If you are looking for an inventory of the records of the 238 places of worship founded prior to 1900 in Wellington County and the City of Guelph, the following Wellington County Branch OGS publication is recommended:
- Moore, G.F. 1999. Wellington County & City of Guelph: Places of Worship Inventory before 1900. Wellington County Branch, OGS. 76 pp.
Started by Garnet Allen and completed by George Frederick Moore and Perry Cockburn, this inventory includes the denominational affiliation, its geographic location, dates when registers begin, location and accessibility of original registers, indexes, or transcripts, and any other information of help to researchers.
Denominational Archives
Searching for denominational archives can become somewhat complicated in that not all places of worship keep their records in one location. The Anglican Church archives listed below is a good example. For that reason, we will not attempt to provide you with detailed information on the different denominational archives, but will instead direct you to the Archives of Ontario website. If you do a search for ‘Sources of Religious Records in Ontario’, it will bring up a list of the different religious denominations, and explain their hierarchy. The list provides contact information, indicates who has records, how to determine who to contact for the records of a specific area, and whether or not the public is permitted to access the records.
Anglican Church of Canada Archives
Each Diocesan archives is responsible for retaining records created by the respective diocese. They also hold the historical parish records for each diocese which includes the parish birth, marriage and death records. Each Diocese across Canada (30) holds their records or has them on deposit with an archive. Wellington County falls within the Diocese of Niagara and their records are available at McMaster University. Genealogical enquiries requiring baptismal, marriage, or burial parish registers need to be addressed to the diocese in which the event took place.
This link to the Anglican Church of Canada Archives includes a map of Canada, where you can click on the area where your ancestors lived to be taken to the Anglican archives contact information for that particular area.