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 – Anglican Congress

August 2023 marked the 60th anniversary of the meeting of the 1963 Anglican Congress, which took place from Aug.13-23, 1963. The Diocese of Toronto played host to this event, and the Archives holds records related to various organizational subcommittees, such as housing and transportation, which involved finding volunteers for driving bishops to and from the airport and providing lodgings. There was also a women’s committee, which planned tours, dinners and teas for the bishops’ wives.

This past April, the “MRI at 60” conference was held to mark the 60^th anniversary of the Congress. Its name is a reference to the Mutual Responsibilities and Interdependence, a document that was issued at the end of the 1963 conference.

B – Baptisms

The earliest baptism recorded in the parish registers held by the Archives took place in 1807. It is recorded in the baptism register of St. James Cathedral, with William Bright being baptized on March 24, 1807. Yet, the Rev. George Okill Stuart, first rector of St. James, performed 167 baptisms between his arrival in July 1800 and January 1807, as found in his reports to the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Unfortunately, if there was a register with these baptisms recorded, it has been lost or destroyed.

C – Constitutions and Canons

In October 1854, at the third Synod for the Diocese of Toronto, an initial constitution was framed and a declaration affixed to it. At the fourth meeting of Synod in May 1856, the constitution was amended and submitted with a petition to the Legislature to formally enable the members of the United Church of England & Ireland in Canada to meet in Synod. This resulted in An Act to enable the Members of the United Church of England & Ireland in Canada to Meet in Synod. The published Constitution and Canons from 1854 to present are on deposit with the Archives.

D – Deeds

The Archives holds hundreds of deeds of land, including some Crown grants, going back to as early as 1802. The early deeds are visually striking and quite different from the deeds of today. They are often written on velum or parchment paper and are difficult to decipher, as the text was all written by hand. They are too large and fragile to be scanned on our standard flatbed scanner and would benefit from a large-scale digitization project where all historic deeds for properties still owned by the diocese would be scanned, indexed and made more readily available to diocesan and parish staff.

E – Election

The Synod Journals and handwritten minutes of Synod for the special synods to elect a bishop are part of the Archives collection. These document the results for the elections of diocesan bishops from Alexander Bethune to Andrew Asbil. One of the most interesting election results was for the election of Bishop James Sweeny in 1909. The election took three days, and Mr. Sweeny was elected on the seventh ballot. On the sixth ballot, he had received just 7 clergy votes and 0 lay votes. Shortly before that sixth ballot, a telegram was received from the front runner, the Rt. Rev. George Thornloe, Bishop of Algoma. The telegram read as follows: “Have just emerged from backwoods and read newspaper. Have neither authorized or approved what is being done.” Unfortunately, the telegram is not included with the written minutes. The seventh ballot saw Mr. Sweeny elected bishop with 153 clergy votes and 111 lay votes.

F – Finding aids

Many archives have created finding aids, which are documents that provide a summary and list of records received as part of a fonds. However, they can be any document that provides information on an archives collection. One of our most helpful finding aids is the List of Churches in the Diocese of Toronto established before 1869, which lists by deanery the congregations that existed before 1870 and what years of sacramental records we have on deposit at the Archives. This is helpful to genealogists looking for ancestors born or married before the requirement for civil registration in 1869.

G – General ledgers

The Archives has general ledgers for the diocese going back to 1845. Some of the ledgers are very large, measuring 19.5” x 11.5” x 3.5”, and perhaps we should be thankful they are not often requested. However, there are interesting things to be found in these ledgers. The general ledger that begins in 1866 has a page for the Canadian Bank of Commerce, which merged with the Imperial Bank of Commerce in 1961 to become the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC). This page is headed with the year 1866, yet according to the CIBC website, the Canadian Bank of Commerce was not established until 1867. With a little more review, it becomes clear that there is an error in the general ledger. The next page is headed July 1886 and has the same opening balance as the balance forward at the bottom of the page headed 1866, which covers April to June.

H – Home District Clerical Association

The minute book for the Home District Clerical Association begins with the minutes of the first meeting of the association, which was held at the house of the Rev. George Mortimer, Thornhill, Yonge Street on Feb. 17, 1841. Those in attendance included the Rev. Henry James Grassett, curate of Toronto, the Rev. Vincent Philip Mayerhoffer, rector of Markham and Vaughan, and the Rev. Featherstone Osler, missionary at Tecumseth. It’s interesting that in 1841 the Home District Clerical Association included missionaries serving Penetanguishene, Shanty Bay and Orillia, as Simcoe County was detached from the Home District in 1837. In 1874, the Home District Clerical Association was succeeded by the Yonge Street Clerical Association. In 1876 this became the North York Rural Deanery, and in 1885 the West York Rural Deanery.

I – Iron gall ink

Iron gall ink was a standard ink formulation used in the 1800s when some of our earliest records were created. Iron gall ink is quite acidic and can be corrosive to paper over time, causing degradation, particularly if exposed to high humidity or water. Some of the registers from the 1800s held by the Archives show signs of iron gall ink degradation. The Archives received grant funding through the federal Documentary Heritage Community Program (DHCP) in 2022 to complete some necessary conservation work. This included stabilizing the pages of one of our registers that had significant degradation caused by iron gall ink, which was creating holes in the page and risking the loss of information. The conservator used Japanese paper with an alcohol-based adhesive to stabilize the page and prevent further deterioration. The most severely affected pages were then interleaved with an archival paper containing an alkaline reserve to buffer the acidity.

J – Junior Clergy Association

The Archives holds the minutes for the Junior Clergy Association (JCA) for the period 1923-1934. This was not a committee of Synod, so there is little information about this group documented outside what is captured in the minutes. The JCA was established in 1922, and a constitution was written up. The association also set two objectives:

1. The promotion of fellowship and mutual understanding among the junior clergy of the diocese.
2. A determination of the contributions that the junior clergy can make to the life of the Church, and action in whatever direction is necessary for making such contribution.

Unfortunately, it is unclear whether this association continued after 1934, and if so for how long. Although the minutes end partway through a book, there is no indication in the last few entries that the JCA was to be dissolved.

K –  St. Thomas, Kleinburg

Working in the Archives, we often learn something new, either through a search request or while reviewing records. As we struggled to find a word for the letter K, we learned of St. Thomas, Kleinburg. This was a congregation that was part of the Parish of Woodbridge. It was first listed in the Synod Journals in 1883. The church itself was not built until around 1886, as the bishop notes in his charge to the 1887 Synod that “six new churches have been erected during the past year. . . St. Thomas’s, in the village of Klineburg (sic), of brick, value $1,200 with 120 sittings.” On May 22, 1894, the church was consecrated. According to a note dated 1926 and found in the property file, the church closed around 1906, though it was still listed in the Synod Journal up until 1917. There aren’t a lot of records in the Archives for St. Thomas, Kleinburg, though the few records we do have are accessioned under the parish of Woodbridge.

L – Land

Land has been acquired within the boundaries of the current diocese going back to before the Diocese of Toronto was set aside in 1839. These earlier grants of land were often transferred to the missionary for the particular area in order that a church might be built or to provide an endowment for a church in a particular township. The Archives holds a land register for the period 1845-1849, which also includes a list of endowments that had been received as of Jan. 15, 1836. It provides information on who the endowment was made to, the lot number and concession number, the property description per deed of land, and the number of acres.

M – Magazines

Parish magazines or newsletters can be a wonderful source of information about the life and work of a congregation over time. Some congregations may have published a magazine or newsletter over many years, while others may have published one for only a few years. The Archives holds parish magazines dating back to the 1890s for several congregations, including Church of the Redeemer, Bloor St., St. Stephen in-the-Fields, and Church of the Epiphany. These early magazines included a congregation-specific newsletter on the first two to four pages that detailed events, meetings and social activities of the congregation, as well as local advertisements. This was followed by an insert of the Parish and Home Magazine, a monthly magazine published in England and sent out for local distribution.

N – Newspaper

In 1956, Bishop Frederick Wilkinson began to plan for the first diocesan newspaper, seeking insights from local publishers on what would make for a good newspaper. The first issue of The Anglican was published as the Easter 1958 edition. The front-page story related to the plans for the new Diocesan Centre at 135 Adelaide St. E. Inside, there is an article by the bishop explaining the need for a diocesan newspaper. He advised it would allow for better communication and sharing about the activities of parishes and organizations within the diocese.

O – The Rev. Canon Henry Bath Osler

The Rev. Canon Henry Bath Osler was a travelling missionary in the Bolton and Lloydtown areas from 1843-1874. In 1874 he became the rector of St. John, York Mills, and in 1891 he established the Eglinton Mission, which became St. Clement, Eglinton. He retired from St. John, York Mills in 1900. On deposit with the Archives is a record book he kept that includes early meetings about the establishment of an Eglinton Mission from 1888-1892, annual return information and communicants for St. John, York Mills and the Eglinton Mission from 1891-1895. It also includes his written histories of the various missions that he ministered to in the Bolton and Lloydtown areas from 1843-1874. These include Bolton, Lloydtown, Nobleton, Albion, Bolton Mills, Woodbridge, Kettleby, Roley’s Station (Palgrave) and Sandhill.

P – Plans & drawings

Early architectural plans and drawings, which were hand drawn rather than drawn using computer programs, can also be works of art. The Archives holds only a few architectural plans that were created before the 1950s. One of these sets of architectural drawings are the 1866 drawings for St. John, Port Hope by Gundry & Langley, which they have coloured. As determined by conservation work completed in 1987, these drawings have been done on a starched cotton fabric called drafting linen rather than on wood-pulp or rag paper.

Q – Questions

The Archives often receives questions about donating prayer books and bibles, especially if they were printed before 1900. Unfortunately, unless there is something special about them, such as having belonged to a bishop with their signature or notes inside, we don’t accept them.

R – Restricted access

Some records that are held by the Archives are considered to be restricted access due to privacy considerations. The most often requested of these records are the parish registers. The Archives follows the direction of the Archives of Ontario and provides public access only to baptisms to 1918, marriages to 1941 and burials to 1951. Records after those dates can be released to the person named in the record or their next of kin, along with proof of ID.

S – Scrapbooks

Scrapbooks can be a fun way of documenting the history of a parish and may include pamphlets, newspaper clippings, photographs and even sometimes items made of fabric, such as ribbons. Some scrapbooks are primarily newspaper clippings, which, due to the acidic nature of newspaper, tends to be difficult to preserve well. These types of scrapbooks are also often missing contextual information, such as written explanations, to help understand the overall purpose of the scrapbook. Were they just newspaper articles the person found interesting, or did the newspaper articles have some sort of common theme to the person compiling the scrapbook?

The Archives holds a lovely example of a scrapbook from St. Nicholas, Birch Cliff. This scrapbook documents the history of St. Nicholas from 1912 until 1987, and the first pages include a memorial book plate from a bible salvaged from the 1916 fire, an image of the tent used for services before the building was rebuilt, and a copy of the original 1923 building fund poster. Someone has taken the time to identify the items that are attached to the pages, making it easy to maintain order even though the pages have been removed from the cover to allow for better storage.

T – Temperance Society

On April 13, 1883, a group of clergy from parishes within the City of Toronto met to form a Temperance Society central association for the Rural Deanery of Toronto with the “view of unity of action as to their work, and of adopting measures for increasing the number as well.” At the June 1883 Synod meeting, the bishop’s charge mentioned the good works of the Temperance Society central association for the Rural Deanery of Toronto and encouraged that “the present session of Synod must not be allowed to close without . . .  forming an energetic and capable Diocesan association of the . . . Temperance Society.”

In November 1883 a Diocesan Temperance Society was established, and the Temperance Society Central Association held its final meeting on Dec. 3, 1883. The Archives holds the 1883 minute-book for the Temperance Society Central Association for the rural deanery of Toronto, as well as the 1883-1894 minute-book for the Temperance Society of the Diocese of Toronto. Another year we may have to touch on rural deaneries as the precursor to regional deaneries, as it’s quite amusing to think of Toronto as being a rural deanery.

U – St. Philip, Unionville

St. Philip on-the-Hill, Unionville has an interesting history with an early connection to the Lutheran Church. In the early 1800s, the Unionville area was largely settled by Dutch, German and Danish Lutherans. After the Lutheran pastor, Rev. Peterson, left in 1829, the community had trouble finding a German-speaking Lutheran minister. This problem was solved by the arrival of the Rev. Vincent Philip Mayerhoffer, an Austrian Roman Catholic priest who had recently been ordained in the Church of England. The Lutherans and Anglicans shared the Lutheran St. Philip’s Church, with a German Lutheran service conducted in the morning and Anglican services conducted in the afternoon.

In 1837 during the Upper Canada Rebellion, a split between the two congregations occurred, as the Lutherans sympathized with William Lyon Mackenzie and the Anglicans supported the Family Compact. Stories suggest that one Sunday, the Rev. Mayerhoffer arrived to conduct the usual Anglican service only to find the church locked and a guard in place to prevent him from entering.

The Diocesan Archives holds only a photographed copy of the early register that begins in 1819. The entries before the arrival of Rev. Mayerhoffer in 1829 are for the Lutheran congregation and are largely in German. After 1829, the register contains entries for both the Lutheran and Anglican congregations. The original register remained with Rev. Mayerhoffer rather than with the church and ended up in a personal collection before being donated to the Markham Museum.

V – Vestry Minutes

The Archives holds the vestry minutes for many congregations. The earliest vestry minutes we have are for St. James Cathedral and include warden minutes from 1807 and the first vestry meetings. Other early vestry minutes on deposit include St. Peter, Cobourg minutes beginning in 1827, St. Peter, Erindale beginning in 1828, Christ Church, Mimico beginning in 1834 and St. John, Bowmanville beginning in 1841. These vestry minutes are a useful source of information on the early activities of a church. They can also be beneficial to genealogists, as their ancestors may have been active members of the church and participated in vestry meetings.

W – War memorials

World War I and World War II saw many young men go to war, and sadly many lost their lives. A number of parishes have memorial plaques and other memorials in recognition of the members of their parish who served in these wars. Veteran Affairs Canada has an internet-based database of all military memorials. If you have a military memorial in your parish, it’s helpful for Veterans Affairs to get information about where the memorial is located in the church or to get photographs to add to the existing listing.

X – X-Acto knife

As the Diocesan Archives continues to work on conservation efforts, X-acto knives allow us to safely and easily cut mat board and paper to make acid-free enclosures for archival material. These custom-made enclosures ensure that delicate material doesn’t shift and get damaged in larger storage containers, which may house multiple items.

Y – Yellowing

Yellowing is a process that occurs with paper as it ages due to acidification. This acidification ultimately leads to the paper’s deterioration. While yellowing may occur with all paper made from wood pulp, it’s most notable with newspaper. If a newspaper clipping is stored directly against another type of paper, it will begin to yellow the other paper in the area where it’s touching more quickly than in the area around the clipping. To mitigate yellowing, records are stored in acid-free buffered folders and boxes, and as we review materials we separate newspaper clippings from other papers.

Z – Zeal

We give thanks to priests in our diocese, including the Rev. Canon R.W. Allen and the Rev. Canon Bracken, who had a zeal for history. They worked tirelessly to document the history of the diocese and establish a Diocesan Archives. They began the process of collecting some of the very early records of the Synod House and parishes. Their work has allowed these records to be preserved and continue to be made available to researchers.

The post The Archives from A-Z appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

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.

The post How to care for parish records appeared first on The Toronto Anglican.

A – Archives

The Diocese of Toronto Archives as we know it began collecting material for permanent archival preservation in July 1956 when Bishop Frederick Wilkinson established the Archives Committee and appointed the Rev. T.R. Millman as chair. This committee decided to “collect, preserve and make available” the following:

• ​journals and proceedings of Synod
• ​diocesan charters
• reports of Synod committees
• reports of diocesan officials
• correspondence of bishops
• registers and vestry minutes of churches
• published books and pamphlets

The Archives Committee was given a room in the basement of the old Synod House in Toronto to store the material it collected. When the Synod Office was moved to the present building at 135 Adelaide St. E. in 1958, the Archives was given two rooms in the basement. The Archives Committee began to collect material from diocesan files and to receive material from parishes.

The first trained archivist, Canon Mary-Anne Nicholls, began work on Oct. 1, 1983, and established a formal accession process while promoting the Archives to receive ongoing transfers of records from parishes. Since then, the Archives has received 724 accessions from 369 congregations, parishes and missions.

B – Boundaries

In 1858, the Canon for the Erection and Division of Parishes, and Settlement of Boundaries was adopted, which determined that “the boundaries of every parish erected under the authority of this Canon be entered and registered in a book to be kept by the Secretaries of the Synod.” The diocese’s Archives holds the books of parish boundaries dating from 1874. One of the first entries is for St. Philip, Spadina Ave., which closed in 1940.

C – Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto

Before “An Act to Incorporate the Synod of the Diocese of Toronto, and to Unite the Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto therewith” was passed on Jan. 23, 1869 by the Legislature of Ontario, the diocese operated as the Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto. The Archives holds the Church Society Standing Committee minutes from 1852-1869, as well as the Church Society Lay Committee minutes from 1842-1860.

D – Donations

The Archives recently received an interesting donation of materials that had belonged to Bishop Frederick Wilkinson. The donation included an album that had been presented to Bishop Wilkinson from the Toronto Daily Star of photos taken during the 1963 Anglican Congress, hosted by the diocese. In reviewing old editions of The Anglican, we found an article in the November 1963 edition recognizing this gift from the Toronto Daily Star.

E – Episcopal Acts

Among the responsibilities of the bishop is the duty to perform episcopal acts, including such things as consecrations, ordinations, appointments, confirmations and the laying of cornerstones. The Archives has records of such episcopal acts, beginning with Bishop Alexander Bethune’s register of these events, which begins in 1867. Bishop Bethune was elected coadjutor bishop of Toronto in 1866 and Bishop of Niagara in 1867.

F – Fonds

The entire collection of the records originating from the same creator are called a fonds. The Archives has fonds for most parishes in the diocese, for the diocese itself and for Anglican groups like the Anglican Church Women and the Downtown Church Workers. Some fonds with records close to 200 years old include the Parish of Fenelon Falls, which includes its parish register beginning in 1839, and the Parish of Cavan, which includes its parish register beginning in 1819.

G – Genealogy

The Archives has recently produced two resources to help individuals conducting genealogical research determine what records the Archives has that might be helpful in their search for an ancestor. One is a document that lists churches with records prior to 1869, when legislation was enacted requiring the registration of births, marriages and deaths in the province, and includes the dates covered by the records. Another is a map that plots the rough location of churches in the diocese outside the City of Toronto, along with the dates they were established.

H – The Rev. George Hallen

The Rev. George Hallen arrived in Canada in 1835 and settled his family on a farm near Coldwater, which he called Rushock. The first register for St. James-on-the Lines, Penetanguishene is also referred to as the Hallen register, and the first entry was for a baptism he performed in 1835 aboard the ship The Albion on his passage to Canada from England. There are further entries in the register of baptisms and marriages that occurred at his home.

I – Ink Stand

The Archives holds the ink stand that was presented to Bishop John Strachan “by the clergy of his Diocese in Visitation assembled at Toronto, as a slight but heartfelt token of their dutifulness and affection A.D. MDCCCXLVII (1847).” After Bishop Strachan died, his family presented it to Bishop Bethune, the second Bishop of Toronto, and his successors in office. The names of subsequent bishops and the years they were ordained are engraved, up to Bishop Lewis Garnsworthy in 1972.

J – Journals

One of the first items the Archives Committee began collecting when it was established in 1956 was the journals and proceedings of Synod. Thanks to their endeavours, the Archives has journals of diocesan meetings going back to the meeting of the Church of England Tract Society in 1842, followed by meetings of the Church Society of the Diocese of Toronto starting in 1843. The Church Society was formed on April 28, 1842, in pursuance of a recommendation contained in the Bishop’s Charge to his primary visitation held on Sept. 9, 1841. There were triennial visitations in 1841, 1844, 1847 and 1851. (The 1851 meeting would have occurred in 1850 if Bishop Strachan had not been in England.)

The Archives has records of the visitations of clergy to meet with Bishop Strachan beginning with the 1851 meeting, when it was decided to petition Queen Victoria, through the Archbishop of Canterbury, for leave to hold diocesan Synods. For his October 1853 visitation, Bishop Strachan asked clergy to bring lay representatives, and he declared it to be a diocesan Synod. After 1853, the diocese met as an unofficial Synod on a yearly basis, but it wasn’t until May 28, 1857, that the diocese was officially enabled to meet in Synod with the passing of “An Act to enable the members of the United Church of England and Ireland in Canada to meet in Synod together with the canons, passed by the Synod of the Diocese of Toronto, under the episcopate of John Strachan, D.D., Lord Bishop of the Diocese of Toronto, A.D. 1857.

K – Kinmount

The Archives has the oldest parish register covering the years 1882-1902 for Kinmount, Irondale and Burnt River, which were part of the travelling mission of Galway. The Rev. Soward was appointed to the mission of Galway in March 1882, and in 1883 the church of St. James, Kinmount was built, becoming the main point in the Parish of Galway. Unfortunately, there is a gap in the later records for St. James, Kinmount due to a fire that destroyed much of Kinmount, including the rectory, in 1942. Fire and flooding are the leading causes of lost records.

L – Letters Patent

When the Diocese of Toronto was established, letters patent was issued by the Crown on July 27, 1839, setting the diocese apart from the Diocese of Quebec. The letters patent includes a cased royal great seal made of red wax. Bishop John Strachan was then consecrated bishop of the Diocese of Toronto on Aug. 4, 1839.

M – Mission Board

The Mission Board was established at the diocesan Synod held on June 12, 1860. Its purpose was to receive contributions of money or lands for the support of the missionary work of the Church in the Diocese of Toronto. The Archives has the minutes from July 5, 1860 to 1970, when the Mission Board, along with the Diocesan Council of Social Services and the Urban Board, merged to become the Community Services Board.

N – Notes

In 1936, the Rev. Canon R.W. Allen was appointed diocesan historiographer, a role he held until the Archives Committee was formed in 1956. In 1959, Canon Allen donated the various notes he had put together about the churches in the diocese. The most referenced of those notes by staff are his 37 volumes documenting the chronology and events of the diocese broken up by area. Unfortunately, these were typed up on non-acid-free paper and are yellowing. The Archives hopes to be able to work on digitizing these fabulous resources.

O – Oral Histories

In 1994 and 1998, the Archives Committee worked to gather oral histories from a few individuals in the diocese. The Archives holds cassette tapes of conversations with several individuals, including Bishop Allan Read, suffragan bishop from 1972-1981, and Canon Margaret Banks, who began work at the diocese as secretary to the Diocesan Council of Social Services from 1958-1965. She returned in 1968 as secretary for the Church Extension Committee and was Bishop’s Secretary from 1972-1996.

P – Penmanship

The penmanship of a priest or lay person recording entries in a parish register or in committee minute books can range from beautiful calligraphy to barely legible scrawls across the page. It’s certainly much more enjoyable to conduct research into records where the penmanship is legible and neatly written.

Q – Queries

Helping researchers is one of the Archives staff’s favourite things to do. Every year, they answer an average of 600 queries and help patrons both virtually and in person by appointment. Queries come primarily from genealogists, parishes and diocesan staff.

R – Registers

The Archives holds a large number of registers from our congregations, parishes and missions going back to the early 1800s. The oldest register in the Archives is the parish register for St. James Cathedral, with the earliest entry being the marriage of Jesse Bennett and Catharine Koover, both of the township of Vaughan, on Sept. 9, 1800.

S – Bishop Sweeny’s Diaries

So many bishops with a surname starting with S! You might think the obvious choice would be Bishop Strachan, but the vast majority of his personal papers are on deposit with the Archives of Ontario. So instead, we will talk about Bishop James Sweeny’s diaries. The Archives holds his diaries from 1895, 1901-1919 and 1930, as well as his personal copy of Episcopal Acts 1909-1932. These diaries cover some of his time as rector at St. Philip, Spadina Ave., where he served from 1885-1909. In 1909, he was elected and consecrated the fourth Bishop of Toronto. The remainder of the diaries cover his time as bishop, although there is a gap between 1919 and 1930.

T – Travelling Missionaries

From the early days of the Anglican Church in Canada, travelling missionaries allowed for people to worship together where there were not yet churches built. They also performed marriages, baptisms and burials along the routes they travelled. Their early registers often remain with a congregation that was established as a result of their work in a particular area. For instance, in 1819 the Rev. William Macaulay, a former pupil of John Strachan’s, received priest’s orders from Bishop Jacob Mountain at Quebec and was appointed to Cobourg. The early registers for St. Peter, Cobourg, which begin in 1819, include people with residences in the townships or towns of Hamilton, Hope, Clarke, Darlington, Haldimand, Fenelon, Emily, Seymour, Percy, Asphodel, Colborne and Belleville. While some would have travelled to Cobourg, many would have been visited by the minister travelling on horseback in these early days.

U – U-Matic Tape

U-Matic was made available in 1971 and was among the first video formats to contain the videotape inside a cassette, compared to the reel-to-reel or open-reel formats that were common at that time. The diocese holds several U-Matic tapes, including the consecration of bishops Arthur Brown, Basil Tonks and Desmond Hunt on Jan. 27, 1981. Unfortunately, the Archives doesn’t have the equipment necessary to view these items, and as time passes, they may no longer be accessible. The Archives hopes to find the means to get these tapes digitized for long-term preservation and accessibility.

V – Vellum

Vellum is a type of early paper made from stretched calf skin. The Archives has a couple of items made of vellum, including an early baptism register from St. George-the-Martyr (now St. George by the Grange). This is an interesting register, as it’s an effort to compile baptisms that occurred at the church between 1855 and 1861 after the original register was lost in a fire at the home of the Rev. Dr. Stephen Lett in 1862.

W – Women’s Auxiliary

The Women’s Auxiliary was the original name of the Anglican Church Women. The Archives holds a large number of records related to the early years of the Diocese of Toronto Women’s Auxiliary from 1887-1966, when its constitution was amended and the Woman’s Auxiliary became the Anglican Church Women (ACW). These records consist primarily of meeting minutes and correspondence but also include records of the Dorcas and supply department regarding bales supplied to missionaries. Included in the Archives is a sample of what a bale looked like on the outside and the large needles and skewers used to secure the bale for mailing.

X – is for their mark

In the 1800s and even early 1900s, many individuals were illiterate. When a signature was needed for a deed, or in many cases a marriage record either as the bride, the groom or a witness, those who couldn’t write their name would take the pen and mark an X, also known as their “mark.” There are a number of signatures like this in the marriage registers held in the Archives.

Y – Young People

The Archives holds records related to diocesan youth programs from 1910-1972. These include records related to the Anglican Young People’s Association and Camp Couchiching. There are a number of photographs, including one of the fifth annual diocesan AYPA conference held in 1952 at St. John the Evangelist, Peterborough. The participants included individuals from St. Michael and All Angels, who are displaying their AYPA banner.

Z – Zero

In some cases, the Archives has no records for a particular person or group, or it’s missing records that have been lost to fire, flood or being misplaced along the way. Records may have been lost or destroyed because an individual didn’t realize the value of records they had in their possession. The Archives hopes that some of the records that have been misplaced will eventually make their way to it.

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Claire Wilton, the diocese’s archivist, doesn’t want that to happen again. Ms. Wilton, who runs the Archives at the Diocesan Centre in downtown Toronto, is trying to collect as many stories, letters, photos, videos and other items as she can about the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It’s for the future,” she explains. “If we ever want to do an exhibit or look back at this time, we will have the material.”

She’s particularly interested in people’s experiences of church life during the pandemic – their worship and spiritual lives, their outreach and fundraising efforts, how they stayed connected with their churches and fellow parishioners, how the closure of their churches affected them, grieving the loss of loved ones, and celebrating events and important milestones.

She says keeping records in the archives is an important way to preserve them and to make them accessible to future generations. “People tend to think that everything’s on the Internet, but that’s not always the case. The archives are a great way to keep the material together in one location.”

She says archives can also help organizations such as the Church make decisions. “Archives have been incredibly useful in bringing the past to us and helping us make informed decisions. If a pandemic like COVID-19 ever comes again, we’ll be able to look back and see what worked and what didn’t.”

In addition to personal experiences, she has been keeping Bishop Andrew Asbil’s pastoral letters and a weekly Q&A bulletin that has been sent from the Diocesan Centre to all clergy. “They’ve been amazing – chock full of information. We’ll have a good record of how our Church, at the diocesan level, navigated through the current pandemic.”

She welcomes all material, either on paper or in electronic form. When sending in photos, be sure to include information about it and why it is special to you.

For more information, contact Ms. Wilton at cwilton@toronto.anglican.ca.

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