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APPENDIX 5: Useful Websites for Researching Etobicoke History


 This guide will help you with useful Web sites for researching Etobicoke history.

AERIAL PHOTOS

  • Toronto 1947-92 
  • Toronto Valley Lands Aerial Photos 1937-42
  • Current road, aerial & bird’s eye maps
 
ARCHITECTURE

  • Architects in Canada​​
  • Architectural Styles Mississauga
  • Architectural Styles & Terms - Ontario
  • Canadian Architect & Builder periodical 1888 to 1908 – past issues
  • Dictionary of Architects and Landscape Architects by James Stevens Curl, Oxford University Press:  
 
BIOGRAPHIES

  • Commemorative Biographical Record of County of York 1907
  • Dictionary of Canadian Biography 
  • History of Toronto & County of York Vol II - Biographies
 
BOOKS ONLINE

  • Internet Archive 
  • History of Toronto & County of York 1885 
  • Lakeview (& Long Branch)
  • Robertson’s Landmarks of Toronto: 
    • Volume 1
    • Volume 2 
    • Volume 3  (Baptisms Pg. 376 – Marriages Pg. 395)
    • Volume 4
    • Volume 5
    • Volume 6
  •  Canadian Encyclopaedia
 
CEMETERY RECORDS

  • http://cemetery.canadagenweb.org/ON/
  • http://www.findagrave.com/
  • http://ocfa.islandnet.com/
  • http://www.ogs.on.ca/toni.php - search Ontario Genealogical Society database TONI
  • https://canadianheadstones.com
  • https://familysearch.org/search/collection/1627831 - Toronto Trust Cemeteries 1826-1989
 
CENSUS RECORDS

  • York - Lists of Inhabitants & Minutes of Town Meetings 1793-1823
  • 1852
  • 1861
  • 1871
  • 1881
  • 1891
  • 1901
  • 1911
  • 1921 NOTE: You can browse 1921 census data on Ancestry free of charge for the 1921 census year only by registering with a valid e-mail address.

CHURCHES

  • Anglican - Closed churches


DIRECTORIES

  • Directory of York County 1837
  • Brown’s Directory 1846-7
  • Rowsell’s Directory 1850
  • Directory of Toronto, York & Peel 1866
  • Union Farmers & Business Directories for Counties of Dufferin, Peel & York: 1888, 1890, 1896, 1900
  • All Toronto City Directories available on–line or in books at Toronto Reference Library
 
ETOBICOKE HISTORICAL SOCIETY

  • Heritage resources; neighbourhood profiles; past History Corner columns in Etobicoke Guardian; stories of people, places and events; street name origins; archives, visit: www.etobicokehistorical.com.

ETOBICOKE REEVES/MAYORS
 
FIRE STATIONS

  • Ontario Fire Stations
  • Toronto Fire Stations 
 
FISHER RARE BOOK LIBRARY
  • Fisher Rare Book Library (U of T) 
 
GAZETTEERS (Books describing the main characteristics of places)

  • Smith’s Canadian Gazetteer 1846
  • Canada: Past, Present & Future 1851  
  • Lovell’s Gazetteer of BNA 1895
  • Henry McEvoy’s Province of Ontario Gazetteer and Directory 1869​

HUMBER BAY

History of Humber Bay in 3 parts on YouTube: 

  • Part One
  • Part Two
  • Part Three


ISLINGTON VILLAGE I-TOUR
 

LAKESHORE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL
 
  • Asylum by the Lake 
  • Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital History 
  • Lakeshore Asylum Cemetery 


LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA

  • Main Search
  • Research Tools
  • Databases Index
  • Family History
 
MAPS

  • Unwin's 1856 Map of Toronto
  • Tremaine’s 1860 map of York County – All Sections
  • Ontario Boundary Changes 1791 to Present
  • Ontario County Atlases 1877-8 (Etobicoke is in the York County Atlas)
  • Historical Maps of Toronto
  • Algate1935 Map of Toronto (Including Suburbs)
  • Goads Atlases Fire Insurance Maps - Toronto
  • Fire Insurance Maps (Toronto On-line)
  • Toronto Maps - Modern
  • Toronto Neighbourhood Names
 
MEASUREMENT CONVERSION TOOL

MILITARY/SOLDIERS/WAR

  • Personnel Records of the First World War
  • Canadian Virtual War Memorial – 1867 to Present 
  • Southern Etobicoke Soldiers of WWI (Includes Some Biographies):
    • Humber Bay
    • Mimico
    • New Toronto
  • War Memorials in Schools

MIMICO HISTORY

  • Mimico Beach Estates Blog
  • Mimico History Blog
  • The Mimico Story by Harvey Currell
  • Mimico Profile by Etobicoke Historical Society

MISSISSAUGA HISTORY

  • Lost Villages (Includes villages of Claireville, Richview, Summerville that overlap Etobicoke)
  • E-books about Mississauga Neighbourhoods, including Clarkson, Dixie, Lakeview, Malton and Meadowvale
 
NEW TORONTO HISTORY
  • New Toronto Historical Society  - then click on: “Discover the fascinating history of our town” for info on many aspects of New Toronto’s history, “Newsletters” to find the 1937, 1951 & 1963 Souvenir Booklets published by the Town of New Toronto and the corporate newsletters of Goodyear, Anaconda Brass, Campbell’s Soup & Continental Can.
  • New Toronto Profile by Etobicoke Historical Society
 
NEWSPAPERS (ONLINE)

  • Globe & Mail
  • Toronto Star
  • Hundreds of other newspapers
 
OLD OCCUPATION NAMES AND MEANINGS
 
OLDEST BUILDINGS IN TORONTO

  • Wikipedia
  • TO Built
 
ONTARIO ABANDONED PLACES (GHOST TOWNS)

  • Ontario Abandoned Places
  • Ghost Town Pics 
 
ONTARIO ARCHIVES
 
ONTARIO LICENSE PLATE HISTORY

  • Video 
  • Photos 
 
PHOTOS (OLD)

  • Lost Toronto
  • Vintage Toronto
  • Toronto Public Library
  • Toronto Archives
  • Toronto Telegram – Digital Archive at York University
  • Ontario Archives (Note: Most of their collection is not digitized)
  • Database of Kingsway Homes

PLACE NAME ORIGINS

  • Ontario
 
PORTALS (Archives across Canada)

  • Archeion – Search for information in archives all over Ontario.
  • Canadiana Discovery Portal – Search for digital records in libraries, archives & museums across Canada.

POST OFFICES AND POST-MASTERS  
 
RIVERS

  • Toronto Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) – Reports include historical information:
    • Humber River
    • Etobicoke & Mimico Creeks
  • Lost Creeks of South Etobicoke
 
SHIPS PASSENGER LISTS

  • Pre-1865
  • 1865-1922
 
TORONTO ARCHIVES

 
TORONTO CITY

  • By-laws 1998-Now
  • By-laws Search for all Years
  • City Council & Committee Meetings
  • Planning for Heritage
  • Heritage Register
 
TORONTO HISTORIC PLAQUES

TORONTO IN TIME (Includes some stories about Etobicoke)

TORONTO PARK LOTS

  • Simcoe’s Park Lots
  • Toronto Park Lot Project Map
 
TORONTO PUBLIC LIBRARY

  • History & Genealogy
  • Historic Photographs by Neighbourhood
 
TRAINS (Islington, Lambton Mills & More)
 
TRANSIT HISTORY IN TORONTO
 
UPPER CANADA LAND PETITIONS

  • Upper Canada Land Petitions Step 1
  • Upper Canada Land Petitions Step 2
 
UNITED EMPIRE LOYALISTS (Families in Ontario)
  • Archive.org 
  • Freepages Genealogy 
 
UPPER CANADA SUNDRIES (on microfilm in Ontario Archives) - partial index of content
​
  • Upper Canada Genealogy
  • Ontario Genealogy
 
VITAL STATISTICS SOURCES (Births, Marriages, Deaths)

  • Early Ontario Records
  • Family Search
  • Marriages by County in Ontario
  • Marriage Bonds for Upper Canada (1803-1965) & Lower Canada (1779-1858)
  • Upper Canada Genealogy (Ontario)
  • Central Upper Canada/Ontario Genealogy
  • Marriages at St. James Church, Toronto 1800-1896
  • Baptisms at St. James Church, Toronto 1807-1836 – see pages 376-395 
 
For reference purposes on using the above in your research, refer to the Etobicoke Historical Society's GUIDE: How to Research Etobicoke History.
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