Ontario Land and Property: Difference between revisions

== What you need to know to get started  ==

*Ancestor's name  

== Types of records found in Ontario land records  ==

*petitions for land grants  

*leases, indexes, and registers  

== Related Websites  ==

*Ontario Genealogy, [http://www.ontariogenealogy.com/landpetitionregistration.html Land Petition Index (registration)]. Presumably, after registering you can search their index.

'''''Search all four of the following records''''' because each has different names and information than the others. Your ancestor may be in more than one. Search each index first to find its corresponding land records.<br>

#Archives of Ontario, '''''Ontario Archives Land Record Index, 1780s-1914'''''.  

For the records listed below, find and search the appropriate index film for an ancestor's name. If you find an ancestor, photocopy the index entry.  

2. Heir and Devisee Commission, '''''Land Records 1796-1894'''''. AO RG 40, series A-I.<br>Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files Database at http://ao.minisisinc.com/scripts/mwimain.dll/144/ARCH_HEIRS?DIRECTSEARCH<br>

=== Search the Land Records  ===

'''''Agricultural schedules, or buildings and lands schedules''''' in the 1851, 1861, or 1901 censuses. To find census film numbers, look in the Family History Library Catalog '''Place Search''' under '''Canada''' and the topic [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?first=33&display=localitydetails&subject=299&subject_disp=Canada&last=132&columns=*%2C0%2C0 '''Census'''].  

:<br>

for some southern counties, showing farm lot and concession numbers with the names of landowners in the late 1870s. The atlases are listed in the Family History Library Catalog '''Place Search''' under the name of the '''county''' and the topic '''Maps'''. These oversize folios are located on the third floor of the library. Many are also available on microfilm. Most illustrated historical atlases are indexed in:  

::-[http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=The+Central+Canadians%2C+1600-1900 '''''The Central Canadians, 1600-1900''''']. '''FHL book 971.3 D22cc'''. 3 vols. Toronto: Genealogical Research Library, 1994. This index is in the Canada reference area. Look in the back of each volume for the keys to localities and sources. This index is also on compact disc available at the library attendant window on the third floor:

=== Probate Registers and Estate Files  ===

*[http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=Court+of+Probate%3A+Registers+and+Estate+Files+at+the+Archives+of+Ontario+%281793-1859%29&qt=owc_search '''''Court of Probate: Registers and Estate Files at the Archives of Ontario (1793-1859)''''']. '''FHL book 971.3 P2z''' [Toronto]: Ontario Genealogical Society, 1986. This record indexes '''''Probate Registers, 1793-1858; and Estate Files, 1793-1859'''''. On [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=titlefilmnotes&columns=*%2C0%2C0&titleno=218510&disp=Probate+registers%2C+1793-1858%3B+and+++ 41 films beginning with '''FHL film 1312313''']. Upper Canada. Court of Probate. Salt Lake City: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1982. Search alphabetically for your ancestor's name. 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.

{{reflist}}  

Most southern Ontario townships are divided into strips of land, called '''''concessions''''', which run from one border of the township to the other. Each concession includes farm lots of 100 or 200 acres. Lot 1 in the First Concession joins Lot 1 in the Second Concession, which in turn joins Lot 1 in the Third, as shown below. As you search the land records, record the concession and lot number of your ancestor's land.  

|+ '''Example Divisions of Ontario Townships'''  

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The indexes and records described in this guide are also listed in the [http://www.familysearch.org/eng/library/fhlcatalog/supermainframeset.asp?display=topicdetails&subject=350602&subject_disp=Ontario+%2D+Land+and+property&columns=*,0,0 '''Place Search''' of the Family History Library Catalog under '''Ontario''' and the topic '''Land and Property'''].