Ontario Land and Property

Introduction
Land record indexes are among the best tools for locating residents in Ontario before 1851 when few censuses and other province-wide records or indexes exist. Many immigrants came to Ontario to claim available land, so land ownership was generally recorded soon after they arrived. Also, wills were often copied into deed books and other land records instead of in probate records. Land records sometimes exist when other records are not available.

Ontario land records history. The earliest European settlers in Ontario came from France, Ireland, Scotland, and England. They were often attracted by the opportunity to own land. The British crown (government) frequently offered prospective settlers free land grants. The continuing settlement of Ontario was enhanced by large numbers of land grants to American Loyalists and their children who began moving into Ontario during the American War for Independence which started in 1775. In 1789 Land Boards were established in four Ontario districts (Hesse, Nassau, Mecklenburg, and Lunenburg) to better organize the land granting process. In 1791 Upper Canada (Ontario) was separated from Lower Canada (Quebec), so many land records of Ontario before 1791 are still  in Quebec land records. In 1794 Ontario Land Boards were dissolved— their authority and records were then transferred to the more centralized Executive Council.

What you need to know to get started

To search these land records, it helps to know:


 * Ancestor's name
 * County of residence
 * Township of residence (if known)

Kinds of information in Ontario land records


 * where and when ancestors lived in an area
 * the name of spouses, heirs, and other relatives
 * the names of neighbors (potentially relatives)
 * where ancestors lived previously
 * the occupation of ancestors
 * the relationship of ancestors to a Loyalist ancestor
 * when ancestors left the area and where they were moving
 * who transferred the land to an ancestor, and the person to whom the ancestor transferred it—people who are possibly relatives

Types of records found in Ontario land records


 * immigrant lists
 * petitions for land grants
 * leases, indexes, and registers
 * case files and commission records
 * claims and reports
 * occasional wills and estate papers

Limitations

Ontario land records do not consistently show all the same information, even within the same record, or for the same piece of property over the years. Be prepared to supplement land records with other types of records. Only by comparing and contrasting all the available sources can you build the most complete and accurate picture of the life of an ancestor.

Using Ontario Land Records
Some Ontario land records are indexed. Others are not indexed, but are organized geographically by their legal land description which includes the county, township, concession number, and lot number. To find an ancestor in Ontario land records follow these steps:

Step 1. Search the land records with surname indexes
Search ALL of the following records because each has different names and data than the others. Your ancestor may be in more than one.


 * Executive Council, Petitions for Land Grants and Leases, 1791-1867. LAC RG 1, L3.
 * Crown Lands Department, Land records, ca. 1792-1876. AO RG 1, series C-I to C-III. Partially indexed in the Archives of Ontario, Ontario Archives Land Record Index, 1780s-1914.
 * Heir and Devisee Commission, Land Records 1796-1894. AO RG 40, series A-I.
 * Land Boards of Upper Canada, 1765-1804. LAC RG 1, L1.
 * Executive Council, Land minute books of the Executive Council, 1787-1841. LAC RG 1 L1.
 * Executive Council, Land submissions to the Executive Council, 1783-1865. LAC RG 1 L3.


 * Each of the six sets of records above are described individually and in greater detail below.


 * Indexes and Databases. Search each index (or database) for an ancestor's name in each of the these types of Ontario land records. If you find an ancestor, photocopy the index (or database) entry.


 * Original Records. If you find your ancestor listed in any of the indexes, obtain and view the corresponding land records. Find copies of the land records using all the data from the index, such as the year, township, file number, volume and page number to identify the corresponding land record's microfilm number, or identify it in the associated database. When you find the land record, make photocopies for your files.


 * Repositories  which provide access to some or all of these records include:
 * Library and Archives Canada (LAC)
 * Archives of Ontario (AO)
 * Family History Library (FHL)


 * 1) Executive Council, Petitions for Land Grants and Leases, 1791-1867. A surname card index to:
 * 2) *Land Books (Minutes of the Land Committee) in LAC RG 1 L1,
 * 3) *Land Petitions in LAC RG 1 L3, for Upper Canada (Ontario) 1791-1841, and Canada 1841-1867.


 * For an index of these petiions, see:


 * LAC online index: Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865) 82,000 entries in this database search.
 * Michael Stephenson's Upper Canada Land Petitions Index A-Z 51,000 entries. You may need to scroll to find the index's list of A-Z letters of the alphabet. Select the letter of the alphabet for your ancestor's surname.
 * List of card index LAC and Family History Library (FHL) microfilm numbers: Ontario Land Records Land Books and Petitions Index Film Numbers


 * Even if the online index  does not include a name, the card index on microfilm may include a reference to an entry  in the Land Books where the decisions to accept or reject a petition were recorded.


 * Index cards for these minute books or petitions will look like this example:


 * [[Image:Example of Index.jpg|500px|Example of Index.jpg]]


 * See also Minutes and Records of the Land Boards Accumulated by the Executive Council Office (LAC RG 1 L4), a database which provides access to more than 16,400 additional references to individuals in related sources.


 * Note: Present-day Ontario was part of Quebec before 1791. Many petitions submitted by people living in Ontario before 1791 can be found in Quebec's Lower Canada Land Petitions, 1764-1841.


 * If you find an ancestor's index entry, photocopy it, or write down the following:


 * Index film number (from FHL Catalog)__________________________________


 * Name______________________ Townships________________________ Year_________


 * Petitions or Minute Book_______ Bundle number___________ Petition number__________


 * Bundle film number (from FHL Catalog)_________________________________


 * Original Records. Executive Council, Petitions for Land Grants and Leases, 1791-1867. LAC RG 1, L3. On . These petitions may describe a land applicant's military service or relationship to a Loyalist ancestor. They may also list the names and ages of family members.

2. Land Petitions and Related Records, 1637-1842 (AO RG 1, series C-I to C-III) have two sets of indexes:


 * A. Archives of Ontario, Ontario Land Record Index (OLRI), 1780s-1914. The OLRI is a partial index. Its Archives of Ontario      fiche numbers are listed at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/microfilm/crown_land_records_microfiche.aspx


 * The contain the surname index, and  has the key to symbols. The surname section of this index gives the township name and lot and concession numbers for original government grants. The listed dates are petition or patent filing dates, not dates of arrival. Letter codes refer to the type of grant, lease, or sale.


 * [[Image:Example of Ontario Archives Land Record Index.jpg|880px|Example of Ontario Archives Land Record Index.jpg]]


 * If you find an ancestor's index entry, photocopy it, or write down all the data.


 * B. Crown Lands Department, Land Petitions and Related Records, 1637-1842. AO RG 1, series C-I to C-III. .     As well as the index in 2A above, there are also many additional  indexes and alphabetical lists mentioned within       these land records. For example, the indexes cited in just the first half  of these records are listed below:


 * Petitions (AO RG 1, series C-I-1), 1827-1860 Ab-Z
 * Petitions of misc. nature, A-Z
 * Photocopy transcripts of memorials to the commissioners and Haldimand, 1827-1860
 * Petitions for licenses as provincial land surveyors, 1827-1860 A-Y
 * Registers of petitions, 1835-1837 (v. 57, indexed), 1836-1842 (v. 58), 1840-1851 (v. 59-61), 1852-1855 (v. 62) 1845-1849 (v. 63)
 * Register of applications (sent to the executive council), 1849-1865
 * Registers of applications for specific lots, 1828-1851
 * Registers of applications (prior to 1832, advertised by orders-in-council, 1839), 1839-1842
 * Index to petition reg., 1840-1845
 * Index to vols. 59-62, petition reg., 1840-1855
 * Additional Petitions (AO RG 1, series C-I-1) ca. 1827- ca. 1860 A-Z
 * Orders-in-Council (AO RG 1, ser. C-I-2), 1796-1844 (arranged by surname) A-Z (arranged by place and subject) A-Y
 * Regulations establishing parts of land under quit rent system, orders-in- council, 1825
 * Schedule of names of persons who received orders-in-council in their favor, 1796-1797
 * Schedules under orders-in-council ruling April 4, 1839 (1839, 1842-1844, grouped by district)
 * Fiats and warrants (series C-I-3) ca 1796-? A-Z
 * Fiats, old and new regulations (series C-I-3, 2nd) ca. 1796-? Bundles 265 (v. 9) to Bundles 7142 (v. 31)
 * Warrants Bundles 1 1816 (v. 32) to Bundles 5850 1869 (v. 54)
 * Register for warrants (R.J. no. 2) no. 1-366 (v. 54) 1819-1873
 * Index to warrants no. 1-366 (v. 55) 1820-1845 Index to warrants (books 4 and 6, R.J. no. 2) (v. 56) Index to warrants (v. 57) 1816-1869
 * Partial index for U.E. &amp; M.C. fiats for volumes 58 through part of 61, numerically arranged. no. 1-3000 1797-1816
 * Warrants (v. 58) no. 1-800 1797-1807 to Warrants (v. 79) no. 6601-6723, 1850-1859?
 * Docket book for warrants (v. 80, indexed) 1798-1811
 * U. E. Loyalists and military claimants fiats and warrants (v. 81); fiats, 1811-1823 (indexed); warrants, 1818-1823
 * Fiats (U. E. Loyalists, v. 82, indexed), 1823-1837
 * Warrants (U. E. Loyalists, v. 83-85) 1823-1865
 * Fiats, Commission (v. 86) bundles 1-200 1812-1819 to Fiats, Commission (v. 89) bundles 2801-3016, 1852-1854
 * Fiats, Commission (v. 90-92) 1796-1854
 * Fiats (military emigrants (M. E.), v. 93) bundles 1-191, 1821-1824 to Fiats (M.E., v. 96-97, indexed) 1821-1858
 * Immigrants located by Quartermaster-General's Dept. (v. 98, indexed) 1815-1822
 * Orders-in-Council military settlement lands grants (v. 99, indexed) 1819-1830
 * If you find an ancestor's index entry, photocopy it, or write down all the data.


 * Original Records. Crown Lands Department, Land records, ca. 1792-1876. AO RG 1, series C-I to C-III. On . (Note: Series C-II starts with FHL film 1376318; Series C-III starts with FHL film 1376303.) Use the transaction type, record group (RG) number, volume, and page number in the Index to find the film number. Search each alphabetical sequence in these land records even if your ancestor was in the microfiche Index. Land record types include petitions, fiats, warrants, registers, assignments, clergy reserves, leases, sales, and Indian lands.

3. Heir and Devisee Commission, Land Records 1796-1894. AO RG 40, series A-I. Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files.


 * The government created the Heir and Devisee Commissions to settle disputes about who was entitled to receive the letters patent for a parcel of land. For indexes see: [[Image:]]


 * Database (index) at http://www.archives.gov.on.ca/en/db/deviseedb.aspx


 * Microfilm card index of claims case files 1804-1895
 * A-D
 * E-L
 * M-R
 * S-Y


 * Book indexes (bound indices). 5 vols.
 * Vol. 1. Index to claimants 1829-1853. . Shows lot,           concesstion, township, year, and commission number.
 * Vol. 2. Index to claimants 1804-1883. . Same as v. 1.
 * Vol. 3. Index to claimants 1804-1889. . Also shows "parcel" numbers. ("parcel"=filing bundle, not a piece of land.)
 * Vol. 4. Register of claimants 1854-1866. . By chronological Commission lists number.
 * Vol. 5. Register of claimants 1867-1885. . Same as vol. 4.
 * [[Image:]]
 * If you find an ancestor's index entry, photocopy it, or write down all the data.


 * Original Records. Heir and Devisee Commission, Land Records 1796-1894. AO RG 40, series A-I. On . These records may explain a person's entitlement to land, such as military service or Loyalist ancestry. They may list the date of an application for land, the age of the applicant, and his place of birth.

4. Land Boards of Upper Canada, 1765-1804. LAC RG 1, L1.


 * Four land boards were created in 1789 to administer land matters in Ontario's districts of Hesse, Nassau, Mecklenburg, and Lunenburg. The boards were disbanded in 1794. However, land board records also can include some papers from as early as 1765, or as late as 1804.


 * Database instructions: Land Boards of Upper Canada, 1765-1804
 * Search: Land Boards of Upper Canada, 1765-1804 database search
 * Ontario Land Records Index, 1780s-1914 (OLRI) (see 2A above) partially indexes Land Board records.


 * Original Records. Minutes and records of the Land Boards accumulated by the Executive Council Office (LAC RG 1 L4). This database provides access to more than 16,400 references to individuals.


 * This series consists of minutes and reports of the Land Boards, as well as correspondence and instructions or regulations for their operations. The arrangement of the records is first by district, then in rough categories: minutes, correspondence, schedules of grants, etc. The order within those categories is chronological.

5. Executive Council, Land minute books of the Executive Council, 1787-1841. LAC RG 1 L1. Minute books (also known as Land Books)     record the deliberations and decisions of the Executive Council, sitting as a land committee concerning land business. For indexes see:


 * A table of contents and a name index of petitioners is generally found within each  individual minute book.
 * The LAC database called Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865)  at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/land/land-petitions-upper-canada-1763-1865/Pages/land-petitions-upper-canada.aspx accesses more than 82,000 references to minutes books and petitions by individuals who lived in present-day Ontario between 1763 and 1865.
 * A second LAC database is, Land minutes Books of the Executive Council (textual record)  at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&amp;lang=eng&amp;rec_nbr=205068&amp;rec_nbr_list=204926,204497,205068,205300,205141,205131,204493,205260,205063,204839.
 * Finding Aid 1802, a card index, also known as the Upper Canada Land Index  serves both the Land Books (Minutes of the Land Committee) in LAC RG 1 L1 and the Land Petitions in LAC RG 1 L3, for the provinces of Upper Canada, 1791-1841, and Canada, 1841-1867.
 * The online card index is at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&amp;lang=eng&amp;rec_nbr=205131. It indexes 82,000 individuals who lived in Ontario between 1763 and 1865.
 * The LAC microfilm numbers list for this card index is at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-110.02-e.php?&q2=29&interval=50&sk=0&&PHPSESSID=npfo6qij0n1rpue06msk2mqnj1.


 * Original records. Upper Canada Land Books (LAC RG 1 L1).
 * Land minutes Books of the Executive Council (textual record)  LAC database.
 * Online digitized records are listed at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-110.02-e.php?&amp;q2=29&amp;interval=50&amp;sk=0&amp;&amp;PHPSESSID=npfo6qij0n1rpue06msk2mqnj1
 * The LAC microfilm list of Land Petitions is at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-912.001.04-e.html

6. Executive Council, Land submissions to the Executive Council, 1783-1865. LAC RG 1 L3.


 * The LAC database at http://www.bac-lac.gc.ca/eng/discover/land/land-petitions-upper-canada-1763-1865/Pages/land-petitions-upper-canada.aspx accesses more than 82,000 references to petitions for grants or leases of land created by individuals who lived in present-day Ontario between 1763 and 1865.
 * Finding Aid 1802, a card index, also known as the Upper Canada Land Index  serves both the Land Books (Minutes of the Land Committee) in LAC RG 1 L1 and the Land Petitions in LAC RG 1 L3, for the provinces of Upper Canada, 1791-1841, and Canada, 1841-1867.
 * The online card index is at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/pam_archives/index.php?fuseaction=genitem.displayItem&amp;lang=eng&amp;rec_nbr=205131. It indexes 82,000 individuals who lived in Ontario between 1763 and 1865.
 * The LAC microfilm numbers list for this card index is at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/genealogy/022-912.001.03-e.html.


 * Original records. Upper Canada Land Petitions (LAC RG 1 L3). Petitions and related records submitted to the Executive Council. The "land committee" dealt with all manner of petitions for grants and leases, requests for title deeds and reports from the Surveyor General or, after 1827, the Commissioner of Crown Lands.
 * Land submissions to the Executive Council (textual record). LAC database.
 * LAC microfilms of these records are listed at http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/microform-digitization/006003-110.02-e.php?&q2=29&interval=50&sk=0&

Step 2. Search land records arranged by description
You may also find an ancestor in further  land records organized under the description of the land. In order to do this you must first identify their property (find the legal description). This legal description usually includes the county, township, concession number, and lot number.

Find the land descriptions
Three types of records help identify an ancestor's land:


 * Land records with surname indexes (already explained in Step 1 above)
 * Censuses
 * Illustrated historical atlases

Censuses

A census was taken in Ontario (a.k.a. Canada West) every ten years starting in 1851. Every person is listed by name in each census' personal  or population  schedules. In selected census years important land information was also listed in separate agricultural  schedules, or listed in building and land  schedules. These additional schedules show the county, township, concession and lot numbers of a person's land:


 * 1901 Census "Buildings and Lands, Churches and Schools" schedules follow each enumerator's population schedules.
 * 1861 Census "Agricultural" schedules appear at the end of each county after all other personal schedules for all the towns in that county.
 * 1851 Census "Agricultural" schedules follow each set of personal schedules.


 * [[Image:1851 Ontario Ag Sched.jpg|900px|1851 Ontario Ag Sched.jpg]]

To learn more about Ontario census records in general see the Ontario Census Wiki page.


 * Online. Links to online census indexes and images for Ontario are at:


 * Microfilms. To see a description of those censuses, and their microfilm numbers, click the following Family History Library Catalog links:


 * 1901 Ontario Census
 * 1861 Canada West Census
 * 1851 Canada West Census

If you find an ancestor in one or more of these censuses, write down the name of their county, township, concession number, and lot number.

Illustrated historical atlases

For some southern Ontario counties, illustrated historical atlases show farm lots and concession numbers with the names of landowners in the late 1860s and 1870s. The atlases are listed in the Family History Library Catalog Places Search under the name of the Ontario county with the topic Maps. Most of these oversize folios are in the Family History Library's high density storage. For the location of copies of these atlases available at other repositories, view the WorldCat Online Catalog. Many are also available on microfilm. Most of Ontario's illustrated historical atlases are indexed in:


 * The Central Canadians, 1600-1900, 3 vols. (Toronto: Genealogical Research Library, 1994). . . This index is in the FHL Canada reference area. Look in the back of each volume for the keys to localities and sources.


 * Canadian Genealogy Index, 1600s-1900s. Family Tree Maker's Family Archives; 118. ([Novato, Calif.]: Brøderbund, 1996). . Contains over 2 million entries, this CD shows name, event, date, location, province, county, source (sometimes an illustrated historical atlas), and page.


 * This latter Index  is also on the Internet at Ancestry.com available for free at the Family History Library and family history centers, or you can buy an Ancestry.com subscription. You can search this 220 million entry database, that includes each entry's source, which is often an illustrated historical atlas.

If you find an ancestor in one of these atlases, write down the name of the ancestor's county, township, concession number, and lot number.

Use the land description to find the land records
Once you know the county, township name, concession number, and lot number, you can use this information to find an ancestor's land records. Be sure to note who sold the property to your ancestor, and who obtained the property from your ancestor—these are potential relatives. Look for the ancestor's land records in these sources:


 * Ontario. Crown Lands Department. Township Papers, ca. 1783-1870's ([Toronto]: Archives of Ontario, 1982). On . This series includes early records for most southern Ontario townships and some cities. Search alphabetically for the names of the townships and cities. Papers for lots in townships are arranged by concession and farm lot. Papers for cities are arranged alphabetically by owner's name. These records may include maps; petitions; correspondence about land disputes, including the names of ancestors; or military discharge papers showing the place of birth.


 * Abstract Index Books of Deeds. These books have information about property in a particular township, but they are listed by county in the Family History Library Catalog. Use the Family History Library Catalog Places Search under the name of the county and the topics Land and Property or Land and Property — Indexes. For example:


 * Canada, Ontario, Grey — Land and property
 * Canada, Ontario, Welland — Land and property — Indexes


 * Abstract Index Books are arranged by county, township, concession, and lot numbers. They tell what happened to a particular piece of property through time, from the date of the original grant or patent to as late as 1959. The grantors (sellers) and grantees (buyers) are listed and should be considered candidates to be relatives. Memorial numbers (file numbers, or Number of Instrument) are also listed for each transaction (sale or will). If you find it, write down the memorial number of an ancestor's property for use looking up the deed.


 * [[Image:Ontario Land 170913.jpg|900px|Ontario Land 170913.jpg]]


 * Deeds. If you have a memorial number for the years prior to 1880, you can look for deed records. If the library has copies, deed books are found in the Family History Library Catalog Places Search under the name of the county and the topic Land and Property.

After you have searched the land records described above, there are still more land records that may be valuable to search. These records can be found using the Family History Library Catalog Places Search under Ontario, or the name of the county, and the topic Land and Property.

Step 3. Search for probate records
When individuals died, their land was usually sold or transferred to an heir or creditor. Usually a person's last will and testament was copied either into a deed book at a land registry office, or into a probate record at the probate court or surrogate court to make a land transfer official.


 * Copies of the will or probate papers are rarely filed in both the land registry office and the court. But probate papers in the land registry are a hint that you may find some additional related papers in court records.

Probate Registers and Estate Files
The Abstract Index Books, listed under Step 2, are the major indexes to wills recorded or memorialized in deed books. If land records show the person's estate was proved or probated before a court, look for additional information about the person in one of the following sources:


 * Bill Zuefelt, Court of Probate: Registers and Estate Files at the Archives of Ontario (1793-1859): an Index for Genealogical Research. ([Toronto]: Ontario Genealogical Society, 1986). . . This record indexes:


 * Upper Canada. Court of Probate, Probate Registers, 1793-1858; and Estate Files, 1793-1859 (Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982). On . The probate registers may include wills, administrations, guardianships, or citations of next of kin. Estate files may include inventories, administration papers, bonds, affidavits, letters, or wills.

Surrogate Court Records Index

 * Catherine Shepard, Surrogate Court Records Index, 1793–1858. (Toronto: Ontario Genealogical Society, [1988]). . . This index may list dates, volume and page numbers, and the county that received the pre-1854 records.


 * For film numbers of indexed records, check the Family History Library Catalog Place Search under the name of the county and the topic Probate Records.

More recent surrogate court records can also be found under the same catalog Place Search heading. For a county-by-county index see:


 * June Gibson, Surrogate Court Index of Ontario, Canada, 1859-1900, 27 vols. (Agincourt, Ont.: Generation Press, 1988- ). . This index lists name, locality, will number, and year proved. A table in each volume lists the Archives of Ontario microfilm reel numbers that are indexed in that volume.

Step 4. Search other record types
If you cannot locate land records for your ancestor, you could also use the Family History Library Catalog Places Search for the appropriate locality and topics like Church Records, Censuses, Directories, Military Records, or Taxation. For details about the value, use, and availability of these and other record types, see the Ontario Wiki page, and Canada Wiki page.