Ontario Township Papers on FamilySearch

Recently the Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's collection of records were opened up on FamilySearch so that you can view them from the comfort of your home.

So just what is this collection? From the description page found within the digitized microfilms they state:

"These are the earliest land files. If a document or letter mentions a specific lot and contains nothing of general interest, it has been defined as a township paper."

Additionally, from the description on the FamilySearch catalogue pages, they mention that these are the digitization of the microfilms within the RG 1, series C-IV collection in the possession of the Archives of Ontario.  The series is a group of land-related records where you might be able to find copies of various documents such orders-in-council, location certificates, assignments, patents, and various correspondence concerning the land. The records were created by various agencies over the years:

• ca. 1783-1791: Surveyor General's Office of the Province of Quebec
  
• 1791-1827: Surveyor General's Office of Upper Canada
  
• 1827-1867: Crown Lands Department for the Province of Canada
  
• 1867-ca. 1870: Department of Crown Lands for the Province of Ontario
  

So how do you find this collection on FamilySearch? 

For starters, it isn't just one entry in the FamilySearch catalogue but two:

• Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's: Abinger township to Haldimand township
• Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's: Hallowell township to Zorra township
  

Screen capture of a partial list of townships from Ontario Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's on FamilySearch.

As you might noticed from the above listing the townships/villages/towns are in alphabetical order. The various digitized microfilms may hold the records of one township, parts of a township, or several townships or villages.

Within each digitized microfilm the pages are ordered by Concession number and within the Concessions the records are ordered by Lot number. However, for villages and towns, the papers are arranged alphabetically by the name of the locatee.

For each group of pages for a piece of property you will come across a starting page within the digitized microfilm with the name of the township, the lot number, and the concession number. Here is an example of one such page:

Ontario, Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's, Haldimand Township, Lot 2; 5th Con. cover page; Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,402,724, image 13.

By the way, when looking at the multi-image view on FamilySearch, after a bit of experience, you will be able to easily pick out those pages as guideposts in your search for the concession and lot that you are looking for.

So what might be found in these files? 

How about the details of a grant. Here we have the details of a grant of 800 acres (less 114 2/7 acres for a Protestant Clergy) in Haldimand township made via a 2 Jun 1798 Order in Council describing, in chains and various angles, the property given to James Stuart, a Barrister at Law, of the City of Quebec in the Province of Lower Canada.

Ontario, Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's, Haldimand Township, Lot 1, 3, 4, 22; 5th Con. Grant; Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,402,724, image 11.

Maybe a letter asking for money to be refunded like we have here after the lots a Mr. Angus McDonell had purchased were assigned to Mr. John Lane via an Order in Council.

Ontario, Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's, Cornwall Town, Lots 17 & 18 North side of Sixth Street, Letter from Angus McDonell; Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,402,636, image 375.

You can even come across a Location Ticket that describes a person's military service such as the one for John Alison (or Allison) who was a Sergeant in the First Flank Companies of the 1st Regiment of Prince Edwards Militia who settled in Madoc Township.

Ontario, Township papers, ca. 1783-1870's, Madoc Township, Concession 1, Lot 4, Location Ticket for John Alison or John Allison; Archives of Ontario, Toronto; FHL microfilm 1,378,328, image 247.

These are just some of the kinds of documents found in the files of the Ontario Township Papers. 

Keep in mind that just like using the various land records for the counties found on OnLand or elsewhere within FamilySearch, you will need to first find your ancestors "on the ground."

A Land Records Challenge

Recently, with the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO), I held an online workshop on using Ontario land records that you can find online. Over the next few days several of the participants of that workshop reached out to me asking for additional assistance with their research. One of them, Suzanne, had this quandary:

"My MacDonald (McDonald/MacDonell/McDonell) family from Glengarry County owned Lot 11, 1st Concession, Twp Kenyon for 3 or 4 generations from 1808 to about 1900. I have a copy of the land record that you talked about. The land was Patented from the Crown to Alexander McDonell April 14, 1798. I do not have a copy of the land grant but now I know where to find it. Then all 200 acres were given to John McDonell as a Grant April 9, 1808. The problem I have encountered is that the Registration Number for that transaction is incorrect. Years ago I hired a researcher to find some information and he said that the number is for a document connected to a lot in Charlottenburg. I visited Alexandria and went to the land records office a few years ago and they also said that is the wrong number. The Registration Number for the Grant is 608 and the next one on the list is 107 for a Will."

For me the first step was to verify the information stated by checking the Abstract book on FamilySearch and in the Ontario Land Property Records Portal (OnLand) to make sure that both copies matched.

Glengarry County, Ontario, Abstract index books, ca. 1800-ca. 1959, Kenyon Township: 11, Lot 11 Concession 1; FHL microfilm 201,723, image 11.

"Abstract/Parcel Register Book," images, ONLAND (www.onland.ca : accessed 16 Dec 2020), Lot 11, Concession 1, Kenyon Township, Glengarry Land Registry Office; citing Glengarry (LRO 14), Kenyon Township (Book 48), p 91, image 130 of 405.

The basic details are the same although the typed copy from OnLand of the abstract entry from 1808 states "grant" whereas the written entry from the microfilm filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah states "B & S". The instrument or registration numbers match with the written copy actually providing the additional detail of the Liber. or Book letter.

Screen capture from FamilySearch "Land records of Glengarry County, 1798-1957" catalogue listing.

From the partial listing above from the FamilySearch catalogue for the "Land records of Glengarry County, 1798-1957" we can see the various volumes for Glengarry County, Ontario. However, do you notice a little bit of a problem?

If we are looking for an instrument dated 1807 and registered in 1808 I don't think we are going to find it in volumes A or B in the above listings since those volumes start from 1815. I think the issue that the hired researcher had was that he was looking in the wrong book.

The land record books for just Kenyon Township started in 1848 so, after confirming that little detail, I kept looking around on FamilySearch. That is when I noticed "Register of deeds for Lancaster Township, Charlottenburgh Township and Kenyon Township" in the catalogue. There is no date listed so I decided to take a closer look. The microfilm description page gave this:

Glengarry County, Ontario, Register of deeds for Lancaster Township, Charlottenburgh Township and Kenyon Township, microfilm title card; FHL microfilm 201,714, image 3.

I don't know about you, but when I come across a title card like that I want to dig deeper into the collection. So I set out going through the digitized microfilm and I came across this page:

Glengarry County, Ontario, Register of deeds for Lancaster Township, Charlottenburgh Township and Kenyon Township, p. 361; FHL microfilm 201,714, image 198.

There is the illusive instrument 608 concerning a deed between Alexander McDonell and John McDonell dated June 3rd, 1807 and registered on April 9th, 1808. Just like the Abstract index stated. But we have another problem...This appears to be only an index entry. Where are the details?

I looked through all the various land record books on FamilySearch for Glengarry County with no luck. So I started reading from the beginning of that "Register of deeds for Lancaster Township, Charlottenburgh Township and Kenyon Township" book again to see if there might be a clue. And there was right on the inside of the book cover.

Glengarry County, Ontario, Register of deeds for Lancaster Township, Charlottenburgh Township and Kenyon Township, inside cover; FHL microfilm 201,714, image 6.

"The within Book Contains a Statement of such Titles of in relating to Lands in the Townships of Lancaster Charlottenburgh and Kenyon Between the Thirty First days of March 1798 and the Thirteen days of March 1816 as were Recorded in the Registry Office for the County of Stormont during that period."

Just a moment...Recorded in the Registry Office for the County of Stormont?

Might there be a book in the Land Registry Office in Stormont County that has the detailed instruments? 

A quick check on FamilySearch in the Land and property group for "Canada, Ontario, Stormont" shows "Land records of Stormont County, 1798-1877" in the catalogue listing. This looks hopeful.

Delving into that collection we find the following microfilms/books, along with many others, listed:

• Stormont County (v. A-B, 1-660) 1798-1808
• Stormont County (v. C-D, 661-202) 1808-1816
• Stormont County (v. E-F, 203-883) 1816-1823

Recall that the FamilySearch Abstract index book entry included the Liber. letter whereas the OnLand copy didn't and that entry stated Liber. "B". That first entry just might have the instrument we are looking for.

After a little bit of searching through the digitized microfilm catalogued as "Stormont County (v. A-B, 1-660) 1798-1808" I came across the memorial below.

Stormont County, Ontario, Land records of Stormont County, 1798-1877, B: 420, Instrument 608; FHL microfilm 201,747, item 2, image 461.

This is the document that Suzanne was looking for. The one that the researcher couldn't find and the Land Records Office said was the wrong number.

There are a few lessons to be learned here:

1. Not everything may be copied from one version of a document to another. Always see if you can find an older version of the document for comparison.
   
2. Pay attention to the little details. In this case it was the date of the registration of the instrument that indicated that the wrong books were being consulted.
3. Always read those first few pages of any book containing registration details, whether it a land book, parish register, or census. Often there are descriptive clues held within that can help you confirm that you are looking at the right book or if you need to look elsewhere.

Remember to also be persistent (stubborn) when doing your research. This little journey took about two hours of research that involved not only the Land and Property collections on FamilySearch but collections on Library and Archives Canada and the Ontario Township Books on FamilySearch before I finally found what Suzanne was looking for. Of course, it would have taken a little bit less time if I had followed lesson #3!

Ontario Land Records: Where are they Online? Workshop handout

 Ontario Land Records: Where are they Online?

For those who attended my "Ontario Land Records: Where are they Online?" workshop presented on December 5, 2020 for the British Isles Family History Society of Greater Ottawa (BIFHSGO) you can find a copy of the handout under the Links of Interest in my blog or here. As I come across additional resources I will be updating the copy of the handout there.

In the next week or so BIFHSGO will be posting the videos from the workshop on their website for two weeks for those that couldn't make it to the workshop or had to drop offline early due to other commitments or technical challenges. After that time the videos will be made available to only BIFHSGO members as a membership perk.