Home District Marriage Register of Upper Canada Part 4, 1848-1857

By Dan Walker & Fawne Stratford-Devai

In October of 1792 the old District of Nassau (1788-1792) was renamed the Home District and includes the present counties of York, Ontario, Durham, Peel, Simcoe, Wentworth, Halton and Brant. Boundaries changed as the population grew. See the Background section below for those details.

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Towns and townships where marriages occurred and were reported in the Home District Register include: Vaughan, Windham, Markham, Toronto, Georginia, Caledon, North Gwillimbury, Chinguacousy, Thorah, Brock, Whitby, Town of York, Esquesing, Scarborough, Penetanguishine, York Township, Streetsville, Etobicoke, Trafalgar, Albion, Adjala, Mono, Millford Mills, City of Hamilton, Gore of Toronto, Nelson, Pickering, Reach, Cobourg, Whitchurch, Uxbridge, East Gwillimbury, Eldon, Clark, Murray, Erin, Amarranth, Mariposa, Tay, Orillia, Tecumseth, Medonte, Oro, King, Darlington, and a number of other areas.

Background: In March 1816, the Counties of Halton, Wentworth and Brant were separated out of Home District to become the Gore District. In January of 1843 the County of Simcoe became the Simcoe District. Effective 1831 marriage returns for the Home District were required to be returned to the Clerk of the Peace in the District town of York. Returns were sent to the Clerk from clergy who performed marriages, with the exception of Anglican and Roman Catholic ministers. However, many Anglican and Catholics settlers married in churches of convenience or by passing circuit riders when churches of their own faith had not been established yet -- the result is that many of those marriages appear in these District Marriage Registers.

As of January 1850 all Districts were abolished and the Home District became the United Counties of York and Ontario.

Check bordering Districts:  Complete District Marriage Register Series booklist When searching for marriages recorded in District Marriage Registers keep in mind that many returns were submitted by ministers who were circuit riders who often performed marriages at great distance from their home bases. Circuit riders reported marriages in the register of the District where they lived which was not necessarily in the same District where the marriage took place. That said, if you cannot find the marriage in the Home District register you would be well advised to search bordering districts such as the Newcastle District, Gore District, Simcoe District, Wellington District, and Colborne District.

Related article: District Marriage Registers of Upper Canada (Ontario) 1786-1870 - What are they and why are they important?

Details:

250  Pages 
8.5" X 11" 
Maps
Index 
Originally published by Norsim, Toronto, 1995
This revised and updated edition with new maps and introduction published by Global Heritage Press, Milton, 2000 
ISBN  978-1-894571-47-0 (coil-bound edition)