Sunday, November 29, 2009

I came across a death notice from Ontario deaths from 1869-1932 for a Joseph Johnson who died October 16th 1918. Could you please see if this information helps to confirm this Joseph Johnson was my Grandfather, as i would like to purchase a death certificate.

OntarioGenWeb is not a research service so we cannot locate a record and make confirmation. But we can tell you how to do this yourself. See our death records page for more information on how to obtain copies of death registrations. Please note that deaths that occurred 72 years ago or later are FREE to view on microfilm (or through a subscription to Ancestry) and cannot be purchased from the government.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Saturday, November 7, 2009

Where do I begin to seek to trace one of my relatives who was a senior police officer between 1940- 1965

If you know for what force, write to them (city police, write to the city force; rural police, write to the Ontario Provincial Police).

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

I recently requested information from an Ontario Funeral Home, regarding the death of someone who died avout fourty years ago. The said they could not give me any info because of the Privacy Act. The only reference I could find on the internet stated that information could be given if the death was twenty years or more ago. Is there actually such an Act or is the Funeral Home just using it as an excuse?

Yes there is a Privacy Act and if you've sought out Ontario births, marriages & deaths you've encountered it! The Privacy Act prevents the release of these records for a specific amount of time. It also applies to other government-collected information that could be considered private (like your mother's maiden name or social insurance number).

The 'counter' to the Privacy Act is the Freedom of Information Act that makes allowances for the release of government-collected information that pertains to us personally. It's under this act that we can request & receive information on ourselves as well as deceased relations if a death certificate and proof of your relationship is provided. And I do believe this is where the 20 year time limit comes into play (your relative must have died 20+ years ago).

But in the case of Funeral Homes not only can they cite the Privacy Act they're also private companies who have the right to keep the information they collected private indefinitely. They own it, so they decide. Keep in mind that a funeral home record can hold more than just information about the deceased - it sometimes contains names & addresses of living relations and other sensitive information that living relations may not want released (even to another relation!)

Not all is lost though! Some Funeral Homes are happy to provide some information. It never hurts to call or write and ask what they would be willing to release (a funeral directors certificate of death?) and what documentation you would have to provide.

For more information on the Privacy & Freedom of Information Acts see the Information & Privacy Commissioner

Saturday, June 13, 2009

What is a Yeoman

A Farmer

how do you determine an Indian as well as what tribe he belongs to

Help! Do you have an answer to this question? Please post a comment.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

My GG-Grandfather died at 999 Queen St. in 1914. How would I find out where he is buried? His wife had no money to do so.

Have you obtained his death registration? It may state place of burial. It's also possible he was buried at 999 Queen St which was a hospital. Submit a query to Toronto OGS and request a lookup of their cemetery records.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

I would like to know if anyone knows how a person can obtain a deceased family member's citizenship papers if they don't know the names of that person's parents. Also is there any other way that I can get anything that may have that persons parents names on it, and how do I get it?

As far as I know parent's names aren't required to obtain citizenship papers - it's the information on the person in question that's important. Their full name, dates, proof of death, and if the death is recent proof that you are next-of-kin.

Birth and marriage records would both include the names of parents, and depending upon year of death (after 1907) death records should also include this information if it was known to the informant.

Friday, March 6, 2009

Thursday, January 8, 2009

What ships left sweden in 1915 or 1916 and docked in ottawa/halifax canada

Ottawa was not a port of entry. Library & Archives Canada offers a searchable database where you can put in the place of departure and discover which ships departed from Sweden during your specified time period.