Who's behind this
wholivedhere.ca is run by one person — I go by the Archivist here — researching Toronto and Ontario family history as a sideline alongside genealogy work I already do for my own family.
What started as tracing my own family's story turned into a habit of digging through historical directories, archives, and record sets for the sheer satisfaction of finding a name in the right year at the right address. This site is that habit, offered as a service.
I specialize in Toronto and Ontario, which I know best, and take on research anywhere in Canada — or further into North America — where the trail leads.
How reports are put together
Every report draws on publicly available historical directories, records, and archives — the same kind of material available at libraries and archives, just researched and compiled on your behalf. Every report is reviewed before it's sent to you, so what you receive is something I've checked, not a raw data dump.
What this isn't
- Not affiliated with the City of Toronto, Library and Archives Canada, Ancestry, FamilySearch, or any government body.
- Not access to private, sealed, or government-restricted records — everything used is publicly available.
- Not a guarantee. Historical records are incomplete by nature; some questions turn up a rich answer, others turn up very little, and I'll always tell you which.