These tools help readers find people, places and records in Toronto history. Each one is built from the pages of this site, and each tool page says which data it uses.
Tools
- Surname search: look up a name among the 899 biographical sketches transcribed from the 1885 book on Toronto and York County, by surname and place.
- Genealogy research checklist: pick a life event and a year to see which archives and record sets may hold a record, with links to the institutions.
- Timeline of Toronto history: events with dates, filtered by era and theme, each linked to the article that explains it.
- Map of historic places: sites described on this website, shown on a map and filtered by kind of place.
- Historic buildings index: buildings covered on this site, filtered by district and century.
- Toronto population by census: a chart and table of census counts with the year and the source.
- Street name origins: a searchable list of street names with the source for each explanation.
- Birth year calculator: a birth year range from the age in a record.
- Relationship calculator: cousins, removed cousins, aunts and nephews from generation counts.
- Census finder: which Canadian censuses a person could appear in, with age rules and archive links.
- Walking tour builder: a printable walking route of historic places.
- On this day: dated events for any day of the year.
- History quiz: ten questions drawn from verified facts.
Reading the results
The tools show what the pages of this site say. They do not replace the archives. Dates and figures that sources dispute are marked as such, and spelling in historical texts is kept as printed.
Download the data
The data behind these tools can be downloaded as CSV or JSON under a CC BY 4.0 license on the open data page.
Related reading
- Historical newspapers and archives
- Biographical sketches index
- Genealogy links
- Toronto history overview
Last verified: October 2026
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Research Tools for Toronto History. https://historyoftoronto.ca/research-tools
MLA: “Research Tools for Toronto History.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, https://historyoftoronto.ca/research-tools. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Research Tools for Toronto History.” Last modified October 23, 2026. https://historyoftoronto.ca/research-tools.
The pages have no named author, so the site is given as the author. Add the date you read the page if your style asks for it.