Was your ancestor a doctor, nurse, coroner or other type of medical worker? Find out what resources might be available relating to their employment.
Resources at Library and Archives Canada
Pre-Confederation sources
Library and Archives Canada holds the following series relating to medical licences and applications made before 1867. Some of these records are indexed on David Crawford’s website. See Other resources.
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Applications for Medical Licences from 1788 to 1848 in Quebec, Lower Canada, Canada East (RG 4 B28)
These records are arranged by date; they are not indexed by name. They are available on the following two microfilm reels, which are digitized on Héritage:
RG 4 B28, volume 47, 1788 to 1811, pages 1 to 296, microfilm H-1733
RG 4 B28, volume 48, 1811 to 1816, pages 297 to 557, microfilm H-1733
RG 4 B28, volume 49, 1817 to 1821, pages 558 to 860, microfilm H-1733
RG 4 B28, volume 50, 1822 to 1826, pages 861 to 1132, microfilm H-1733
RG 4 B28, volume 51, 1826 to 1829, pages 1133 to 1421, microfilm H-1733 and H-1734
RG 4 B28, volume 52, 1830 to 1834, pages 1422 to 1696, microfilm H-1734
RG 4 B28, volume 53, 1834 to 1837, pages 1697 to 1930, microfilm H-1734
RG 4 B28, volume 54, 1837 to 1848, pages 1931 to 2082, microfilm H-1734
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Court of Quarter Sessions from 1818 to 1841 in Quebec (MG8-B10, volume 1)
Court of Quarter Sessions from 1818 to 1841 in Quebec (MG8-B10, volume 1)
These records are typed transcripts of authorizations for licences to practice medicine in the Province of Lower Canada (Quebec). Some are transcripts of “a true copy” dated 1826, 1827, 1831, 1832 or 1837. The applicants lived in Quebec City. The licences are in English.
The following list provides the names and page numbers, which you will need if you want to order a copy. The records are not on microfilm or online.
...
| Name |
Type of licence
(as written in the document) |
Year |
Page number(s) |
Blanchet, John |
Surgeon |
1820 |
1 |
Bowles, Joseph |
Chymist, Druggist and Apothicary |
1837 |
24 and 25 |
Brent, James |
Apothecary and Druggist |
1829 |
15 and 16 |
Christie, Robert Andre |
Physician, Surgeon and Manmidwife |
1837 |
25 and 26 |
Fortier, Octave C. |
Physic and Surgery |
1830 |
17 and 18 |
Hall, John Lilly |
Physic, Surgery and Midwifery |
1839 |
26, 27 and 28 |
Lyons, William |
Physic and Surgery |
1831 |
12, 13 and 14 |
Marsden, William |
Physic and Surgery |
1830 |
14 and 15 |
Martin, Francis Joseph |
Physic, Surgery and Midwifery |
1827 |
11 and 12 |
Martin, Vincent |
Physic, Surgery and Midwifery |
1832 |
23 and 24 |
Michaud, Alexis Thomas |
Physician, Surgeon and Manmidwife |
1833 |
22 and 23 |
Murray, Francis |
Medecine, Surgery and Midwifery |
1825 |
7 and 8 |
Nault, Jean Zephirin |
Physician, Surgeon and Manmidwife |
1835 |
18 and 19 |
Parent, Joseph |
Medecine and Surgery |
1820 |
9 and 10 |
Perrault, Charles N. |
Doctor in Medecine |
1818 |
3 |
Poole, Charles |
Physician, Surgeon and Manmidwife |
1835 |
20 and 21 |
Reece, William |
Physic and Surgery |
1823 |
2 |
Roberts, George |
Physic, Surgery and Midwifery |
1823 |
10 and 11 |
Rowler, John |
Surgeon |
1819 |
8 and 9 |
Scott, Montague |
Physician, Surgeon and Manmidwife |
1836 |
21 and 22 |
Seguin, François Jacques |
Physic and Surgery |
1822 |
16 and 17 |
Sims, Lindsay |
Ship’s Surgeon HMS MUTINE |
1826 |
5 and 6 |
Tessier, François-Xavier |
Physic and Surgery |
1826 |
4 |
Whitelaw, John |
Physic and Surgery |
1826 |
6 and 7 |
Wolff, James Fitzgerald |
Physic, Surgery and Midwifery |
1841 |
28 and 29 |
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Medical Board Certificates and Reports, Upper Canada (Ontario), 1819 to 1854 (RG 5 B9)
These records have been indexed by name in the General Index. If you find a reference, it will give the page number(s). The following list provides the corresponding volume number, which you will need if you want to order a copy. The actual records are not on microfilm or online.
RG 5 B9, volume 61, 1819 to 1828, pages 1 to 226
RG 5 B9, volume 62, 1829 to 1834, pages 227 to 605
RG 5 B9, volume 63, 1835 to 1846, pages 606 to 941
RG 5 B9, volume 64, 1846 to 1848, pages 942 to 1006
RG 5 B9, volume 65, 1849 to 1850, pages 1007 to 1011
RG 5 B9, volume 66, 1851, pages 1012 to 1060
RG 5 B9, volume 67, 1852 to 1853, pages 1061 to 1148
RG 5 B9, volume 68, 1854, pages 1149 to 1191
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Register of Medical Licences Issued, Upper and Lower Canada (Ontario and Quebec), 1819 to 1867 (RG 68)
This register indicates only names and the date of licences issued. The register is arranged by surname:
RG68, Register Medical Licences, microfilm C-3947
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Registers of Licences for Surgery and Midwifery, Canada West (Ontario), 1866 to 1867 (RG 68)
Copies of licences issued for the practice of physic surgery and midwifery. Each certificate includes name, date and place:
RG68, Liber Canada LT, microfilm C-3908
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Register of Coroners of Upper Canada (Ontario), 1800 to 1867 (RG 68)
Commissions granted to coroners, which indicate name, date and place. At the front of each register there is an index arranged geographically by county and city:
RG68, Liber Canada HR, 1800 to 1866, microfilm C-3908
RG68, Liber Canada LE, 1866 to 1867, microfilm C-3908
First World War sources
Personnel Records of the First World War (includes the files of doctors and nurses who served with the Canadian Expeditionary Force)
The Call to Duty: Canada's Nursing Sisters (includes archival resources, links and some biographies)
Other archival sources
If a doctor or other medical worker donated their personal papers to Library and Archives Canada, the collection will be described in Archives Search. Select “Textual material” to limit your search and use a name as keywords.
External links to other institutions
Each province and territory has self-regulatory bodies established by legislation to regulate and license physicians and nurses. Lists of those authorities can be found on the following websites:
Some boards and colleges have transferred their older records to the relevant Provincial or Territorial Archives.
Some university archives hold records relating to doctors and nurses who trained there. See: ArchivesCanada.ca list by name of university
Other resources
David Crawford, McGill University Librarian Emeritus, has created a website with many resources for the history of medicine in Canada. There are links to biographies, bibliographies, and histories. There is also an alphabetical list for Medical Licences issued in Ontario and Quebec prior to 1867. Visit David Crawford’s website.
Published sources
- American medical biographies, by Howard A. Kelly, 1920 (includes Canada)
- Canadian Directories Collection
- Dictionary of American medical biography: lives of eminent physicians of the United States and Canada, from the earliest times, by Howard A. Kelly and Walter L. Burrage, 1928, reprint edition 1971 (AMICUS 62796)
- Dictionary of Canadian Biography
- Four centuries of medical history in Canada and a sketch of the medical history of Newfoundland, Volume 1, by John J. Heagerty, 1928.
- Four centuries of medical history in Canada and a sketch of the medical history of Newfoundland, Volume 2, by John J. Heagerty, 1928.
- Polk's dental register and directory of the United States and Canada (various editions)
- Polk's medical register and directory of North America (various editions)
- The indomitable lady doctors, by Carlotta Hacker and Federation of Medical Women of Canada, 2001. (AMICUS 25711153)
- The medical profession in Upper Canada, 1783-1850: an historical narrative with original documents relating to the profession, including some brief biographies, by William Canniff, 1894
You can use Library Search to find biographies of individuals. Use subject keywords such as medicine, biographies, physicians and a name or place.
