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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