It is not always easy finding vital records for the 19th century Ontario. However, for Wesleyan Methodists there are three very helpful sources.

There are three key references for genealogists searching Canadian records for their Wesleyan Methodist ancestors. Most of the information is for people who lived in Ontario, but there are references to other provinces, and even other countries.

Wesleyan Methodism

Methodism is a Protestant denomination which began in 18th century Britain. Based on the evangelical teachings of Anglican priest John Wesley, it focussed on a methodical approach to Bible study and Christian living. Early in its history, Methodists split into two camps: those who followed Wesley, and those who became Calvinistic Methodists. By the late 1700s, Wesleyan Methodists could be found throughout Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and other parts of the British Empire, and in the United States.

In 1833 the British Wesleyans merged with the Methodist Episcopal Church of Canada, forming the Wesleyan Methodist Church. Ninety-two years later, there was another merger. This time the Methodists, Congregationalists and most Presbyterians merged into The United Church of Canada. Therefore, any records that might exist for Wesleyan Methodists in Canada would represent the years 1790 - 1925. Although there are many Wesleyan Methodist cemeteries throughout Ontario, there are two excellent sources of information for births, marriages and deaths in the province.

Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register

The United Church of Canada - Victoria University Archives houses the four microfilm reels of baptismal records for Wesleyan Methodists of Ontario. In 1996 Ida Reed purchased the reels and a reader, and for the next two years transcribed the 101,461 records to a computer. She kindly made the Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register available to researchers online, courtesy of Bill Martin.

The data is organized by district and/or county, township, parents’ names, birth name, birth place, minister, baptismal date, and sometimes birth date. Not all families had the baptism of their children recorded, and not all records survived. But it’s a great place to start your search.

Genealogical Extracts from Canadian Methodist Periodicals

In 1829, the Wesleyan Methodists founded a weekly newspaper, The Christian Guardian. It ceased publication in 1929 with the merger into the United Church. Every week it published obituaries of its members throughout Canada, although most had lived in Ontario. These death notices are a rich source of information, usually listing the names of spouses and children, birth places and dates, and other vital data.

There were other Methodists papers of the time, such as The Christian Advocate. Donald A. McKenzie has painstakingly gone through decades of newspapers, extracting mostly obituaries from them, and compiling them into a 10-volume series. These hardcover books are available from Global Heritage Press, but many libraries in Ontario have some copies in their reference sections.

1. Death Notices from the 1836-1850
2. Death Notices from the Christian Guardian 1851-1860
3. More Notices from Methodist Papers 1830-1857 [Births, Marriages, Deaths]
4. Obituaries from Ontario's Christian Guardian, 1861 - 1870
5. Death Notices from the Canada Christian Advocate, 1858 - 1872
6. More Notices from Ontario's Methodist Papers, 1858 - 1872 [Births & Deaths]
7. Obituaries from Ontario's Christian Guardian 1873 - 1880
8. Obituaries from the Canada Christian Advocate 1873 - 1884
9. More Obituaries from Ontario's Methodist Papers, 1873 - 1884
10. Obituaries from the Christian Guardian 1884 to 1890

The Christian Guardian, 1921 - 25

A woman named Tara has transcribed notices of births, marriages, deaths, and even Golden and Diamond Wedding announcements from The Christian Guardian for 1921 - 25. Although most notices are for Ontario residents, there are also names of residents from other provinces and the United States, and even of missionaries in China.