New Brunswick Land and Property Records

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Canada

New Brunswick

Land and Property

Online Records

• 1765-1800 - Nova Scotia, Canada, Land Petitions, 1765-1800, index
• 1780-1993 - New Brunswick, Canada, County Deed Registry Books, 1780-1993, ($), images
• 1780-1993 - New Brunswick, County Deed Registry Books Image Browse ($)
• 1783-1918 - New Brunswick, Canada, Land Petitions Index, 1783-1918
• 1783-1918 - Index to Land Petitions: Original Series, 1783-1918 (RS108)
• 1784-1997 - Index to New Brunswick Land Grants, 1784 - 1997 (RS686)
• mid-1800s - New Brunswick Bonds for Mid-1800s, index
• Place Names of New Brunswick: Where is Home? New Brunswick Communities Past and Present Cadastral Maps: Enter a town name to bring up a variety of maps, including cadastral maps which label lots with owners' names.

FamilySearch

Restricted records can be studied at any Family History Center near you.

• 1763-1868 - Description of land grants, v. 1 - 50, 1763-1868
• 1765-1900 - Index to land grants, 1765-1900, New Brunswick
• 1780-1930 - New Brunswick, County Deed Registry Books, 1780-1930, images.
• 1763-1860 - Land petitions, 1763-1860 Crown Land Office
• 1783-1857 - Land petitions, 1783-1857 Crown Land Office
• 1784-1845 - Land petitions, 1784-1845 Crown Land Office
• 1858-1918 - Land petitions, 1858-1918 Crown Land Office
• 1827-1846 - Land petitions, bound series III, 1827-1846 Crown Land Office
• 1784-1877 - Land records, 1763-1914; index, 1784-1877 Department of Crown Lands
• 1732-1999 - Nova Scotia Crown land grant registers, 1732-1901; indexes, 1707-1999

Why Look for Land Records

Land records can tell you:

1. Names and relationships
2. Residence
3. Former residence
4. Where a family migrated to
5. Sometimes wills are recorded in land records

Petitions and Grants

The land record collection of the Provincial Archives contains microfilms and originals of many important land transactions. The most useful are the land petitions and the old land deeds. The most helpful petitions were submitted between 1784 and about 1850. In general, the earlier land petitions contain more biographical information. Land petitions after 1850, as a rule, do not provide much information. Land records before 1784 are among the Nova Scotia records. Most of the petitions at the Provincial Archives are on microfilm. The following are also available on microfilm at the Provincial Archives:

• General Index of Grants 1785 to 1830
• Index to Land Grants 1765 to 1900
• Index to Land Grants 1785 to 1852
• Abstract Index of Grants 1785 to 1830

After the petition for land was made and the land grant issued, the provincial government was no longer involved in transactions concerning that particular piece of land. The Land Registration Office was created to handle all subsequent land sales. The old land deeds are the most useful of all the Land Registration Office records. They can provide names, dates, addresses, occupations, and similar information. The older deeds contain more information than the more modern deeds. The Provincial Archives have microfilms of these records as well as many indexes and maps.

Cadastral Maps

• Place Names of New Brunswick: Where is Home? New Brunswick Communities Past and Present Cadastral Maps

These are maps that show the actual borders of each lot of land with the name of the grantee. Copies are held by the PANB and the Lands Branch of the Department of Natural Resources. Copies can be obtained from the Lands Branch for a fee. These can be useful in showing the names of neighbours, and so possible spouses, the location of churches and graveyards.

As well, the Archives has other maps and survey plans, containing information on boundaries, landforms, fortifications, waterways, railways, roads, and the growth of communities. These are indexed by category or purpose, geographical location, and name of cartographer or surveyor.

Crown land surveys represent the largest and most frequently consulted group of cartographic records. Approximately 10,000 plans for the 19th and 20th centuries show boundaries, allocation of land, and tracts reserved for timber and mineral resources, mills, wharves, roads and railways.

Websites

• Land Registry

This website requires a paid subscription for full access. Some subscription websites are available for free at your local FamilySearch Center or Affiliate Library.