Canada, New Brunswick, County Deed Registry Books - FamilySearch Historical Records

Canada New Brunswick

What is in this Collection?
This collection includes deed records from 1780 to 1930. Most land records began in the late 1700s. They include land petitions, fiats and warrants, land grants and patents, and deeds. The federal homestead era in the Prairie Provinces lasted almost 60 years (1872 to 1930). Homestead record files cover those years.

This record includes images of indexes and deed records books for the province of New Brunswick.

Many people in Canada owned land, and a very high percentage of the population is named in land records. The availability of land attracted many immigrants to Canada and encouraged westward expansion. Land ownership was generally recorded in an area as soon as settlers began to arrive. These were often the first records available in an area. Although they may not be as easy to use, land records may give pedigree information for earlier times when other records were not kept.

The land record collection of the Provincial Archives contains microfilms and originals of many land transactions. Records include land petitions and old land deeds, primarily between 1784 and about 1850.

Land deeds are especially useful in finding family members. Some land deeds may even mention a relationship (such as 'mother' or 'brother-in-law') which can help you to locate missing family members. Additionally, land deed provide insight to where your ancestor lived, who his or her neighbors were, how much they paid for the land, or who they may have inherited the land from.

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


 * Name of land purchaser and buyer
 * Date of transaction
 * Legal description of the property
 * Details of the transaction
 * Names of witnesses

How Do I Search the Collection?
To begin your search it is helpful to know:
 * The name of your ancestor
 * At least one other piece of information

View the Images
View images in this collection by visiting the Browse Page.
 * 1) Select County
 * 2) Select Record Type
 * 3) Select Year Range and Volume Number

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

What Do I Do Next?
Whenever possible, view the original records to verify the information and to find additional information that might not be reported. These pieces of information can lead you to additional records and family members.

I Found Who I was Looking for, What Now?

 * Use the residence and names of the land purchaser and seller to locate church and census records.
 * Use the information to find other records such as birth, christening, marriage 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.
 * Some counties were subdivided or the boundaries may have changed. Consider searching neighboring counties as well since that courthouse may have been more convenient for the person.
 * Search for the land transactions of a couple and their children. The parents may have sold or given property to a son or daughter. Such transactions confirm relationships that might not be found in other records.
 * Obtain multiple deeds to yield a richer return of information.
 * Collect entries for every person who has the same surname. This list can help you identify possible relations that can be verified by records.
 * 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 New Brunswick, Canada Genealogy.
 * Search in the New Brunswick Archives and Libraries.
 * Search in the FamilySearch Library Catalog

Known Issues with This Collection
For a full list of all known issues associated with this collection see the attached Wiki article. If you encounter additional problems, please email them to [mailto:support@familysearch.org support@familysearch.org]. Please include the full path to the link and a description of the problem in your e-mail. Your assistance will help ensure that future reworks will be considered.

Citing This Collection
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found the information; that is, cite your sources. This will help people find the record again and evaluate the reliability of the source. It is also good to keep track of records where you did not find information, including the names of the people you looked for in the records. Citations are available for the collection as a whole and each record or image individually. Collection Citation

Image Citation

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