Land records are very useful. If you are looking for your ancestor’s year of immigration, land records are important as settlers very often purchased land soon after arrival.
Originally all land in Ontario belonged to the Crown. Although there were small areas of settlement in 1763 after the British took over, major settlement of Upper Canada began in 1783 and utilized Crown Grants. Many early settlers, both military and civilian, submitted land petitions to the Governor in order to obtain Crown land.
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Start your Ancestry free trialAbstract Indexes to Deeds
The CLRI only shows the very first transaction on any piece of land – for subsequent transactions you need to consult the Abstract Indexes to Deeds. Contrary to their title, these records are NOT indexed by name, only by county.
The Abstract Indexes to Deeds are the indexed record of every transaction on a plot of land from Crown ownership to the present day. Using the Abstract Indexes to Deeds you can check for every instance of your name of interest on that parcel of land. By referring to the date and Instrument Number found with each transaction, you can look up the complete record. You may find a will (Many wills are filed in the Land Records Offices) or other important genealogical information or document.
Looking at the second from the bottom entry dated 1904 you can see a list of the children of Frederick Broeckel and a notation that he is deceased. If you did not know when Frederick Broeckel died, or the names of his children, this would be a very nice genealogy find. Once you have found that enty in the Abstract Index to Deeds, you can order the full record to see what other genealogy details might be found. Simply refer to the Book Number, Instrument Number and date to order the full record. In this case it is Book I16, Instrument #8243, 1 May 1904. Notice that there is an earlier entry dated 13 Jan. 1903 for Frederick Broeckel and it is called Probate to Will. Sending for the full record would no doubt include Frederick’s will.
If you prefer to have me search the Abstracts on your behalf my fee is $50.00 US for a one hour search. You must know the township, lot and concession number where your ancestor owned land. If the search is successful you will received an image of all entries found for your ancestor.
Lookup Service for the Abstract Indexes to Deeds
My fee is $50.00 US for a one hour search of the Abstracts. You must know the township, lot and concession number where your ancestor owned land. You may pay with Paypal, a credit card, or Visa Debit Card using the Paypal button below. Be sure to fill out the Location field with the Lot number, concession, number, township and county where your ancestor settled.