The 1885 book A History of Toronto and County of York printed biographical sketches of residents of the city and the surrounding townships. This section of History of Toronto holds transcriptions of those sketches, grouped by township or city and split into pages by surname. The text is kept as printed, with its spelling and its volume and page references.
The pages below contain about 926 sketches in total. Each page title gives the first and last surname it covers, so a researcher can go straight to the right page.
How to use these pages
Choose the place where the person lived in the 1880s, then the page whose surname range contains the family name. Spellings follow the printed book, so a name may be written differently from modern usage. The sketches describe residents of the 1880s: dates of later events are not covered. For records after 1885, see the research sources listed on the pages for historical newspapers and archives.
City of Toronto
- Surnames Acheson to Armstrong (6 sketches)
- Surnames Baldwin to Butt (38 sketches)
- Surnames Cameron to Cunningham (23 sketches)
- Surnames Dack to Engelhardt (26 sketches)
- Surnames Farr to Gray (21 sketches)
- Surnames Hall to Hynes (24 sketches)
- John G. Howard, Ranger of High Park
- Surnames Iredale to Lumbers (17 sketches)
- Surnames Malcolm to Musson (38 sketches)
- Surnames McBRINE to McMASTER (12 sketches)
- Surnames Nasmith to Quinn (26 sketches)
- Surnames Rawlin to Ross (16 sketches)
- Surnames Sanson to Stonehouse (31 sketches)
- Surnames Tingle to Vickers (12 sketches)
- Surnames Wallis to Wightman (13 sketches)
York Township (East)
- Surnames Anderson to Cudmore (22 sketches)
- Surnames Digby to Jackes (28 sketches)
- Surnames Laird to Myers (15 sketches)
- Surnames Nicholson to Young (30 sketches)
York Township (West)
- Surnames Armstrong to Crosson (20 sketches)
- Surnames Daniels to Jessopp (30 sketches)
- Surnames Kemp to Pratt (24 sketches)
- Surnames Ray to Young (27 sketches)
Etobicoke Township
- Surnames Anderson to Creech (14 sketches)
- Surnames Daniels to Horner (15 sketches)
- Surnames Johnston to Peacock (12 sketches)
- Surnames Ramage to Wood (18 sketches)
Scarborough Township
- Surnames Annis to Kennedy (10 sketches)
- Surnames McIntosh to Pherrill (9 sketches)
- Surnames Taylor to Wright (11 sketches)
Vaughan Township
- Surnames Agar to Burton (13 sketches)
- Surnames Cameron to Ellis (18 sketches)
- Surnames Farr to Johnston (12 sketches)
- Surnames Keffer to Line (15 sketches)
- Surnames Malloy to Murray (10 sketches)
- Surnames McClure to McQuarrie (18 sketches)
- Surnames O’Connor to Rupert (15 sketches)
- Surnames Seager to Stong (14 sketches)
- Surnames Tedder to Witherspoon (14 sketches)
King Township
- Surnames Armstrong to Bateman (7 sketches)
- Surnames Beasley to Byers (16 sketches)
- Surnames Cairns to Dennis (19 sketches)
- Surnames Eastwood to Graham (13 sketches)
- Surnames Hall to Kennedy (12 sketches)
- Surnames Leonard to Norman (16 sketches)
- Surnames O’Brien to Pringle (8 sketches)
- Surnames Ramsden to Rotsey (9 sketches)
- Surnames Scott to Sturdy (16 sketches)
- Surnames Teasedale to Wood (16 sketches)
East Gwillimbury Township
- Description of the township and residents
- Surnames Aylward to Kavanagh (17 sketches)
- Surnames Lundy to Wilson (23 sketches)
Newmarket
Last verified: October 2026
Sources: A History of Toronto and County of York (1885), volumes I and II.
Cite this page
APA: History of Toronto. (2026, October 23). Biographical Sketches From the 1885 County of York History. http://localhost:8210/history/bios
MLA: “Biographical Sketches From the 1885 County of York History.” History of Toronto, 23 Oct. 2026, http://localhost:8210/history/bios. Accessed .
Chicago: History of Toronto. “Biographical Sketches From the 1885 County of York History.” Last modified October 23, 2026. http://localhost:8210/history/bios.
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