Genealogy
Audrey Webster Underwood Genealogical Library
The Audrey Webster Underwood Library of the Bruce County Genealogical Society is housed in the Research Room at the Bruce County Museum & Cultural Centre (BCM&CC). These materials, combined with other records supplied by the BCM&CC and the Bruce & Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society, make our Research Room an ideal place for genealogical research.
Getting Started
Interested in your family history but don’t know where to start? The BCM&CC has helpful staff to guide you through the research process. Reviewing some of our online resources will make your onsite visit more efficient, or help you request paid research services.
- Research Information page contains lists of Family History & Genealogy finding aids, and tips tips on searching Online Collections
- Online Collections is like a library catalogue for the Archives, containing descriptions of many of the family history-related books and resources. It also contains over 30,000 images viewable online, including photographs, postcards, and diary pages.
- Genealogy Resource Checklist: a list of items in our Research Room that are frequently used by genealogists.
- Useful Links Page contains links to resources outside BCM&CC.
Resources
Some of the genealogical resources available in the Research Room and Archives include:
- FamilySearch.org: As a FamilySearch affiliate, you may access more records in the Research Room through your free FamilySearch account, than you can at home.
- Census records on microfilm, through Ancestry.com, and transcribed specifically for the County of Bruce
- Family Histories: Search our Online Collections for family history books and family trees. Also browse the Collection by Name.
- Surname Clipping Collection of obituaries, birth notices and marriage notices (created and maintained by the Bruce County Genealogical Society).
- Cemetery transcriptions: The Bruce County Genealogical Society and the Bruce & Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society have transcribed tombstones in many of the cemeteries in Bruce County. Click on the link to the Bruce County Genealogical Society website to discover tools to help locate cemeteries. The Bruce & Grey Branch O.G.S. transcriptions are now available online for free.
- Bruce County directories
- Land record abstracts and registry copy books
- Ontario Birth / Marriage / Death Indexes and Registrations for Bruce County on microfilm: 1869 – 1914 (births), 1858 – 1929 (marriages) and 1869 – 1939 (deaths)
- Ancestry.com Library Edition, including census information, birth, marriage, and death registrations, and more
- Local town and township history books
- Newspaper indexes – mainly births / marriages / deaths from Wiarton, Chesley, Paisley, Lucknow and Port Elgin
- Birth / Marriage / Death newspaper clippings organized alphabetically
- Books on how to research Scottish, Irish and English genealogy
- Copies of Women’s Institute Tweedsmuir Community Histories (compiled local histories)
- Tax Assessment rolls
The Research Information Page also contains more information about resources in our Collection.
Contact Us
If you are planning several hours of research or require materials to be retrieved from the archival storage area on a Saturday, please contact archives@brucecounty.on.ca or call the Research Room 226-909-2890 to book an appointment and/or discuss your research goals.
Bruce County Genealogical Societies
Explore the websites of Bruce County Genealogical Society and/or the Bruce & Grey Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society to discover the benefits of membership in those organizations as well.
