Ontario Surrogate Court Index 1793-1858
RG 22, Appendix A25
RG 22, Appendix A25 is an alphabetical listing of people whose estates were handled by the Surrogate Courts of Ontario for the years 1793 to 1858. Using the list below, click on the portion of the index containing the deceased's surname. Use the scroll bar or the 'find' function of your browser to locate the person that you are looking for.
If you find the person listed: record the information beside their name and return to this page for Step B.
If you do NOT find the person listed: try to find the person in the Ontario Probate Court Records (RG 22, Appendix A1), Surnames A to G, H to N, O to Z .
Please note: Before 1850, Ontario was divided into districts, with each one having a corresponding Surrogate Court (counties originally existed within as militia and electoral areas). Estate files probated before that date remained with district courthouse where they were probated.
If the Surrogate Court records for a specific county do not include the pre-1859 files, please consult the 1845 district map in our online resource “The Changing Shape of Ontario” (www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/maps/textdocs/districts1845big.aspx ). This will help you determine which counties made up each district and where the district courthouse was located. Check the Surrogate Court records for that county to find the estate file you are looking for.
Note: Not all the records indexed in RG 22 Appendix A25 are Estate Files. The following list identifies letters used to indicate other types of records created by the Surrogate Courts.
- AW
- Administration
with Will Annexed: these are grants of Letters of Administration where the original
executor mentioned in the Will has died and the courts
have had to appoint a replacement. These appointments
and other required changes are recorded in the court's
Register Books.
- AB
- Administration
Book: If the deceased died intestate (i.e.
without a will), these volumes will contain a transcription
of the Letter
of Administration granted by the Surrogate
Court to disperse their estate. While a few Courts
had separate Probate and Administration Books (Wills
are only in the former), most courts combined these
two books into a single Register.
- G
- Guardianship Files:
Lincoln County guardianship files were filed separately
and have been microfilmed separately. All other pre-1859
guardianships are interfiled with the Estate Files
for their respective County or District.
- R
- Registers:
also known as probate and administration books, they
contain the court's copy of all grants of probate
(in estates with wills) and administration (estates
without wills). Prior to 1858, there was no standard
format so their contents and organization will vary.
- OS
- Huron County renumbered
its pre-1859 Estate Files four times. To prevent confusion,
each set of Huron County files have been designated
as OS, OS1, OS2,
or OS3
Step B
Using the
table below, click on the County or District that
handled the deceased's estate. The listing of Estate
File microfilm follows the Index and Register microfilm
listings for that County.
- Always record the probate year
as many Counties arranged their pre-1859 files,
first by year then, alphabetically
by the surname.
- If the "No." column is blank
(e.g. Philip Wolf, Wellington Co., ____,
1843), the Estate Files for that County are arranged
by surname or by the year and surname.
- If the "No." is given
(e.g. Abner DeCow, Haldimand Co., #74,
1855), the Estate Files for that County are arranged
by the Estate File number.
- An "R" beside the name
means the name is recorded in a Register only
(not in an estate file).
- A "G" beside the name means the file relates to a guardianship. Most counties filed their guardianships with their estate files. Lincoln County filed its guardianships separately; see individual county pages for more details.