Ontario Cemetery Finding Aid

For information on the Database Fields, see the OCFA Field Information page.

Mann    Martyn

Results of search for surname MANN in Elgin County, Ontario:

Results of search for surname MARTYN in Elgin County, Ontario:

Database Field Information

Field Sizes

The following field sizes will allow you to safely import the OCFA files into a database program without losing any of the field contents:

                          Surname:  30
                            Given:  45
                         Cemetery:  50
                           County:  20
                         Township:  20
                        Reference:  18
                          Soundex:   4

The smaller OCFA5CEM.ASC file is based on the following database fields and sizes:

                        Reference:  18
                         Cemetery:  50
                           County:  20
                         Township:  20
                              Con:  16
                              Lot:   6
                              Pub:  16
                              Vol:   5
                             Year:   5

Field Explanations

Surname

This field contains the Surname.

Given

This field displays the person's given name. Names in the Given field contained within (brackets) indicate a maden name.

Cemetery

The Cemetery name as listed in the transcription or source document.

County

The name of the County as it was given in the transcription or source document.

Township

Township names containing "points of the compass" are listed with the primary first. Some may disagree with this convention, but it does ensure consistance. For example, we may be familiar with a township known as "North Dorchester" but it is entered in OCFA as "Dorchester North". This convention aids greatly when searching a database sorted on the Township name.

Reference

The designation numbers in the Reference field refers to the publication provider and the transcript reference number. For REFERENCE FIELD numbers beginning with "EL-", write to...

Elgin County Branch, OGS P.O. Box 20060 St Thomas, Ontario, Canada N5P 4H4

Soundex

One of the main features and benefits of this database is the convenience of Soundex searches. As most family historians soon discover, surname spellings have to be taken with a grain of salt and creative flexibility. Electronic database searches on the Soundex code (rather than on a single spelling of a surname) may yield some surprising matches which would otherwise go undetected.