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BACKGROUND.
Before 1867, the Provincial Secretary -- whose office was
created in 1764 with the formation of civil government in
Québec -- controlled the correspondence of the Governor
and various government departments, and, later from the
Civil Secretary, took over the registration of commissions,
licenses, and official documents. While many documents which
were once part of RG 8 have been moved to other record groups,
such as RG 49 (Legislative Assembly), few of the pre-Confederation
records held by the Archives of Ontario have relevance to
Aboriginal people. In 1867, the responsibilities were again
reassigned along with the records. Incoming correspondence
of both Provincial and Civil Secretaries and certain registers
(entrybooks) of the Provincial Secretary and Registrar remained
in Ottawa. These records -- such as the Upper Canada Sundries
(NA RG 5, series A1) and later correspondence dockets and
letterbooks (NA RG 5, series C 1 and C 2) -- are invaluable
sources for Ontario aboriginal history. Both of these latter
series are available at the Archives of Ontario on diffusion
microfilm, listed as collections D16 and D23 of this Guide
(see Entries 301 and 302). However the records of registration
function (NA RG 68) have not yet been filmed.
Pre-Confederation Correspondence. - 1832-1867.
- 25 linear feet (54 Boxes). [Formerly RG 8 Series I-1-P].
CONTENT.
Correspondence files relating to the appointment of magistrates
and coroners were segregated from the main numbered registry
system used by the Provincial Secretary and Registrar and
were transferred to Ontario at Confederation. Because certain
appointments were for remote districts of Ontario inhabited
principally by Aboriginal people, there are some relevant
documents. Researchers should examine the file titles in
the finding aid closely. For example:
Box 4 PSO file 1212 of 1861. 14 October 1861
Re: the appointment of Dr. David Layton of Manitowaning
as Coroner, Algoma District. Includes a letter from District
Court Judge John Prince, pointing out that there was no
coroner on all of Manitoulin Island and that the "Priests
& white inhabitants as well as the Half-Breeds, and
civilized Indians desire to have a coroner resident amongst
them, there not being one within a hundred miles of the
place."
FINDING AID.
See the RG 8 Inventory, Appendix A4 for a detailed box list.
Researchers should note that the actual indexes and registers
to this correspondence are in the National Archives of Canada
RG 5, Series C 1 (see the entry for D 16) and are available
at the Archives of Ontario on microfilm MS 475.
MICROFILM VERSION AVAILABLE? None.
ACCESS. Open.
General Correspondence. - 1867-1909. - 600 linear
feet (1272 Boxes). [Formerly RG 8 Series I-1-D].
BACKGROUND.
Many new tasks were given to the Provincial Secretary for
Ontario in the years following Confederation. These included
the regulation and supervision of emigration, of insurance,
and of asylums, prisons and hospitals. For the purposes
of this guide, however, the Provincial Secretary's most
important function was to act as the conduit for correspondence
from the Dominion government on Indian affairs and related
matters. Dockets on these subjects were distributed to other
provincial departments (Crown Lands, or the Attorney-General)
as required, and -- if not retained there -- were returned
to the Provincial Secretary for filing.
CONTENT.
This huge series covers a number of important constitutional
topics which had direct or indirect impact on Aboriginal
people, including disputes over the location of Ontario's
boundaries and the Province's liability for the payment
of Treaty annuities. There are also numerous files dealing
with specific controversies involving Indians and First
Nation lands. Very few documents date from after 1900. The
docket files include a mixture of provincial and federal
correspondence -- the latter originating for the most part
from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development
(NA RG 10) and Privy Council Office (NA RG 2) records, now
at the National Archives of Canada. Researchers should order
the files by year and docket number. For example:
RG 8-1 1875 Docket #960.
Sizeable file regarding the legal status of lands
in the North West recently covered by Indian Treaty #3 and
claimed by both Ontario and Canada. Includes opinions on
the undetermined boundary's effect on the issuance of mining
and timber leases.
RG 8-1 1875 Docket #1760
Correspondence regarding a proposed reserve near
Parry Sound for the Indians of the Lake of Two Mountains
(Oka).
RG 8-1 1887 Docket #3446
Large file concerning compensation claim of the
Six Nations Indians for land drowned by a dam across the
Grand River at Dunnville.
RG 8-1 1892 Docket #3257
Two letters from William McKirdy, general merchant
in Nipigon, reporting local Indian anxiety about the possible
effects of recent provincial legislation on aboriginal hunting,
fishing and trapping rights guaranteed by Treaty.
FINDING AID.
The simplest way to use RG 8-1 is through the Index Registers
(RG 8-3). These are arranged alphabetically by personal
name or by title of correspondent (Attorney General, Justice
of the Peace, etc.), and each file is briefly described
and assigned a docket number. In Volumes 1-7 (1867-1881),
virtually all relevant files are listed under the heading
"Secretary of State", the federal official responsible
for directing correspondence to his provincial counterparts.
However, in Volumes 8-16 (1881-1909), material will also
be found under the letter "I" (as in "Indians").
These particular documents are not always cross-referenced
to "Secretary of State", so both types of entries
should be carefully checked.
Once researchers have a docket file number, they should
look it up in the Correspondence Registers (RG 8-2), which
are organized in numerical order of file. These entries
are more detailed than the Index Registers, and they also
explain how the file was disposed of. This is important
because -- as researchers will soon discover -- 25 percent
or more of the docket files indexed in the Registers are
missing from RG 8-1. If the Register notes that a particular
file was kept by "AG" (Attorney General), researchers
can search the RG 4 records (see Entries 69 to 80). However,
the chances of finding anything there are slim because very
few Nineteenth Century files have survived. If, on the other
hand, the notation says the file was forwarded to C.C.L.
(Commissioner of Crown Lands) or C.L.D. (Crown Lands Department),
then the chances of retrieval are greater.
Researchers should be sure to check RG 1 Series A-1-6 (on
microfilm MS 563). Due to the complexity of following such
a paper trail, here is a concrete example:
1) RG 8-3 Vol. 3. Index Register for 1872-1874 (on microfilm,
MS 581, Reel 1).
On Pg. 174, under the heading "Secretary of State"
is the following entry for 1873: "#1531 In RE setting
apart the lands on the Coldwater Road in the Twps of Oro,
Orillia, Medonte, etc. for Chippewa Indians." This
file docket is not to be found in Series I-1-D.
2) RG 8-2 Vol. 3 Register for 1872-1874 (on MS 580, Reel
2).
In this register, docket file #1531 is described as "...copy
of a letter from the Depart(ment) of the Interior asking
for copies of any instruction issued during the administration
of Sir John Colborne when Lt. Gov. of Upper Canada respecting
setting apart the lands situate upon the Coldwater road
in the Townships of Orillia, Medonte, Oro, Tay & other
places for the Chippawa Indians...Nov(embe)r 22/3 Dec(embe)r
1873. Ref(erre)'d to C.C.L." (Commissioner of Crown
Lands).
3) RG 1 Series A-1-6 Vol. 36 #3 (1873) Pgs. 31926-31928
(on MS 563, Reel 34).
The actual file can be found in this register of the Crown
Lands Papers. The microfilm reels are arranged chronologically.
Thus, "Secretary's Office" file #1531 -- relabelled
as C.L.D. 23526/73 -- appears among other correspondence
from late November and early December of 1873.
MICROFILM VERSION AVAILABLE?
There is no film of RG 8-1. Researchers must use the microfilm
of the Index Registers (RG 8-) on MS 581, Reels 1-3 and
the General Correspondence Registers (RG 8-3) on microfilm
MS 580, Reels 1-13. The RG 8 Inventory has a volume to reel
conversion list for both series.
ACCESS. Open.
Despatches. - 1910-1967. - 32 linear feet (63 Boxes).
[Formerly RG 8 Series I-1-L].
BACKGROUND.
In 1910, the Provincial Secretary Department reorganized
its filing system. This series is one subset of what had
formerly been the General Correspondence files (RG 8-1).
CONTENT.
These are the official despatches between the Secretary
of State in Ottawa and the Lieutenant Governor of Ontario
whose correspondence was handled by the Provincial Secretary.
For the reasons given above, they are a potential source
of documents dealing directly and indirectly with Native
people. However, not only did the volume of federal-provincial
correspondence on aboriginal issues drop sharply in the
first half of the Twentieth Century, most of it bypassed
traditional channels in favour of direct departmental contact.
Nevertheless, researchers should search the file list for
relevant titles. See, for example:
Box 1 File Code 100.3
Indian and Ordnance Lands 1910-1943
Box 29 File Code 100.890
The Migratory Birds Convention act and federal
regulations for the Protection of Migratory Birds 1925
FINDING AID.
The portfolio archivist has a detailed box list.
ACCESS. Open.
Provincial Secretary's Correspondence. - 1904-1972.
- 200 linear feet (318 Boxes). [Formerly RG 8 Series I-1-A-1].
BACKGROUND.
Like the despatches above, this series represents the continuation
of certain types of correspondence which had formerly appeared
in the General Correspondence files (RG 8-1). The Provincial
Secretary Department was abolished in 1972 and its responsibilities
distributed among various ministries.
CONTENT.
The correspondence begins with the term of Provincial Secretary
W.J. Hanna (1902-1917) and ends with John Yaremko (1972),
though there are some gaps -- as, for example, between 1920
and 1934. For the first two decades of the Twentieth Century,
virtually all the files are arranged alphabetically by personal
name of correspondent, which means that researchers need
to know the individuals involved in order to find relevant
material. From 1934 on, however, certain subjects are indexed
as well. Nevertheless, the box lists disclose only the occasional
item of interest, such as:
H.C. Nixon 1934-1943. Box 103 "Indians"
This slim file consists of 5 letters -- 3 involving
the "Actual Settlers Organization", which was
an early Ontario Indian political group based at Walpole
Island.
FINDING AID.
There is a detailed file and box list to Boxes 1-199 in
the RG 8 Inventory, Appendix A1. For Boxes 200-317, see
the entry for RG 8-5.
MICROFILM VERSION AVAILABLE? None.
ACCESS.
Most files are open. For the FOI/P Act status of material
after 1960, consult the reference archivist.
Correspondence. Provincial Secretaries Robert
Welch and John Yaremko. Deputy Ministers J.S. Yoerger and
M. Warren. - 1966-1972. - (118 Boxes). [Formerly RG 8 Series
I-1-A-1].
BACKGROUND.
In the late 1960s, Ontario created the Indian Community
Development Services Branch, which provided various types
of services to Aboriginal people -- particularly Métis
and non-status Indians who were not eligible for assistance
from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development.
This Branch, then part of the Provincial Secretary Department,
has since undergone a number of changes in name and mandate.
CONTENT.
Researchers seeking the actual project files of the Indian
Community Development Services Branch should check the records
of successor ministries such as Community and Social Services
(RG 29) and Citizenship (RG 74). However, RG 8-5 does contain
numerous ministerial and deputy-ministerial files on aboriginal
topics. The whole of Boxes 219 and 220, as well as parts
of Boxes 218 and 221, are made up of files headed "Indians",
such as :
Box 218 Indians - Brief - Iroquois & Allied Indians
Box 219 Indians - Financial Assistance - Requests
Box 220 Indians - Métis Society
FINDING AID.
The first of the two black binders in RG 8-5 Box 200 gives
a detailed file breakdown to Boxes 218 through 221. For
further information, researchers should consult the reference
archivist.
MICROFILM VERSION AVAILABLE? None.
ACCESS. Subject to FOI/P Act restrictions.
100. RG 8 Series I-6.
Office of the Registrar General. District and
County Marriage Registers. - [ca. 1801]-1948. - (23 Reels).
This series has been transferred. See the entry to RG
80.
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