A – Archeion and All Hallows

We start this Archives A-Z off with a bang and two As to recognize. While the Diocesan Archives doesn’t have its own online database, one of our major projects in 2026 is to add information about our collections to Archeion. This is a database hosted by the Archives Association of Ontario (AAO), which can be used by any archive that is an AAO member institution to add information about its collections. The first parish to be added to our listing is All Hallows, Toronto.

All Hallows began as a mission church of St. Saviour, Toronto, with the first service held in a school portable on Palmer Avenue on Dec. 17, 1913. Services in the first year of the mission’s existence were conducted mainly by lay readers from Trinity College. In June 1914, the Rev. H.R. Mockridge was appointed assistant curate at St. Saviour’s and given responsibility for this mission, with his first service at the mission held on All Saints Day in 1914.

The new mission received considerable support from the Sisterhood of St. John the Divine. In 1915, the Sisters decided to erect a building in the district that would serve as worship space for All Hallows and a mission house for their work in this developing area of the city. Construction on the multi-purpose structure began in May 1915 at 363 Main St. Bishop Sweeny blessed and dedicated the completed mission house on Sept. 11, 1915.

In June 1919, the Sisters decided to carry on their work in the mission from their convent on Major Street, and the mission house became the residence for the priest-in-charge of All Hallows.

On Sept. 27, 1920, ground was broken for a new church building at 393 Main St., and the building was completed and dedicated in 1923. The Archives holds the vestry book (service register) for these early years, which includes details about the services on these memorable dates. Ultimately, All Hallows amalgamated with the church of St. Columba in 1990 to become St. Columba and All Hallows, worshipping in the building of the former St. Columba.

B – St. Barnabas, Halton Street

The Diocesan Archives hold records for more than 350 congregations and parishes. Some of those congregations closed more than 50 years ago, and few people may know or remember that the congregation ever existed. St. Barnabas, Halton is one such church, as it closed in 1971.

An entry in Bishop Sweatman’s journal dated Feb. 10, 1885, notes the creation of the new parish of St. Barnabas, Halton Street. For the first two years, members met in a rented Reformed Episcopal chapel, with land purchased for a church in 1886. The church was completed the following year, and the first service was held on May 1, 1887. The church was then dedicated on June 11, 1887.

The congregation grew steadily, and by 1910 the church needed to be enlarged. A bell tower, basement and electricity were also added. By 1950 all debt had been paid off, and the church was consecrated on Nov. 2 of that year.

Unfortunately, over the next 20 years the neighbourhood underwent significant changes and membership began to dwindle. By the late 1960s, the buildings were in disrepair, and with no money to complete necessary work it was decided to sell St. Barnabas’s property and invest the money. The hope was that the investments would generate enough income to support the work of the congregation going forward. Arrangements were made to worship out of Wesley United Church, located at the corner of Dundas Street West and Ossington Avenue, and to share space on a trial basis for one year with the possibility of renewal.

On June 14, 1970, the 85^th anniversary of its founding, St. Barnabas closed its doors, and the congregation held a processional march, “St. Barnabas on the March,” to its new home at Wesley United. The partnership didn’t pan out, and on April 24, 1971, St. Barnabas was disestablished.

We give thanks to members of the Archives Committee, which was established in 1956, who ensured that some of the vital records from St. Barnabas ended up in the Archives. As a result, the Diocesan Archives holds the parish registers recording baptisms and marriages from 1885 and burials from 1909. There is also a small selection of advisory board minutes, service bulletins, newsletters and photographs.

Among the photographs that we hold for St. Barnabas is one of the church choir that was given to the Archives by Bishop George Snell, taken around 1931. He is seated in the front row next to the rector. It may have been taken at his ordination as a transitional deacon, as he was attending St. Barnabas when he was ordained in 1931.

Almost 40 years later, when the church closed its doors, he was the Bishop of Toronto. While he was unable to attend the closing service due to a prior commitment at another church, he did arrive in time for the procession to Wesley United, which, as it happens, had been the church that one of his grandfathers had attended. The Archives also has photographs from this occasion, as well as the write-up in the September 1970 edition of The Anglican, where Bishop Snell noted, “We do not regard any building made of bricks and boards as the Church of God. The Church of God is the people of God.”

C – Consecration certificates

A church consecration certificate documents the sentence of consecration given under the hand and seal of the bishop. It may take years after a church is built for it to be consecrated, as the church must be free of debt, and the congregation must petition the bishop to consecrate the church, confirming that it is debt free. In some cases, a church may never be consecrated even if it has paid off all debt, because so much time has passed that the congregation assumes the church has already been consecrated.

The Diocesan Archives holds a number of consecration certificates signed by various bishops over the years from 1839, when the Diocese of Toronto was set apart, to the present. Before 1839, any church that was consecrated was consecrated by the Bishop of Quebec. In some cases, a church has been consecrated but we don’t have the certificate, either because it was consecrated before 1839 or a copy wasn’t kept. In some cases, we can find other evidence to support the consecration, such as it being recorded in the book of Episcopal Acts if it occurred after 1867, and sometimes in the Synod Journals.

Many churches were not consecrated for at least several years after being built, but Holy Trinity, Trinity Square was able to be consecrated in 1847, the same year that it opened. Holy Trinity was built following a gift by an anonymous donor (later revealed as Mary Lambert Swale of Settle, England). Mrs. Swale had stipulated that all pews were to be free and unreserved. This donation allowed the church to be debt free from the start.

D – Deaneries

The Diocese of Toronto has had deaneries in place since at least 1859, though the details of the deanery names and rural deans before 1869 are not well documented. From 1869 onwards, the information can be found in the Synod Journals. Deaneries were originally called “rural deaneries,” and from 1869 to 1870 there were just five: West York, East York, Simcoe, Durham and Northumberland.

By 1888 there were 10 rural deaneries: Toronto, Peel, West York, East York, East Simcoe, West Simcoe, South Simcoe, Durham, Northumberland and Haliburton. There were further changes and additions of deaneries in 1925 when Durham and Northumberland were combined and Peterborough and Victoria were added. In 1956, shortly after the election of Bishop Wilkinson, there were additional changes, and the number of deaneries increased to 17.

With the change to the area system in the diocese in 1980, the number of deaneries increased to 20 and became known as “regional deaneries” rather than “rural deaneries.” Today the Diocese of Toronto is split into 18 deaneries. The Archives holds records, including correspondence and minutes, from many of the deaneries, though these records are primarily from after 1956 when the Archives Committee was established. However, the Archives also holds minutes for the meetings of the Clerical Association of the Home and Simcoe Deaneries going back to 1859, as well as the Deanery of Northumberland going back to 1869.

E – Emmanuel, Hanlan’s Point

Today the only church on the Toronto Islands is St. Andrew by-the-Lake, but until 1959 there was a second church located at Hanlan’s Point. A worship service for the benefit of campers and cottagers on Hanlan’s Point was first held in 1895 under the auspices of the Brotherhood of St. Andrew. It seems that lack of planning prevented regular services continuing that year, but beginning in 1896 services were held in the parlour of Hanlan’s Hotel every Sunday from the first Sunday of June to the last Sunday of August, and sometimes into September. The congregation soon proved too large for the space, and the venue was moved to an outdoor pavilion. This site also proved inadequate, and the congregation moved to a rooftop garden over the ferry shelter.

In 1905, a campaign by the West End Island Committee was undertaken to build a permanent church. Designed by architect Arthur Denison, the church, which was given the name Emmanuel, opened on July 8, 1906, on land leased from the City of Toronto.

Canon Cody of St. Paul, Bloor Street officiated at the morning service, and Archdeacon Sweeny (later Bishop Sweeny) took the evening service. The services during the summer were most often presided over by theological professors or theological students. Some of those individuals went on to have more prominent roles in the Anglican Church, including Daniel Coggan, whose name can be found regularly in 1938 and then on a less regular basis between 1940 and 1942. At the time he was a professor at Wycliffe College, but he became Archbishop of Canterbury in 1974.

For most worshippers it was a summer chapel, but some winter residents attended year-round. With no heating in the church, they blocked off the nave, put a portable stove at the front and sat in the choir stalls for prayer.

Redevelopment of the island in the late 1950s resulted in the end of a resident summer community, and the last service was held on June 21, 1959. Over the years the church had received many memorial gifts and was well appointed. Almost all of the furnishings were transferred to the newly constructed Emmanuel, Richvale (Richmond Hill). One stained glass window had been given several years earlier to St. Margaret, North Toronto.

The Archives holds the parish registers from 1906, service registers, vestry minutes and church committee minutes, including those of the West End Island Committee.

F – FaithWorks

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the creation of FaithWorks, and it’s wonderful to see how well this program is still supported! FaithWorks was established in 1996 in response to cuts in government funding for key social services throughout Ontario. The first annual campaign kicked off in 1997, with a fairly tepid response; however, with changes in the program to allow parishes to retain 15 per cent of funds raised for local outreach and 5 per cent going to each episcopal area for area outreach, FaithWorks began to flourish. The Archives holds records related to the start of FaithWorks in 1996, as well as copies of its posters and campaign materials for every year since 1997, when the first full year campaign was launched.

G – St. George, Cooper’s Falls

Cooper’s Falls is located near the northern boundary of the Diocese of Toronto. In fact, its location was so close to the border with the Diocese of Algoma that the land was originally deeded to the Bishop of Algoma by the Crown for $5 on Nov. 24, 1884, a month after the church had been completed and the first service held, based on an article in the Orillia Packet & Times. The title to the land was finally registered and transferred to the Diocese of Toronto in July 1962.

The diocese’s Archives and Property teams visited St. George, Cooper’s Falls in the summer of 2024 to document any memorials by taking photographs. This led to the altar being used at Synod in 2025, with a photograph of one of the memorial windows projected on the wall behind. It was a beautiful way to remember this church that closed in 2009.

H – Hollinger Box

To help ensure that records are preserved, the Diocesan Archives stores these items in Hollinger-style boxes. Hollinger is a brand name, but it’s generally used to describe these special archival boxes that are made from acid-free/lignin-free materials. Archival records should be stored in acid-free materials to help prevent chemical deterioration like brittleness, yellowing or fading, and to allow for ongoing access. Containers that are not acid-free release acidic compounds, which will migrate to the records and ultimately render them inaccessible. While this may take many years, we need to remember that the aim of archives is to collect records of enduring value and make sure they remain accessible for hundreds of years for the benefit and edification of future generations.

While there are bankers boxes that are acid-free, they’re not the best solution for records that might be frequently accessed, as they become quite heavy and can be difficult to transfer to and from shelves. Using bankers boxes can also lead to greater risk of records slumping and incurring mechanical damage from boxes not being filled sufficiently. However, for less frequently accessed collections these are suitable containers. Hollinger boxes also have the advantage of protecting records from dust, which attracts insects and can lead to increased insect activity.

I – Insects

While not everyone enjoys thinking about insects, archivists need to be aware of any insect activity in the archives to make sure records of enduring value aren’t damaged. Several insects, such as silverfish, booklice and cockroaches, feed off paper, starches and adhesives and can cause damage and staining to paper records, photographs and audiovisual material.

Insects are drawn to areas that are warm and humid, so the temperature and humidity controls in our vault storage space help to keep insect activity to a minimum. To make sure we would know if there was increased insect activity in the Archives, we’ve placed several sticky traps around the storage areas. We check these traps on a routine basis and track the types and numbers of insects we find in a spreadsheet so we can assess if there is an increase. If there were a larger number of insects in a trap than normal or expected, we would examine the collection in the area to try to determine the source and treat any impacted records. When new records are received from a congregation, we check them for any obvious insect activity so they can be treated before being introduced into the storage area. Archives staff recognize that sticky traps may seem inhumane, but they’re the best solution for tracking pest activity.

J – St. Alban, Janetville

The Church of St. Alban, Janetville was a red brick structure located on the boundary of Cartwright and Manvers townships in the County of Durham, about four miles southwest of Janetville. Land for the church and cemetery was donated by William Graham on Jan. 27, 1881. The church opened in 1883 and was consecrated on May 29, 1883. Unfortunately, the congregation didn’t flourish, and the decision was made to close in 1921. The church was left to fall into disrepair until a tax bill was received in 1926. The building was sold for $25 shortly thereafter.

There are very few records in the archives specific to St. Alban, Janetville, as registers were generally kept under the parish, with events from all congregations entered in one register. The one photo of the church that we have in the Archives appears to be a photograph of a photograph. There is a vestry book that contains service information from 1909-1921. Unlike some vestry books where the final service is clearly noted as such, the entries in the St. Alban’s vestry book just stop in mid-1921. In reviewing the vestry book further to see if there might be a note somewhere about the final service, it was discovered that the priest of the Parish of Manvers used it to record summer services to a tent congregation at Scugog Point (also referred to as Armstrong’s Point) for a short period of time. This was a new discovery for the Archives and a reminder of the gems of information that can be found if the time is taken to study the records.

K – Diocese of Seoul, Korea

While the Diocese of Toronto currently enjoys a companion relationship with the Diocese of Brasilia, our first companion relationship was with the Diocese of Seoul in South Korea. This initial relationship came about after the General Synod of 1986, when the Anglican Church of Canada endorsed the idea of companion relationships with other dioceses in the Anglican Communion.

The Diocese of Toronto began exploring what a companion relationship might look like in 1988 and began corresponding with the Diocese of Seoul in 1989 to discuss a possible companionship. In October 1989, Bishop Simon Kim of the Diocese of Seoul came to Toronto during our sesquicentennial celebrations, and the final details of the relationship were ironed out. In October 1990, a contingent from the Diocese of Toronto travelled to South Korea, and the companionship covenant was signed on Oct. 4, 1990. The Diocesan Archives holds the records documenting this process. The Archives also holds photos of the visit to South Korea thanks to a donation of two photo albums by the Rev. Bob Bettson in 2017. In 1993, a contingent from the Diocese of Seoul traveled to Toronto to continue to explore a shared understanding of what it means to be Anglican Christians in two different cultures.

L – Lawn Bowling

It’s not quite cricket, but several of our congregations had lawn bowling clubs, including St. Simon the Apostle and St. John the Baptist, Norway. Unfortunately, the records of these clubs are sparse. In the case of St. Simon the Apostle, the Diocesan Archives holds the lawn bowling club minute book covering from 1908, when the club was established, until 1922, when the club lost its bowling green due to the decision to build a rectory in that location. The 1908 minutes for the St. Simon lawn bowling club suggest that it was a very amateur team that played more for the fun of the game than the result that year.

M – Maps

The boundaries of the Diocese of Toronto changed significantly after being set apart in 1839, with areas carved out by the setting apart of the dioceses of Huron, Ontario, Algoma and Niagara in 1857, 1861, 1873 and 1875 respectively. The earliest map that we have of the diocese is from 1883, and we have additional maps for 1911 and 1956, with the map for 1956 showing the archdeaconries and rural deaneries at the time. There have been subsequent maps but with far less detail.

When the diocese began work on redeveloping the episcopal leadership model through the Episcopal Leadership Working Group in the early 2020s, the Rev. Canon Rob Mitchell began work to create an updated map of the diocese. The Archives provided details on the boundaries for each parish to help create this map. During this process, Canon Mitchell discovered that there was a change to the diocesan boundaries that occurred sometime after 1956, based on the fact that the western boundary of the diocese juts out around Mississauga in current maps of the diocese. The earlier maps show the boundary as being a straight line. Through the records in the Archives, we were able to determine that because the regional municipality of Peel changed its boundary in the late 1970s, the Diocese of Toronto and the Diocese of Niagara agreed in 1982 to make an adjustment to this shared boundary. The Provincial Synod approved this change to the boundary in November 1982.

The wonderful thing about the new map is that it was built in Google Maps and plots all the churches that have existed in the Diocese of Toronto. With the agreement of Canon Mitchell, we were able to export the details from the map he had created to develop a new finding aid for the Diocesan Archives. This allows us to provide information on the parish registers (baptisms, confirmations, marriages and burials) that we have for each congregation. The information shared is aimed primarily at genealogists who may be trying to track down an ancestor’s record. The information we provide will help them to determine where they might find records related to their ancestors. We have added details on parish registers held for only a handful of the closed churches, so it’s still a work in progress, but we’re excited to share what has been completed so far.

N – Nativity, Malvern

Nativity, Malvern came to its name in a slightly unusual fashion. When a congregation was first organized in the Malvern neighbourhood in 1974, Bishop Snell gave it the name of St. Gregory. In a letter to the incumbent of the congregation, he wrote that this name “does not have to be permanent” but “will give the work a focus at this time.” In June 1976, the Church of the Nativity located in the neighbourhood of Monarch Park voted to disestablish. It offered its memorials and some financial assets to the congregation in Malvern, and the decision was made to take the name Nativity rather than keep the name St. Gregory. At its inaugural vestry on Sept. 12, 1976, the congregation of Nativity, Malvern circulated a petition for signatures that would be sent to the bishop to set it apart as the parish of Nativity, Malvern.

The Diocesan Archives holds only a few records from Nativity, Malvern, as it’s a relatively young congregation, having been in existence only since 1974. However, we do have the vestry minutes from 1976-1991, as well as some records related to its original campus building shared with the Presbyterian church and building fund records related to constructing its own church building. We were also very happy to receive its parish registers, including confirmations up to 2025, at Synod in November 2025.

O – Oaths & Subscriptions

When a person is ordained a transitional deacon and then again when they are ordained a priest, they must make oaths and subscriptions in the form of certain declarations. On Aug. 4, 1839, the Rev. John Strachan became bishop of the newly set apart Diocese of Toronto. Three months later he ordained the first priest in the Diocese of Toronto, the Rev. Robert J.C. Taylor. Mr. Taylor became the first person to sign the register of oaths and subscriptions, though his signature is only appended to the Articles of Religion at the beginning of the register. Those ordained in 1840 and onwards have signed not only the Articles of Religion but also the Oath of Allegiance to Queen Victoria, the Oath of Supremacy, the Oath against Simoniacal Contracts, the Oath of Canonical Obedience, the Oath of Residence and the Declaration.

P – Picnics

Fellowship can be an important aspect of attending church for people, and what better way to encourage fellowship than the early summer church picnic. This extends to the Synod Office staff, who have enjoyed picnics at the Toronto Islands, St. George by the Grange (then known as St. George the Martyr, Parkdale) and St. Leonard, among other locations. The Diocesan Archives also holds records and photographs related to picnics and picnic planning within the records of various congregations, ranging from an Epiphany, Parkdale Women’s Auxiliary picnic to a number of Sunday School picnics. The records of the Sunday School picnics held by St. Paul, Bloor Street between 1919 and 1925 provide information about the picnic logistics, as well as the changes in transit during that period.

Q – St. Elizabeth, Queensway

St. Elizabeth, Queensway began as a Sunday School founded in 1917 by a member of Christ Church, Mimico, meeting at Queensway Public School. By 1922 this had become a mission of Christ Church, Mimico, with services in addition to the Sunday School. It was given the name of St. Elizabeth’s Mission and operated out of Queensway Community Hall. Worship services in the early years were conducted primarily by theological students, including the future Bishop of Toronto, George Snell. Unfortunately, the mission did not remain viable, and the last service took place on May 30, 1935. However, towards the end of World War II, there was renewed interest in establishing a congregation in the Queensway area, as the drive to Mimico was too far due to gas rationing. Weekly services as a mission of Christ Church, Mimico resumed in May 1945. On June 1, 1946, the Rev. H. St. Clair Hilchey took charge of St. Elizabeth’s Mission, and in 1948 a building fund was started. The sod turning service was held on April 8, 1950, and the basement of the building was dedicated on March 18, 1951, by Bishop Alton Ray Beverley, with George Snell as preacher.

The mission of St. Elizabeth was given parish status in 1954, and the laying of the foundation stone took place on Oct. 23, 1955, with a time capsule placed in the corner stone. The completed church was dedicated on May 7, 1956, by Bishop Frederick Wilkinson.

By the early 1990s, the congregation of St. Elizabeth made the decision to disestablish as of Dec. 27, 1992. At the same time, there was a need in the diocese for a church home for a Chinese-speaking Anglican congregation, and the decision was made to transfer the St. Elizabeth church building to this congregation, which also took on the name St. Elizabeth. Unfortunately, in December 1999 a fire partially destroyed the building, and a decision was made not to rebuild at that location. The remaining structure was deconsecrated on April 11, 2000, and subsequently demolished. During the demolition, the time capsule that had been placed in the corner stone was recovered and transferred to the Diocesan Archives, where the copper box was opened. The contents of the time capsule included service bulletins from the turning of the sod ceremony and the laying of the cornerstone, a building fund canvas booklet and pledges, two coins minted in 1955, the Globe and Mail from Oct. 22, 1955, and a 1955 Synod Journal and the order of service for the enthronement of Bishop Wilkinson on Oct. 18, 1955. It’s hard to believe that all these items were able to fit into such a small box, but the imprint of the back on the Synod Journal onto the copper inside the box confirms that they were!

R – Rectory Lands Committee

On Aug. 15, 1866, An Act to Provide for the sale of Rectory Lands in this Province was assented to. This allowed for the Diocese of Toronto to sell rectory lands and invest the proceeds as endowments, with the income to be used for the benefit of the incumbents of said rectories. This act came into being to try to alleviate the struggle to earn income on the land itself through rents. Renting the rectory lands to individuals resulted in additional work for the Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto, which had to follow up with arrears on rental income. To make sure the proceeds of sale were properly managed, the Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto enacted a bylaw to establish the Rectory Lands Committee. The Diocesan Archives holds the minutes of the Rectory Lands Committee from its establishment in 1867, as well as the ledgers associated with sale proceeds and income distributions.

S – Slides

The Diocesan Archives holds a fairly large collection of slides. Recently we had a volunteer help with rehousing these slides into archival-safe containers. One of the more interesting collections of slides resulted from the first project that Bishop Wilkinson asked the newly formed Archives Committee to undertake in 1956. He asked the committee to take slides of all church-related building exteriors in the diocese, as well as slides of the interiors of churches. These were stored in a unique wood and leather box, with drawers of slides sorted by deanery. The original storage box has been kept for its unique qualities, and the slides have been rehoused to acid-free slide boxes.

A future archives project will involve digitizing these slides. Once digitized, we hope that some congregations might be interested in taking the photos from the same angles today to compare how surroundings and church decorations have changed in 70 years.

T – Trowels

While the Diocesan Archives doesn’t accept all artifacts, it does accept ceremonial trowels from the laying of cornerstones. These are often presented to the bishop at the ceremony of laying the cornerstone for a new building or an addition. There are 10 trowels in our collection, with the earliest from 1880s. The majority of the collection comes from the 1910s, when the diocesan bishop was the Most Rev. James Fielding Sweeney. These include the trowel from the laying of the foundation stone for the new church of St. Jude, Roncesvalles, the original church becoming the parish hall. A nice connection to have with these trowels is a copy of the order of service from this special event that happens in the life of a parish.

U – Unprocessed

One of the struggles that many archives face at one time or another is a backlog of accessions to be formally processed. The aim is to create a basic listing of records received as soon as possible after records are received, but processing involves reviewing the contents of files to make sure the listing is as accurate and detailed as possible at the file level. This also includes reviewing for duplicates and records that are not archival, as well as rehousing the records into acid-free folders for long-term preservation. This level of processing generally takes 4-6 hours per linear foot. When a church closes, the Archives can receive up to 10 bankers boxes of records to be reviewed for archiving, along with financial records on a retention schedule that need to be managed on an annual basis. Due to the volume of records from these closed churches, there are still some unprocessed records.

V – Volunteers

The diocese relies on volunteers at all levels, from the parish to the Synod Office. The Diocesan Archives has been fortunate to find some wonderful volunteers over the years to help us to complete projects that will make our collections more accessible. We truly value the contributions they make to our work, and I appreciate this opportunity to acknowledge past volunteers David Ptolemy, ODT, Dorothy Kealey, ODT and Caese Levo, as well as our current volunteers David, Kirin, Rebecca, Anne, Bonnie, Lorna, Dawn and Paul. Many parishes also maintain some level of archives, and these are usually managed by volunteers. One well-known parish archivist was Nancy Mallet, ODT at St. James Cathedral. She managed the cathedral archives from 1998 until she turned 90 in 2020, and she gave many hours to make sure key records were transferred to the archives and preserved. In 2020, the Diocesan Archives took on managing the cathedral archives, and we hope to find the funding to be able to fulfill Nancy’s wish to install mobile shelving in that space. Nancy recently died at the age of 96, and she is missed not only by our Archives but by her parish community and by the wider community to which she gave so much of her time and energy.

W – Windows

Most churches have some form of stained-glass windows, and although the Diocesan Archives can’t accept actual stained-glass windows, there are records within the fonds of a number of parishes and congregations related to these windows. These records may include information about the designers of particular windows, who donated the window, who the window was in memory of or how much it cost. Several congregations have included information about the windows in their churches in pamphlets or booklets, and these have been added to our collections. However, sometimes we’re contacted about a window and can’t find any information in the records. It would be wonderful if congregations could take good-quality photographs of their windows and send copies, along with any information about the windows that they have, so that we might develop a database of all the stained-glass windows in the diocese. It would also allow for the ability to see the wide-ranging variety of window designs that exist within the churches of the Diocese of Toronto.

X – uXbridge

We’re taking some liberties with the letter X and sharing about a place that has an X in its name.

The first services in Uxbridge began in 1834 and were held on an intermittent basis, first in a barn and then in a schoolhouse. These services were led by travelling missionaries, including the Rev. Adam Ellliot between 1834 and 1839 and the Rev. R.J.C. Taylor, based out of Newmarket, between 1840 and 1845. Between 1846 and 1859 the Uxbridge area appears to have been ministered to by both the Rev. Richard Garrett, based out of the parish of Brock, and the Rev. Thomas Marsh, based out of Pickering. Baptisms for the area during those years can be found in registers for both St. George, Pickering Village and the Parish of Brock. In 1860, the Rev. William Grant took charge of the Mission of Uxbridge and Reach, which included the congregation of St. Paul, Uxbridge. The first parish register for St. Paul, Uxbridge begins in 1866, although there is also a baptism register covering the period 1860-1863. This means that when people are searching for records for their ancestors living in Uxbridge during the period 1834-1866, they may need to check the registers for St. Paul, Newmarket, the Parish of Brock and St. George, Pickering Village as well.

Y – St. Aidan, Young’s Point

For some congregations that have existed in more rural parts of the diocese, there can be few records in the Archives. In the case of St. Aidan, Young’s Point, we have only a handful of records specific to this congregation, as well as a few early records for the Parish of Stoney Lake, of which St. Aidan’s was part. Among the records on deposit is the parish register for St. Aidan’s, which includes information about the early history. This was entered by the Rev. John Hughes, who was rector of the Parish of Stoney Lake from 1921-1924. During his time at the parish, he connected with the two earliest priests to minister to the people of Young’s Point. On Nov. 5, 1921, he entered information extracted from a letter written to him by the Rev. F. Hartley, rector of Holy Trinity, Haultain from 1894-1898. The recollections of Mr. Hartley note that he began ministering to the residents of Young’s Point in 1894, while he was in charge of Holy Trinity, Haultain, and that he was the first Anglican service to the community. During the four years that he provided services in Young’s Point, the community worshipped above the blacksmith’s shop, in a schoolhouse and in a home that he rented. The date that the church was built is a little uncertain. An account by the Rev. Creswick, as entered into the parish register by Mr. Hughes in June 1924, suggests that the church was completed in 1900 and the first service held on Dec. 30, 1900. Two other sources suggest the first service in the new church may have occurred earlier that year. First, there are four entries at the beginning of the register for the baptisms of the children of Edward and Ettie Wilson between January 1899 and September 1904. These were entered into the register on April 6, 1914, by the lay reader, William Wrixon. The baptism in 1899 is indicated to have taken place at home, while the next three are indicated to have taken place at St. Aidan’s, the first taking place on May 20, 1900, and conducted by Bishop Sweatman. Then, in the Synod Journal for 1900, Bishop Sweatman notes in his address that St. Aidan’s church was built in the last year. As the Synod in 1900 was held before Dec. 30, it is possible that the church had its first service prior to Dec. 30, 1900.

Z – Zany

There are times that our attempts to ensure that records from closed churches are transferred to the Archives become a little zany. Last year we visited a church that had been closed since 1998, and on discovering that the key was missing, we explored other options for getting inside.

Removing the plywood from a boarded-up sacristy window, we discovered that it had been boarded because the window was no longer there, allowing us to get into the church building with a little imagination. With the assistance of the Property Resources team, I was able to be hoisted through the window and open the door from the inside. It was a totally worthwhile, zany adventure when we discovered a handful of records from the 1940s.

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The Archives is the repository for Synod records and parish records and owes its existence to Bishop Frederick Wilkinson, who, just one year after his election as bishop in 1955, put into action a plan to preserve the records of the diocese. In 1956, he wrote to the following individuals to let them know he had appointed an Archives committee, and they would constitute the membership: the Rev. Dr. T. R. Millman, the Rev. H.N.W. Bracken, the Rev. B.G. Brightling, Professor W.H. Clawson and Dr. G.W. Spragge. They invited the diocesan historiographer, the Rev. Canon R.W. Allen, to be honorary chairman. Canon Allen’s collection, which was deposited in the Archives in 1959, is a typed compilation of information about important dates and events in the life of every congregation in the diocese up to 1957, obtained from various sources. We still routinely reference this collection almost 70 years later.

At the first Archives Committee meeting on Sept. 18, 1956, the committee established its mandate to collect, amongst other things, the registers and vestry minutes of churches. Between 1956 and 1983, the committee received 680 parish registers for deposit in the Archives. In 1983, the decision was made to hire an archivist, and more robust processes were put in place for documenting the transfer of records.

Since 1984, the Archives collection has grown extensively, with the addition of more than 500 accessions of material from 219 parishes. Within these accessions are over 1,900 parish registers, which include baptisms, confirmations, marriages and burials dating from as early as 1797. Some of these registers have come to the Archives showing significant signs of deterioration, while others have been damaged by floods or fires. Deterioration and damage can lead to the loss of information within the registers. Additionally, there are significant gaps in certain parish records due to the loss of registers in fires. In the Archives, we aim to prevent loss of information through our preservation and conservation efforts.

While at one time these registers might have been filled within 10 years, today we find that some registers are used longer, containing 30 or more years of records. In some cases, parishes hold on to completed registers with records going back 50 years or more. If a flood or fire were to occur, this could result in the loss of years of irreplaceable records. While some may argue that the provincial government maintains birth registrations and marriage registrations, there are times when these events have not been properly registered with the government, so baptism and marriage records in church registers are of vital importance for confirming information. This may allow for a late registration of a marriage where the marriage license was not received by the government after the marriage was solemnized, or where the marriage occurred by banns only and the necessary paperwork was not received by the government. For baptism records, these might help to provide evidence that the name as recorded on the birth registration was misspelled, or the date of birth was incorrectly recorded. These records may also be needed when someone is asked to be a godparent.

Beyond those very important reasons to ensure the records are maintained, there is the value that these records hold to genealogists researching their family history. While their access is limited to records that are considered open to the public, at some point in the future, a descendant of an individual may want to see the entry in the register to understand the person’s connection to the church. These registers also tell a story to future generations about those who attended a church, what the church demographics were and how families changed over time.

When these registers are transferred to the diocesan Archives, we ensure their ongoing preservation by storing them in a climate-controlled vault with a fire suppression system. These measures slow down deterioration, as the registers are kept at an optimal, consistent temperature and humidity without significant fluctuations, which may occur in a church building. Having the registers at the Archives allows our team to provide a copy of a baptism or marriage record to an individual who may need it for legal purposes or for their own family records. Certified copies can be provided when needed and any information about other individuals, when a page contains multiple entries, can be properly redacted for privacy. We can also help individuals who may be unsure which church they were baptised at, saving them the time and frustration of trying to connect to several congregations to conduct searches.

We honour the original members of the Archives Committee and Bishop Wilkinson by continuing to acquire and preserve registers from our parishes. We encourage parishes to transfer their registers to the Archives if they are full and no longer in use or if they contain records older than 30 years or are fragile but still have space. New registers can be purchased through the Anglican Church of Canada’s e-store.

To help facilitate these records being transferred to the Archives, particularly for those congregations who worship in the far reaches of our diocese, we will be accepting parish registers at Synod in November. The Archives will have a display table where you can bring your registers, along with a record transfer form, to deposit the records with us. The registers will be transported back to the Archives at the end of the day on the Friday of Synod – Nov. 7. We look forward to seeing you there!

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A record is information created and maintained by a congregation, regardless of media, used to control, support or document the activities of the congregation. Records include documents, photographs, video and film recordings, sound recordings, maps and drawings. An archival record is a record of enduring cultural, historical or evidentiary value and should be kept permanently.

How to store records

The first step in caring for parish records is to manage the records in the parish, making sure records that don’t need to be kept permanently are routinely destroyed when they’re no longer needed.

For records that are archival and need to be kept permanently, it’s important to make sure they’re being properly cared for. Records should ideally be stored in a location that maintains a relatively consistent temperature and humidity all year round, with temperature around 20 degrees Celsius and relative humidity of 45 per cent. Where such ideal conditions aren’t possible, the parish should aim to keep the records in an area that doesn’t experience significant fluctuations in temperature or humidity during the year. Records stored in areas with high temperature, high relative humidity and low air circulation are at risk of developing mould. If your parish has any records that show signs of mould, contact the Archives to get advice on how best to deal with them.

Records not stored in a file cabinet should be stored in boxes raised off the floor on metal shelving. This keeps them safe from water damage in the event of flooding and helps to protect against pests that make their home in wood. It’s a good idea to place sticky traps in areas where you’re storing records, preferably in darker corners where pests may hide. Check the traps on a routine basis to make sure you’re not experiencing a pest problem. Several insects, including silverfish and book lice, will cause damage to records. If you notice insect activity, contact the Archives to discuss ways to remediate this issue.

Newspaper

Records within a parish archival collection may also need special care and consideration. If you are keeping newspaper clippings of articles about your congregation, make sure to note the name of the newspaper, the date of publication, and the page number where the article appeared.

Newspaper is very acidic and should be stored in a separate file folder from other material, or in an archives-safe enclosure if stored with other items. Items that are stored with newspaper, without any sort of buffer, will discolour and deteriorate more quickly.

Photographs

Photographs can be a wonderful way of documenting an event in the life of your congregation, but only photographs that have some historical value, providing evidence of people or events significant to the parish, should be kept permanently. Ideally, the subject of the photograph should be clear and identifiable. If there are multiple photographs showing the same image from the same event, keep only the best one.

It’s important to provide some written context for the photo, such as the date it was taken, the name of individuals photographed, and the event or location where it was taken. This ensures that when future generations view the photograph, they can understand the context and historical significance. To make sure the photograph isn’t damaged when adding this information, you can use an index card stored behind the photo in a photo album or storage box. Alternatively, writing on the back of the photograph with a pencil is an acceptable choice. Write lightly around the edges to avoid damaging the focus of the photograph at the centre.

To ensure the long-term preservation of archival photographs, they can be stored in a box or in albums. If stored in a box, the box should be archives-safe quality that is acid-free and lignin-free, as photographs stored in an acidic environment will become discoloured over time. If stored in a photo album, they should be kept in acid-free sleeves made of polyester, polypropylene or polyethylene; avoid plastic sleeves made of polyvinyl chloride (also called PVC or vinyl). Photographs should not be adhered to the pages in any way, as glue and tape can cause discolouration and lead to deterioration of the photograph.

Photographs should be handled with care and only touched while wearing white cotton or nitrile gloves to avoid oils from fingers being left on the surface of the photograph, leading to deterioration over time. If the photograph is in fragile condition, arrangements should be made to transfer it to the Archives so we can make sure it’s stored in the best conditions possible.

Audio-visual materials

Audio-visual material may be recorded on various media formats, including acetate-based film strips, magnetic tape like VHS, and CD/DVDs. Unfortunately, many of the formats can’t be viewed or listened to as the necessary hardware becomes obsolete. This is an issue particularly with formats that require a specific viewing machine that is no longer manufactured. VCRs can be difficult to find these days, and many computers no longer have a CD/DVD drive. This can also mean that if audio-visual materials have not been labelled properly, they become meaningless, as the contents cannot be verified. Take time to properly label these types of records, including title, date of recording and length of recording.

Audio-visual materials are more prone to deterioration, due to environmental conditions, than paper and should be handled carefully. They should be stored in a relatively cool location with relative humidity around 40 per cent.

Repair & conservation

If your parish has records showing signs of deterioration or damage and you feel they should be repaired, this work should be conducted by a professional conservator. Trying to repair records without the necessary knowledge or expertise may cause more damage in the long-term. In particular, regular transparent tape should never be used to mend tears in documents or photographs.

Transferring records

For records that are considered archival, we encourage you to transfer them to the Archives when they can no longer be properly cared for in the parish, perhaps due to age, condition or space issues. The Archives has storage with the ideal environmental conditions to slow deterioration of fragile records, and will allow us to schedule conservation treatments if needed.

We strongly encourage parishes to send in their parish registers of baptism, confirmations, marriages and burials as soon as the registers are no longer in use. These records are accepted as proof of birth and marriage, and in some instances where there have been errors or omissions in provincial registration of these events, they can be used to confirm the correct information. Due to the irreplaceable nature of these records, it’s important to make sure they’re sent to the Archives for storage in our vault, which has a fire suppression system. Several congregations have had devastating fires over the years, and in some cases records have been destroyed. For registers still in use or kept at the parish, we recommend they be stored in a fire-resistant safe or file cabinet.

If your parish has determined you may have records that should be transferred to the Archives, there are several steps you need to take to move that process forward. Before arranging to transfer records, the records must be boxed in clean boxes. You’ll also need to fill out a record transfer form that provides a file-level listing of the records to be transferred. This form is available on our website, www.toronto.anglican.ca/archives, or you can contact the Archives and we will send you a form. Once you complete the record transfer form, scan it and send it to us so we can review what you’re planning to send.

The Archives doesn’t accept bibles, prayer books, banners, or liturgical vessels and linens. If these are no longer needed by your parish and have associated memorials, you can take a photo of the item and the inscription to keep permanently. These items can then be offered to other churches through a notice in the diocesan Bulletin Board; send an email to editor@toronto.anglican.ca. You can also reach out to the bishops’ administrative assistants in case they’re aware of churches looking for these items. Otherwise, they can be reverently destroyed.

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Since 1994, the Archives’ collection has grown extensively, with the addition of more than 500 accessions of material from 219 parishes. It has also become evident that some of the registers received need conservation treatment to stabilize and preserve the unique information they contain. Archives staff determine if a register needs conservation when it is accessed to either conduct genealogical research or to prepare copies of baptism or marriage records. If it is in critical need of conservation, the register is added to a conservation planning spreadsheet and categorized by the level of need.

In an effort to revive conservation work, the Archives connected with Vincent Dion of Conservation+Culture in August 2021 and collaborated to apply for a grant from Library and Archives Canada’s Documentary Heritage Communities Program (DHCP) to get the funding needed to begin conservation of 25 of the most at-risk parish registers. On March 31, 2022, we learned that we had been awarded a DHCP grant of $20,310 for this work. Since April 1, Mr. Dion has been working on the necessary conservation treatments. He has been able to work on-site so that the registers remain safely accessible in the vault, since such fragile registers could be damaged in transit. On the days that he comes to the Archives, he spends time evaluating the register for what damage exists and what repairs need to be done to remediate it, then proceeds to implement the repairs. He further documents the process to produce a report.

The registers that are part of the grant application may need conservation work for a variety of reasons such as broken bindings, brittle or damaged pages, degrading tape and damage caused by iron gall ink. Conservators have been trained in methods to help remediate those issues.

When registers have damaged bindings, the text block and pages are carefully removed as a preliminary step. For registers with brittle pages, the concern is that the edges begin to break off, causing important and irreplaceable information, such as an individual’s name or date of birth, to be lost. Many of the registers that are being treated have at least some brittle pages that show signs of flaking. It has been interesting to find that some more recent registers have more serious damage. One reason for this is the use of heavily processed wood pulp in recent paper-making that produces finer pages that are more susceptible to embrittlement and breakage than earlier papers made from cotton and flax fibers. The conservator uses Japanese papers and stable adhesives to create an edging that stabilizes the page, preventing any additional breakage.

In some cases, non-archival tape, such as regular transparent tape or even duct tape, have been used to try and secure pages to the bindings where they have pulled away, or to fix tears. These have caused pages to yellow and deteriorate where they have been exposed to the unstable adhesives. Additionally, in some places where they have been used to secure pages to the binding, the pages are beginning to split at the edge of the tape, causing loss of information. Where possible, the tape is removed using specialized tools, heat and/or solvents. Japanese paper strips are then used to join the two pieces of the page. The repair papers are thin enough that inscriptions remain visible through the repairs.

Some registers may have entries where very acidic iron gall ink was used and, with exposure to damp prior to coming to the Archives, the ink is beginning to eat through the page, leading to loss of information. Here again, Japanese paper is used, but with an alcohol-based adhesive. The most severely affected pages are then interleaved with an archival paper containing an alkaline reserve to buffer the acidity.

Specialized conservation work is not inexpensive and the market rate for such services range from $75 to $150 an hour for treatment time alone, with additional funds needed for supplies. While we are thankful for this grant to complete work on 25 registers, we currently have another 25 registers where we have identified conservation treatment is required and hope to find additional funding to move forward on their treatment when our current grant work is complete.

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