Holdings and Services

The United Church of Canada Archives collections include the following:

• archival records created by The United Church of Canada, including
  • General Council records
  • Conference and presbytery records for Bay of Quinte, Hamilton, London, Manitou, and Toronto Conferences
  • pastoral charge records from Bay of Quinte, Hamilton, London, Manitou, and Toronto Conferences
  • photographs and audiovisual records
  • architectural drawings, maps, plans
• archival records created by antecedent denominations, including Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregationalist, and Union entities, prior to church union in 1925
• archival records created by individuals or organizations affiliated with The United Church of Canada, including
  • former staff
  • former Moderators and ministry personnel
  • overseas personnel
  • ecumenical and interchurch organizations
• library collections include monographs, serials, pamphlets, vertical files, and directories of ministers

Remote Storage

Please note that some of the United Church Archives’ materials, due to environmental and space requirements, are stored at a remote location. These materials must be ordered at least one business day prior to use, and retrieval costs must be subsidized by the researcher at $35 per order plus $3 for each box/item requested. General Council, Conference, presbytery, and congregation staff are exempt from this fee; the Archives assumes all reshelving costs.

Please contact the Archives in advance of your research visit if you require access to the following materials:

• archival materials with accession numbers 2004.001 and larger
• the Archives’ library collection (excluding pamphlets)
• the Archives’ film and video collection

Top

Local Church Records on Microfilm

Minute books and vital record books (primarily baptisms, marriages, and burials) having entries beginning and ending before 1925 are made available on microfilm to participating institutions through interlibrary loan. The denominations represented include those that became part of The United Church of Canada: Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregational, and Evangelical United Brethren.

An important collection is the Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register. Beginning in 1843, Wesleyan Methodist ministers kept a book of entries of births and baptisms and submitted each year's book to the Conference Office. Entries were then copied into the General Register, arranged by township, town, village, and circuit. Records of the Wesleyan Methodist Church and its subsequent evolutions go from 1826 to 1910.

Top

Searching Our Collections

To search for information about these collections, please follow the instructions below.

United Church ARCHIVES Databases (beta version)

Search the ARCHIVES database for records in the collection. Search the GRAPHICS database for images in the collection.

Ontario Archives Portal

Search ARCHEION* (Ontario’s Archival Information Network) for fonds level descriptions. (These are described at a very general level and do not include any surname searching for genealogy or place name.) To limit your search to the records of The United Church of Canada Archives, choose "Repository" in the "Choose Field" area and enter "United Church Archives" in the "Search For" area. Then enter your search terms in the second "Search For" area.

Library Collections

Search the Archives’ holdings using the University of Toronto Libraries Catalogue* by title, author, or subject.

Local Church Records on Microfilm

Follow the instructions for interlibrary loan.

Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register

To access the complete register on microfilm, follow the instructions for interlibrary loan. To purchase published copies of the individual sections of the Wesleyan Methodist Baptismal Register, contact the Ontario Genealogical Society branch in the area in which you are doing your research. Please consult prices and contact information [PDF: 1 p/54 KB].