Marriage (Bond) Monday

Protestant marriages in Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) can be more difficult to research than Catholic marriages, particularly before the introduction of civil registration in many provinces. Here's what Marriage Bonds are according to the database of these records made available by Library and Archives Canada:

Marriage bonds were prepared only for Protestant marriages by licence. The groom was required to enter into a bond with one or two people (sureties) who knew him and who were prepared to guarantee to the Crown that there was no legal impediment to the marriage. After obtaining the bond, a licence was issued and the marriage took place a few days later.

The records available for Ontario cover the period from 1803 and 1865 while Quebec records range from 1779 and 1858, though they are much fewer in number: just around 7900 for Ontario, and just over 2900 for Quebec.

Be sure to check out this database if you have potential Protestant marriages in your family tree from this area and timeframe that you haven't been able to find elsewhere.