Genealogy, Ancestry & Local History
Local History
Visit our Downtown Branch to access our Local History collection, which is available to use at the library but can't be borrowed. This section contains books, microfilms, and other documents covering the history, geography, geology, culture and socio-economic structure of Simcoe County. It specifically focuses on Barrie, Oro-Medonte, Springwater (including Vespra), Innisfil and Essa.
We are also pleased to hold the research collection of the Simcoe County Branch of Ontario Ancestors: The Ontario Genealogical Society at our Downtown Branch.
View our Digital & Print Research Resources below for a list of recommended websites and databases.
Genealogy Coach
During a one hour Genealogy Coach session, library staff can help you learn how to:
- Find resources to locate census documents or birth, marriage, and death information in local Barrie newspapers
- Access the Simcoe County Branch, OGS, Settlers Database finding tool
- Navigate AncestryLibrary.ca or FamilySearch.org
- Locate resources within the Ontario Ancestors Local History Collection
- Use the Digital Microfilm Scanner and our microfilm collection
Reminders:
- Coaching sessions are learning opportunities to introduce patrons to library resources that they may not be familiar with; library staff are not paid genealogy researchers
- For advanced searches, we recommend contacting the Ontario Ancestors - Simcoe County Branch or the County of Simcoe Archives
- Due to the popularity of these sessions, we ask that you book only ONE individual Genealogy Coach session per month
We want to improve, to serve you better. Please take a moment and fill out our Program Evaluation Form.