Adoptions & Guardianships Before April 1921

Ontario adoptions before April 1921 are in public records that are accessible to anyone.

In order to adopt before 1921, an individual bill had to be passed through the Ontario Legislative Assembly. These proceedings are recorded in Hansard, which is available to the public. Because of this, guardianships were more common and adoptions relatively rare.

It is also one of the reasons that records were closed to the public. (Could you imagine having your family affairs debated by politicians in public and having all the details recorded in Hansard?)

Guardianship information from this time period is also available to the public. If a person is not sure if it was an adoption or guardianship, it is advisable to check guardianships first. Look up "Guardianships" in the Ontario Archives to start with.

Beginning with the Guardianship Act (1827) and until the Adoption Act (1921), guardianships (child custody without the right of inheritance) were granted through the local Surrogate Court. While not listed in most Surrogate Court indexes, guardianship matters are recorded in Surrogate Court registers, and later, for some counties, in separate Surrogate Court guardianship books.

To identify the series that contain these records, search the Archives Descriptive Database.

(Archival Descriptions search option) using the keyword guardianship* (including the asterisk), the name of the county or district, and the archival reference code RG 22* (including the asterisk).

Alternatively, consult Inventory 22 Courts and related officers records, vol. 1, for instructions on how to identify and access these records.

The Archives holds no adoption files, only guardianship records.

Adoptions occurring before April 8, 1921 were made through an Act of the Ontario Legislature and are extremely rare. For instructions on finding an Act, refer to Research Guide 207: Researching Ontario Bills and Statutes.

This information comes courtesy of Cathy Henderson, reunited mother.

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