Toronto Tax Assessment Rolls for 1853

Researching Toronto in the 1850s is now much easier!

Toronto Branch has produced an indexed transcription of the Toronto tax assessment rolls for 1853. Both components of the project were launched on February 28, 2005.

The original assessment rolls for 1853 (and many other years) are held at the City of Toronto Archives. The project has the Archives' enthusiastic support.

The first component of the project is a searchable online index available on this web site. The index also links to digital images of the assessment rolls—so you can confirm our transcription right from the primary source! The index (more than 9,000 names of owners and occupiers) and images is available free of charge to researchers around the world.

Search the 1853 Tax Assessment Rolls Online

The second part of the project, Toronto in the 1850s: A transcription of the 1853 assessment rolls and guide to family history research, is a book and CD version of the index with lots more information for researchers with interests in mid-19th century Toronto. Maps and descriptions of the wards and streets will help you locate your ancestor and understand his or her neighbourhood. The research guide covers vital records, religious records and cemeteries, land records, immigration, directories, published sources and maps, as well as historical background. The accompanying CD includes the complete transcription with enhanced search capabilities that also allow you to search records linked directly to images, and browse through both the pages of the database, and the images of originals. The CD (both Windows and Mac compatible) is easy to use and a must for those with dial-up Internet or no Internet.

© Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch. Last Updated December 2005