Research Services

RESEARCH SERVICES

Our branch would be pleased to receive your research request by email at : [email protected].  

If you have French Ancestry, please contact the researchers at the Franco-Ontarian Research Centre by email at: [email protected]

Our research volunteers will complete a limited search of the resources in our library and resource collection.  Please include as much information about your request as possible i.e. birth, death, marriage, name of spouse or family members, dates and locations.  Once your research request has been received it will be acknowledged by email and your research will be completed as soon as possible.   You are asked to make an appropriate donation to the Essex Branch at the Ontario Ancestors website. There are no set fees for assisting in your research however here are some donation suggestions.

1. BASIC RESEARCH $25 PER INDIVIDUAL NAME 

This research will include [if found], vital information about parents, spouses and children of the individual, various residences, occupations, etc.  Research can involve many hours of a researchers time.  Due to the high demand, and depending on the research results it may take several  weeks to complete your request. This fee will include up to 10 photocopies and the postage to mail the results, if necessary.  Most photos and documents can be emailed to you.

The researcher will use the following from our collection:

Essex County Branch Database

Essex County Censuses (1851-1901)

Essex County Branch Transcribed Cemeteries  – about 50 cemeteries

Essex County Church Records

Essex County Family and Local Histories

The Commemorative Biographical records of the County of Essex – 874 pages + index, some 25,000 names

The Western District Marriage Register (1786-1856)

County Marriage Register (1858-1869)

Essex County Marriages (1869-1911)

Essex County Branch Obituary Collection

Essex County Branch Publications – transcriptions and indexes published by the branch.

The Franco-Ontarian Research Centre Collection

2. CEMETERY TRANSCRIPTIONS $5.00 per page

Photocopies from our branch cemetery transcriptions  are available.   Various websites will also be consulted including The Ontario Naming Index (TONI) , The Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid, The Gen/Web Cemetery Project, Canadian Headstones, etc. If known, please identify the exact cemetery, township and surname in your query.  These transcriptions were made from the tombstones at the time the branch did the transcribing (circa 1978-1982) however, the researcher will view other websites for later additions that we have not transcribed.

3. COPIES OF NEWSPAPER ARTICLES/OBITUARIES $5.00 per ARTICLE 

The website newspapers.com has digitized all of the Windsor Star newspapers.  The Essex County Branch has a large collection of obituaries and the Franco-Ontarian Research Centre has collected obituaries back to the early 1940s.  The Windsor Public Library has an extensive card file index of local and area newspapers.  As well, The Essex County Library in Leamington has an index of some of the area newspapers. You can contact these branches for copies of obituaries, birth, marriage and death announcements. windsorpubliclibrary.com or  essexcountylibrary.ca.

OR

Our volunteers will search our extensive indexes of Obituaries from The Windsor Star, the Amherstburg Echo and all other Essex County newspapers  which were donated by the Harrow Early Immigrant Society, as well as our collection of 50+anniversaries, 90+birthdays, and 5 generation announcements found in both the Windsor Star and Amherstburg Echo.  The French researchers also have access to the many obituaries and newspaper articles collected by members of the Centre .  These newspaper articles are sorted by SURNAME as well as by LOCATION.

4. SPECIALIZED OR EXTENDED RESEARCH

We are happy to help you with a limited amount of research, but for complex or extensive searches you will need to hire a professional researcher.  The Ontario Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists maintains a list of its members. The Archives of Ontario also has a list of genealogical researchers on its website.  Please note the Essex County Branch OA assumes no responsibility for agreements or contracts between individuals.

5. NEWSLETTER QUERIES

Our newsletter team welcomes your Essex County query.  Queries are short messages about a specific person or family from Essex County that you are researching.  Include your name and email contact information.  Your surname will also be included in the newsletter surname database.   Queries may be submitted for inclusion in the Essex County Branch Newsletter “Trails” at the discretion of the editor. Contact the newsletter editor at [email protected] to submit a newsletter query.