Pre-1850 Ontario Township Censuses

Surviving census records (and census-like records such as assessment and collector's rolls) for the pre-1850 period are spotty, scattered and irregular. However, most Ontario townships do have at least one such enumeration on record. Finding your ancestor's name on such a list can be just what you need to locate your ancestor in space and time.

In this time period, census records only name the head of the household (usually an adult male), but they often include the number of male and female children in the household (sometimes broken down by age) and information about the householder's land holdings (which can lead you to land records).

At present the index includes enumerations for thirty-two townships, ranging from 1816 to 1845. The total number of heads of households listed in the index is approximately 730.

More records will be added as time and demand allows.