Try the following resources if you are just beginning your research into your family history.
It is important to determine the location to begin your search (did your ancestors live in a specific area of Elgin County, in another area of Ontario, or another province or country?) It is also helpful to specify the approximate date, or date range when your ancestors lived.
Staff members at all Elgin County Library branches are happy to assist you by recommending resources where you can begin your search.
Press any of the three following buttons to navigate to the specified section of the page.
Elgin County Library has a large collection of print materials relating to the history of the County of Elgin and the surrounding municipalities. Our collection of resources in each branch ranges from newspaper indexes, cemetery listings, and genealogy handbooks, to census listings, marriage registers, and community histories. There are also a number of family histories. The book collection can be found on the library catalogue, and holds can be placed for materials to be delivered to any of the 10 branch libraries throughout the County.
Elgin County Library has a rich collection of documents relating to the history of the County.
These are available by visiting the branch libraries, or by searching our online catalogue and placing holds on microfilms reels that are of interest. Branch locations that house microfilm printer/readers are Aylmer Old Town Hall Library and the John Kenneth Galbraith Reference Library – Dutton. There is a $0.25 cost (per printed side of each page) to print from the microfilm reader/printers.
Information available to view on microfilm or microfiche includes:
Reproduced in atlas form on a township by township basis in 2002, this map lists property owners on each lot and contains an alphabetical index.
$20.00
Garrett Oakes was one of the first settlers on the Talbot Road in Yarmouth Township (1810). In the 1870’s he wrote his memoirs in the form of a series of newspaper articles. These have been reprinted and extensively footnoted. This volume provides a fascinating and detailed picture of early life in the Talbot Settlement.
$10.00
Covers the communities beginning with the letters M to R.
$7.50
Covers the communities beginning with the letters S to Z.
$7.50
The Scott Studio Collection is a collection of national significance, comprising approximately 100,000 negatives created by three generations of photographers, documenting all aspects of life in Elgin County and St. Thomas from the 1870s to the 1980s. This book highlights some of the most well-known and interesting photographs in this collection, and the chapters are divided by theme.
$10.00
The photographs in this volume are drawn from the holdings of the Elgin County Archives, highlighting significant images which captured everyday life in both the County of Elgin and the City of St. Thomas, with a particular focus on the history of agriculture and International Plowing Matches in the County.
$15.00
Limited quantities of publications available.
Aylmer: A Walk Through Time – $2.50