Western District Marriage Register of Upper Canada 1786-1856 (includes many Baptism and Burial records)

By Dan Walker & Fawne Stratford-Devai

 The Western District included the present counties of Essex, Kent and Lambton. Boundaries changed as the population grew. See the Background section below for those details.

Click to Browse the Index

This book includes

• Complete transcription of both volumes of the original Western district marriage register. 
• The original marriage returns submitted by the clergy to the clerk of the peace
• A number of baptisms and burials were included in the original marriage returns which are now part of this Western District Marriage Register transcription.

Towns and townships where marriages occurred and were reported in the Gore District Register include: Sandwich, River Thames, Detroit, Raleigh, Colchester, Malden, Amherstburg, Gosfield,. Harwich, Howard, Dover, Grosepoint, Maidstone, Sombra, Drummond Island, Michilimackinac, Romney, Mersea, Zone, Orford, Camden, Town of Desmond in Michigan Territory, Sarnia township, Chatham township, Town of Chatham, Moore, Tilbury, Plympton, Osborn (Usborne), Aldaborough, Southwold, Port Sarnia, Anderdon, Warwick, Bosanquet, Brooke, village of Windsor, Eckfrid, Mosa, Enniskillen, City of Monroe Michigan, Euphemia, Rochester and many other areas....

Background: In October of 1792 the old District of Hesse (1788-1792) was renamed the Western District and included the present counties of Essex, Kent and Lambton. Effective 1831 marriage returns for the Western District were required to be returned to the Clerk of the Peace in the District town of Sandwich. 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.

Check bordering Districts:  Complete District Marriage Register Series booklist When searching for marriages recorded in 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 Western District register you would be well advised to search bordering districts such as the London District and the Huron District.

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

Details:

206  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  978-1-894571-38-8 (coil-bound edition)