, it is a delayed registration recorded AFTER the year that the marriage occurred.

Remove the first digit (the "0", "00", "2" or "3") and look up the rest of the number using the table on the document Registrations of Marriages - 1869-1925 - RG 80-5, Appendix A5 where you will find:

• First, the year of the registration - (NOT the year of the marriage), and
• Second, the volume within that year which contains the registration number (minus the first "0", "2" or "3").

The "Microfilm Reference" column in the table will list the reel of MS 932 microfilm that you should order. When you receive the reel, find the correct year on the microfilm and look up the registration number within it.

If the Registration Number listed in the Marriage Indexes is between 500,000 and 599,999, the marriage occurred between 1892 and 1916 but was not registered until after 1944. Please note that we do not have delayed registrations for every year. Use the table on the document Delayed Registrations of Marriages, "50" Series - 1892-1919 - RG 80-6-1 to find:

• First, the year of the marriage - (NOT the year of the registration)
• Second, the volume within that year which contains the registration number.

The "Microfilm Reference" column in the table will list the reel of MS 948 microfilm that you should order. When you receive the reel, find the correct year on the microfilm and look up the registration number within it.

The Archives of Ontario has not received these marriage records from the Office of the Registrar General. Researchers wishing to obtain a copy of such a registration should contact: