Certificate Instructions

PIONEER CERTIFICATE
EARLY SETTLER CERTIFICATE
CENTENNIAL SETTLER CERTIFICATE
Click here to view certificate holders

Many of the pioneers of Manitoulin have gone unnoticed in our history. This is a way to gather information about them. In addition to receiving a certificate, successful applicants will be helping to preserve documentation of their family and the history of Manitoulin.

The Manitoulin Genealogy Club in conjunction with Manitoulin Genealogy website invites you to participate in this program. Certificates are $10.00, Canadian funds, each and are suitable for framing. Each certificate is printed on parchment-type paper and affixed with a seal. These certificates make wonderful holiday and birthday gifts. You may print off the application or send a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Norma Hughson, P.O. Box 355, Little Current, Ontario P0P 1K0. The application and the fee in form of cheque or money order to the address indicated above. Cheques or money orders should be made payable to Manitoulin Genealogy Club. Please include your email address for contact, and ensure my email address is on your accept list.

Applicants must be a direct descendant of a qualified Pioneer, Early Settler or Centennial Settler ancestor but need not be a resident of Manitoulin or to have lived in the District. Applicants are not required to be a member of the Manitoulin Genealogy Club. The Pioneer need not to have been born here, your actual pioneer is the person who first to set foot on Manitoulin.

The application provides for one applicant and one pioneer ancestor. A separate application, with payment, is required for additional applicants or additional ancestors.

Once certificate has been issued we will post the name of the ancestor, area settled and the name of the certificate holder on the website. The posting of a proven ancestor and certificate holder is not acceptable proof for a certificate for you. You must provide clear and acceptable lineage with your application.

Pioneer Certificate will be issued to applicants who prove lineage prior to 1889.

Early Settler Certificate will be issued to applicants who prove their ancestors were in the District of Manitoulin after 1889, when an Act of Legislature provided for Manitoulin to be a Provincial Judicial District, and before December 31, 1905

Centennial Settler Certificates will be issued to those who prove linage on Manitoulin for 100 years prior to the date of application. Many of these later pioneers were the homesteaders who have gone unheralded in our history, this is our way of gathering information about them and sharing it with future generations.

Example of Proof:

FEDERAL OR PROVINCIAL CENSUS: Information must include the date of census, district, household numbers, page numbers and microfilm number if available,. Relationships are generally shown on census.

ONTARIO VITAL RECORDS (birth, death and marriage). Birth records must have parents names listed. Birth, death and marriage certificates generally provide more information than that shown on the OVR registration sheet. The mother’s maiden name must be shown if your application is down through her line.

BIRTH, MARRIAGE, DEATH: Copy of the original certificate. Newspaper notice or obituary, including parents names, along with the name and date of the paper.

OFFICIAL COURT RECORDS such as wills, probates, citizenship, divorce, guardianship, land records. Abstracts of title may include many of the foregoing vital facts that you need.

CEMETERY RECORDS: Some cemetery records provide a great deal of vital information such as family relationships. Statement from the cemetery must be on official letterhead and include the tombstone inscription.

MILITARY RECORDS, SCHOOL AND CHURCH RECORDS: Copies of original papers or copy from Archives.

ANCESTOR DIARIES/JOURNALS AND OLD FAMILY BIBLES may be used in some cases. Please do not use bibles after 1881 as there are many other forms of proofs after that date. Copies of must include date and source.

PUBLISHED HISTORIES, such as:
History of Assiginack
Early Years of Gore Bay

Documentation that is not issued by an official sources, must have a full reference including: name of publication, publication date, page number, microfilm roll or reference number; where the material was found (name and address of the publisher, call number of book or periodical ISBN#).

Include every piece of information available that allows the record to be verified. When submitting photocopies, also include the heading of the page which shows year, date, township, district, etc. Send photocopies only of all proof, and they must be clear and readable to us. State the certificate applied for or we will use the earliest date on your proofs will determine your eligibility for the Pioneer, Early Settler or Centennial Settler Certificate. Do not send originals as the application and the documentation will not be returned. They will become the property of the Manitoulin Genealogy Club. We encourage you to submit as much supplemental information as you wish and/or include a short narrative of your ancestor’s first residence or experience. We cannot do your research for you, but will be pleased to answer questions regarding the application process.

Applications

  • Application must be typed or printed, neat and legible.

  • A family group sheet/pedigree form must be provided for each generation after the pioneer settler. However, a family group sheet, pedigree charts, and undocumented family history books are not acceptable proof for a certificate.

  • Dates should be spelled out and include complete year. All names, dates and places must come complete with proof that will clearly tie each generation into the preceding one. If a date or place cannot be secured, the applicant must furnish an explanatory statement.

  • Please use maiden names of females where applicable, (maiden name in brackets) e.g. Mrs. Jane Ann (Doe) Smith.

  • The first generation is you. The second generation is your parents, third generation grandparents, etc.

  • You must provide proof of each generation back to your pioneer ancestor.

  • Collateral lines through brothers or sisters of a pioneer ancestor will be acceptable as qualification for a certificate. Follow clear and concise lines from the applicant to the ancestor who resided on Manitoulin.

  • Other family members who desire certificates tracing to the same ancestors must apply separately.

  • Always use full or legal name. Do not use initials alone where a full name is available. A nickname may be written in "quotes".

  • Make copies of your acceptable sources of proof.

  • Please indicate address to which you wish the certificate mailed if different from your own, otherwise it will be send to the address of the applicant.

  • Please allow up to six weeks for delivery.

  • If photos are available, please send now. Don’t send an original, but rather a clear, concise copy reproduced on a color laser copier.