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55 King St. West, Cobourg

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Family History

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Home/.../Library/Adults & Teens/Family History
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Family History

Researching Your Family History

Our Library is proud to provide resources for family and local history research. 

Our Local History Room has over 1400 reference books on the history of the local area and the families that lived here. 

There are also over 140 items to help you with general genealogy research and outside our area. 

Find Library Materials: Check our catalogue to see if we have the book or movie you are looking for, place a request or check your account.  For those who prefer a more streamlined approach, please use our Classic Catalogue

Send your Genealogy or Local History questions to our Reference Staff.

Online Resources to help you with your Family History Research

Ancestry Library edition (for use in-library only)

Family Search.org

CemSearch.ca - Online database of Cemetery records for Northumberland and surrounding counties

Cobourg and District Images - Archival Photos Database, also includes some Archival Folder scans.

Cobourg Newspaper Index - This is an index only.  To see the article, you must access the newspaper on microfilm in our Local History Room, or submit a request to our Reference Staff

Ancestry Genealogy Toolkit

Trello - A management tool that will help you streamline your projects, tackle your to-do lists and keep your research plan on track.

Village Settlements of Hamilton Township

The author of the book "Village Settlements of Hamilton Township", Catherine Milne, has agreed to share digital copies of the chapters of her book.  They contain all the chapters of the publication, but not the photographs, maps and index which were added later. The book can be found in our Local History Room, and at each branch location.

Baltimore

Bewdley

Cold Springs

Harwood

Local People and Places

People:

Archibald Lampman

John Henley

Lieutenant-Colonel John Weir Foote

Garfield / Gaffield and Coffee / Coffey Family History

Updated PDF versions of these family histories, donated by author Roger William Gaffield Reid.

  • Garfield / Gaffield Family
  • Coffee / Coffey Family

Robert "Bob" Homme (The Friendly Giant)

Places:

The Hamlet of Carmel (Gleason's Corners)

The Hamlet of Eddystone

The Hamlet of Oak Heights

Vernonville

Northumberland County and Surrounding Area Sites

Alnwick/Haldimand Heritage

Brighton Digital Archives

Campbellford-Seymour Heritage Society

CemSearch.ca - Online database of Cemetery records for Northumberland and surrounding counties

Clarington Digital Archives

Clarington Public Library - Local History and Genealogy

Cobourg and District Historical Society

Cobourg Museum Foundation (The Sifton-Cook Heritage Centre)

  • Collection of Story Panels and Artifacts

Cramahe Digital Archives

Dan Buchanan - The History Guy of Brighton

Heritage Cramahe

Kawartha Branch of Ontario Ancestors

Lakeshore Genealogical Society

Northumberland County Archives and Museum

Northumberland County Gen Web

Northumberland History.net - Census & Militia information

Ontario Genealogy - Northumberland

Peterborough Public Library - Local History and Genealogy

Peterborough Public Library Learning Portal

Port Hope - A Living Past

Port Hope Archives

Port Hope Historical Society and Dorothy’s House Museum

Port Hope Public Library - Local History and Genealogy

Quinte Branch Search the names

Township of Hamilton Architectural Inventory (Heritage Houses in Hamilton Township)

Ontario Research Links

Archives of Ontario

County Atlas Digital Project

Evolution of the District and County System 1788-1899

Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid

Ontario Gen Web

Ontario Genealogical Society

Ontario Land Registry Access

Ontario Online Historical Newspapers Summary

Our Ontario

TONI - The Ontario Name Index

 Canadian Research Links

 

Canadian Research Links 
 Automated Genealogy Census  New Brunswick - Provincial Archives
 Black History in Canada  Newfoundland Grand Banks
 Canada Gen Web

 Nova Scotia Archives

 Canada Gen Web Cemetery Project  Nova Scotia Church Records
 Canada Place Names  Olive Tree Genealogy
 Can Genealogy  The Passenger List Indexing Project
 The Canadian County Atlas Digital Program  Peel’s Prairie Provinces
 Canadian Genealogy Centre  Provincial Archives of New Brunswick
 Canadian Census - up to 1926

 Researching British Home Children

 Canadiana

 Royal BC Museum

 Early Canadiana online

 That's My Family

 Genealogy Québec  University of Calgary 
 National Library and Archives

 Vernon Directories

 Military Research Links
Military Research Links 
Canadian Archival Information Network General War materials
Canadian Military Heritage Project Library and Archives Canada
Canadian Military History Gateway Local History Site
Canadian Virtual War Memorial Military genealogy
Canadians in the South African War Veteran's Affairs
Commonwealth War Graves Commission War Memorials in Canada
 American Research Links
American Research Links 
 Census - USGen Web Archives Census Project  New York Public Library's Digital Collection
 Chronicling America (free digitized historic U.S. newspapers)  
 Ellis Island  Ohio Memory
 Guide to Researching US Genealogy  US GenWeb Project
 LDS (Family Search)  United States National Archives
 International Research Links
International Research Links 
 1911 Census - England, Wales & Scotland Marji's Genealogy Page
 Elephind.com Old maps online
 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Open Archives - Dutch and Belgian Archives
 Cyndi's List Rootsweb
 Genealogyindexer.org Scotlands People
 Irishgenealogy.ie Scotland Places 
 Lineages UK Placenames database of Ireland 
 Linkpendium Resources at the National Library of Wales
  World GenWeb
 Grave and Burial Research Sites
FindAGrave.com

CemSearch.ca

CanadaGenWeb’s Cemetery Project

BillionGraves (a FamilySearch site)

JewishGen  JOWBR Cemetery Inventory

Interment.net

 Loyalists Research
https://olivetreegenealogy.com - You can find Muster rolls, history, regiments, land petitions, book recommendations

http://www.royalprovincial.com/genealogy/gen.shtml - Online Institute for Advanced Loyalist Studies, You can find History, military records, genealogy lists

https://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/military-heritage/loyalists - Library and Archives of Canada, You can find Papers, military records, land petitions, lists

https://www.cangenealogy.com/loyalist.html

Genealogy Gurus - Facebook Group

New genealogy feature posted weekly

Each week, our Gurus will post a new genealogical tidbit, historical resource, photo or database – and encourage our members to post their thoughts or some interesting resources to share of their own.  

Join the conversation on Facebook

Our Local History Room

Local History and Genealogy Collections

Included in this collection are:

  • Cemetery and census indexes
  • LACAC directories
  • Marriage indexes
  • Local area histories
  • Local Family histories
  • Historical atlases
  • High school yearbooks
 Microfilm
  • Our microfilm collection includes local census and assessment records back to the early 1800's. 
  • We have the local newspapers on microfilm from 1831 to present (with some gaps). 
  • There are indexes to the Births, Marriages and Deaths held by the Archives of Ontario. 
  • Other items include telephone directories of the local area back to 1883, church records, and some local Tweedsmuir histories.
  • Many of the above items are available for in-library use only.  
  • Some material may be available on interlibrary loan (for a fee) through your local library.
  • We have a digital microfilm reader/printer available for the public - you can save an article, print it, or send it via email.
 Planning a Visit?

If you are planning a visit to our area, please contact the Library before you visit to find out what resources would be of interest to you.

Our staff will do general searches for one or two names for you if you are unable to come to the library. 

Be sure to provide as much detail as possible in your request.

Contact the Information Services Department by phone 905-372-9271 ext 6210 or by email.

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