Daniel Brodie lived in Niagara region until his death in 1855.
He had land in Salmonville lot 6 concession 28 where Jannet Brodie (Smith) his sister was living with her family.
Why would Daniel buy the land if he did not intend to live on it.
In 1855 Janet's son Daniel Smith bought the land.
Olive Tree Answers: Hi Judy, Good question!
But first I have a question of my own. How sure are you that Daniel bought this land? You didn't tell me when he was born so I don't know if he was old enough to be a Loyalist or a son of a Loyalist. If he was, he may have been granted land, and when Loyalist land grants were given out, there was no choice of where the land would be. So if he was granted land, it could have been anywhere.
A simpler explanation would be that men bought land for various reasons (just as people do today). Perhaps Daniel bought it as an investment, maybe it was going for a bargain price. Perhaps he wanted land to pass on to his children on his death. Perhaps he wanted somewhere for his sister to live.
I suggest that if you haven't done so already, you obtain the Abstract Indexes to Deeds for this specific lot. I don't know where Salmonville is (township, county) so I can't direct you to the specific place to get the Abstracts.
The Abstract Indexes to Deeds are the indexed record of every transaction on a plot of land since it left Crown ownership. Remember, fathers willed land to sons or to wives or daughters. Men parcelled off smaller sections of land and sold it to sons. Brothers settled near each other, or on the same land. Armed with 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.
Also, just as an aside, did you know that Daniel Brodie is in the online index to Surrogate Court Records 1793-1858 for Ontario? I suspect his will is on file as the date for the entry is 1851. It may mention this land in Salmonville but even if not, if you have not seen the record, you may want to send for it.
I often wondered why people would buy cemetery lots and then sell them in the newspaper. Were they planning on moving to another state? Were they planning on not dying? Did the just need the money, but how many people would want to be buried in the plot with nonrelatives? This always amazes me.
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