Canada, Nova Scotia, Halifax County Deed Indexes - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada Nova Scotia

What is in this Collection?
This collection contains indexes to deeds, wills, and other court files from 1749 -1958.

The Public Archives of Nova Scotia has an alphabetical file of draft land grants and petitions for land. This file covers the years from 1763 onward. There are indexes for 1784–1877. Petitions often mention a petitioner's name, country of origin, date of arrival in Nova Scotia, and other information.

What Can these Records Tell Me?
Deed records usually contain the following information:


 * Name of the Grantee
 * Name of the Grantor
 * Year land was granted
 * Occupation
 * Book and page number where the deed is located
 * Location of purchase

How Do I Search the Collection?
You can search the index or view the images or both. To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * The name of a relative or date of the event

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page then:
 * 1) Select the Record Type, Years, Alphabet Range

How Do I Analyze the Results?
Compare each result from your search with what you know to determine if there is a match. This may require viewing multiple records or images.

For more tips about searching on-line collections see the on-line article FamilySearch Search Tips and Tricks.

What Do I Do Next?
View the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. Find out which microfilm you'll need to look at here. Then you can order a copy of the microfilm to be sent your nearest family history center or visit the Family History Library for to view the microfilm.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * plat the land your ancestor owned to get an idea of how big it was or its shape.
 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, census, land and death records.
 * Use the information to find additional family members.
 * Repeat this process with additional family members found, to find more generations of the family.
 * Church Records often were kept years before government records were required and are a good source for finding ancestors before 1900.

I Can’t Find Who I’m Looking for, What Now?

 * Try viewing the original record to see if there were errors in the transcription of the name, age, residence, etc. Remember that there may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * If you cannot locate your ancestor in the locality in which you believe they lived, then try searching records of a nearby locality in an area search.
 * Standard spelling of names typically did not exist during the periods our ancestors lived in. Try variations of your ancestor’s name, especially French or Latin versions.
 * Remember that sometimes individuals went by nicknames or alternated between using first and middle names. Try searching for these names as well.
 * Search the indexes and records of Nova Scotia, Canada Genealogy.
 * Search in the Nova Scotia Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Catalog

Citing This Collection
Citing your sources makes it easy for others to find and evaluate the records you used. When you copy information from a record, list where you found that information. Here you can find citations already created for the entire collection and for each individual record or image.

Collection Citation:

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