Microfilm Interloan Service
What is the Microfilm Interloan Service?
The Microfilm Interloan Service allows you to borrow microfilmed archival records through a library or another institution belonging to the interlibrary loan network. This international network, established through collaboration agreements, allows an institution to borrow materials from another participating institution. Contact your public library for information about their interlibrary loan policies.
About 17,500 of our most popular microfilm reels are available through interloan. As a result, you may be able to do extensive research without coming to the Archives of Ontario. The material available through interloan will be most useful to people doing genealogical research about their family, but it will undoubtedly be of interest to other researchers as well. Use the links below to access the main categories of records available through interloan.
What Microfilm is Available on Interloan?
Government Records
Vital statistics are records pertaining to births,
marriages and deaths within the province of Ontario. The Archives
holds a significant number of these records. Births ranging from
1869-1914 are available, as are marriages ca. 1801-1929, although
there are many gaps in pre-1869 marriage records. Death records
available range from 1869-1939.
The Archives has extensive records from courts
around the province. These records deal with everything from minor
criminal charges to district administration to wills and probate.
This microfilm contains records created or collected
by local government while performing their duties. Primarily created
between 1845 and 1900, these records include: assessment and collector's
rolls; local census records (pre-1851); voters lists and poll books;
and local Town and Township council records.
This microfilm contains documents relating to
the grant, sale or lease of Crown Lands. Most of these records originated
in the Office of the Surveyor General or the Crown Lands Department.
Land patent indexes created by Provincial Secretary's Official Documents
section are also included here, as are the records of the First
and Second Heir and Devisee Commission (1805-1911),
which heard and ruled on claims to land made by the heirs, devisees,
and assignees of original nominees for land.
Ontario Land Records Index on Microfiche (1780-1920) provides access to Crown Land records and some land-related material found in the Canada Company and Peter Robinson fonds. Also, please see Research Guide 205: How to Use the Ontario Land Record Index ca.1780-ca.1920.
This microfilm contains the surviving records
of the Immigration Branch of the Ontario Department of Agriculture
and Public Works (1869-1873) and its successor, the Department of
Immigration (1873-1901). Large proportions of these records in Records
Group 11 (RG 11) are of genealogical interest.
Microfilms of records from Columbia University
(formerly called the "Toronto
Emigration Office Records" or "Hawke
Papers") are now available for loan. These records
form part of the Records of the Department of Immigration (RG 11)
and date from 1831-1892.
This microfilm consists of both the annual school
financial and staffing reports by local superintendents and boards
of trustees, and the pension records of the Teacher Superannuation
Fund.
This microfilm consists of listings of schools
and teachers in the province of Ontario between 1911 and 1966. It
also consists of listings of the staffs of collegiate institutes,
high schools, continuation schools and normal schools in 1911, and
between 1923 and 1966.
This microfilm consists of a case book and record
of offenses and punishments for the Victoria Industrial School and
prisoner's histories from the Ontario Reformatory for Boys in Penetanguishene,
Ontario.
This microfilm consists of the directories for 1833-1983 for the Cities of Toronto (1834-1954), and Metropolitan Toronto (1954-1998). The earliest directories often contained numerous details promoting the city, ranging from buildings constricted, import/export totals, and prominent events of the previous year.
Non-Government Records
Canada Company fonds
The Canada Company was incorporated by the British
Parliament on 27 July 1825 and was dissolved on 18 December 1953.
The aim of the company was to obtain land in Canada and to promote
its sale to prospective settlers. This fonds documents all activities
of the Canada Company, including administrative records such as
minutes of committees, court of directors minutes, and proceedings
of the general court. Other records, which relate to the administration
of the company, include reports, agreement with the Crown, and registers
and schedules of lands. Fonds also contain several series of correspondence,
relating to land held by the company, sales, and shareholders.
Cartwright Family fonds (F 24)
This fonds consists of documents created or received by various members of the Cartwright family, relating to their genealogy, land holdings and political and business activities in the Kingston, Ontario area.
Women's Christian Temperance
Union fonds (F 885)
The
first temperance organization in Canada, the "Prohibition
Women's League", was formed in Owen Sound, Ontario 24 May
1874. A year later the first W.C.T.U. in Toronto was organized.
The Ontario Union modelled itself after the U.S.A. Union, promoting
the causes of temperance, social purity and the enfranchisement
of women. Other local and immediate issues were also promoted
such as dress reform, Christian socialism, Christianity and
labour reform for children. It was one of the unions which was
very active from coast to coast advocating social reform and
in expanding the role of women in society by pushing for woman's
suffrage.
Cemetery Transcriptions
This microfilm contains the Ontario Genealogical
Society's Cemetery Transcriptions completed up until December 2000.
A cemetery transcription is a systematic survey of the wording and
location of each tombstone and memorial within a specific cemetery.
Solomon Y. Chesley Fonds (F 451)
This microfilm consist of 5 journals written by Solomon Y. Chesley,
who was at various points in his career, Superintendent of the
Department of Indian Affairs, Member of the House of Assembly
and Mayor of Cornwall. The journals emphasize Chesley's career
as an Indian agent. They document his travels to various reserves
in Ontario, negotiations and mediation with the aboriginal leaders,
ceremonies and customs. They also document Chesley's opinions
on various significant events in mid 19th century Canadian and
international history, including the debates on the Clergy Reserves,
Representation by Population, the Fenian Raids, and the movement
of the Canadian capital.
Church Records
The Church Records Collection consists of original
and copied records for more than 60 Ontario churches which existed
at some time in our history. The records within the collection include
sessional minutes, annual reports, deeds and financial records,
communion rolls, birth/baptismal records, marriage and burial records.
Some newspaper clippings are also included.
T. Eaton Company Records (F 229)
One of the most widely recognized companies in Ontario and Canada
for over a century, the T. Eaton Company at one time touched on
many aspects of the lives of Ontarians and Canadians, both through
its retail outlets and its contribution to the community. Fonds
consists of catalogues, newspaper advertisements, office correspondence,
and other records relating to the operation of the company.
Ford Family Fonds (F 483)
Nathan Ford was an agent for Colonel Samuel Ogden,
and resided in Ogdensburgh, New York. He built a mill in the town
in 1797, and maintained a correspondence with his brother, David
Ford of Morristown, New Jersey. Fonds consists of correspondence
among various Ford family members. Letters refer to local events
and politics, family news, business activities, European events
(especially the progress of the Napoleonic wars), the War of 1812,
the Fenian Raids, and other subjects.
Genealogies
In the Archives of Ontario's early years, it actively
collected genealogies and family histories. These records have been
gathered together for the convenience of family historians.
Historical County Atlases
This microfilm contain atlases of southern Ontario
published primarily in the late 1870's. Two types of atlases are
included: County atlases documenting a single county or adjacent
counties, and Dominion of Canada atlases containing a supplement
of specific counties.
City of Toronto Directories
This microfilm consists of the directories for the Cities of Toronto (1834-1954, 1998-present) and Metropolitan Toronto (1954-1998) covering the 150 years between 1833-1983. The earliest directories often contained numerous details promoting the city, ranging from buildings constricted, import/export totals, and prominent events of the previous year.
Sir Aemilius Irving Papers (F 1027)
Sir Aemilius Irving was born at Leamington, England
in 1823, educated at Upper Canada College, Toronto. He became a
barrister in 1849 and was appointed Queen's Council in 1863. He
represented Hamilton in the House of Commons, 1874-1878; was Treasurer
of the Upper Canada law society, 1893-1913. He was knighted in 1906
and died in Toronto on November 27th, 1913.
Marriage Records
Collection (F 982)
The Marriage Records Collection is an artificial
creation of the Archives of Ontario designed to assemble in one
place miscellaneous marriage certificates, licenses and registers
which cannot be assigned to any one specific church.
Multicultural Newspapers
This group of microfilm contains one hundred newspapers
published by various cultural communities across Ontario from 1930
to 1987. The filming of these newspapers was a joint project of
the Archives of Ontario and the Multicultural History Society of
Ontario.
Order Sons of Italy of Canada
fonds (F 4378)
The Archives has acquired the records of the Order
Sons of Italy of Canada, a fraternal organization for
Italian-Canadians. The records, which date from 1915 to the 1990s,
document the experiences of Italian Canadians in the 20th century.
They are also an excellent genealogical resource.
Phenix Family Fonds (F
1255)
The John Phenix family were farmers
in Mono Township, Dufferin County, Ontario during the nineteenth
and early twentieth century. Fonds consists primarily of diaries
of two generations of the John Phenix family. The fonds also includes
a will and other legal documents of the Phenix family.
The Provincial
Freeman
The Provincial Freeman was published weekly from
1853 to 1857, first in Windsor, then in Toronto and Chatham. Published
weekly, it It advocated equality, integration and self-education
for black people in Canada and the United States.
Records Relating to Aboriginal Peoples
The Archives of Ontario holds many records relating
to Aboriginal Peoples. Only a small amount of these records are
available through our Microfilm Interloan Service.
Jean Baptiste Rousseau family fonds
(F 493)
Jean Baptiste Rousseau (1758-1812), a fur trader,
merchant, landowner and mill owner, was a founder of Ancaster, Ontario.
The Jean Baptiste Rousseau family fonds (F 493,) consisting of business
and personal records of the Rousseau family, recently has been microfilmed
and is available on interlibrary loan.
Conn Smythe fonds (F 223)
Conn Smythe, M.C. (1895-1980) was an Ontario
sportsman best known for his interests in ice hockey, horse racing
and promoting the cause of disabled children. The Conn Smythe
hockey files (Series F 223-3) consists of hockey files
documenting Conn Smythe’s involvement in the game of hockey
in Canada including Maple Leaf Gardens, the Toronto Maple Leafs
hockey club and the National Hockey League.
David Thompson fonds
David Thompson (1770-1857) was an explorer, surveyor,
and astronomer for the Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company
who also completed survey work of the Canada-United States border
for the British Government. Fonds includes notebooks and journals
which document Thompson's journeys into what is now the interior
of Canada and the northwest United States, the mapping and surveying
of Canada, and relations between fur traders and aboriginal peoples.
The fonds also contains field books of boundary surveys conducted
by Thompson, miscellaneous outgoing correspondence relating to maps
and boundary surveys, and hand-drawn copies of boundary surveys.
John White Fonds (F 4448)
John White was a lawyer and the first Attorney-General
of Upper Canada. The John White fonds (F 4448), consisting of a
personal notebook kept by White between 1792 and 1797, recently
has been microfilmed and is available on interlibrary loan.
A. E. Williams/ United Indian Bands of Chippewas and Mississaugas
Fonds (F 4337)
This microfilm consist of documents collected by A. E. Williams, a collector and researcher of Canadian aboriginal history. The vast majority were created by or collected on behalf of the United Indian Bands of the Chippewas and Mississaugas, an ad-hoc grass roots movement of Ontario First Nations to assert their claims regarding land, monies owed under the 1850 Robinson Treaties, and unceded hunting and fishing rights. The most active bands were the Chippewas of Christian Island, Georgina Island and Rama, and the Mississaugas of Rice Lake, Mud Lake and Scugog, and the Hiawatha. There is evidence that bands from the North Shore of Lake Huron and even as far as Fort William participated in this movement. The movement was operative from 1903 to sometime around 1920.
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