Land Records Can Be Very Helpful in Genealogy Research

Stanley asked for help with his Vrooman ancestry

I am looking for information on Vroomans that do not go through New York, My history says that my ancestors were 7 brothers that came over from Holland to Canada (not a lot to go on)

However I have traced my 2nd Great Grandfather back to Charles Vrooman b 26 Dec 1804 in Canada West, d 2 Jun 1894 in Fremont, Sanilac, Michigan; married to Esther Hoyt b 1823 New Brunswick, Canada, d 1883 Fremont, Sanilac, Michigan

I also know that Charles; mother, Elizabeth was living with him and Esther in 1961 [sic] census, and that Elizabeth's birthplace is noted as New Brunswick, and that she was born around 1789

However, I am not convinced by the argument that this is the same Elizabeth that is married to Adam Vrooman Jr and that her last name is McCowan with the sons David and James as has been put forth by various genealogist and on various forms.

My main reason for not thinking Adam is my Charles father is that the Michigan death index for Charles Vroman states that Charles parents are William and Eliza.

I however have not been able to get past my 2 brick walls of William's father, mother and decedents, or Eliza's maiden name and parents

1851 Census Nissouri West, Middlesex Co. Ontario

Stanley - the first question that comes to  my mind is how you are so certain your Vrooman ancestors did not go through New York to arrive in Canada? Your family lore of 7 brothers arriving may be quite wrong or slightly confused. Family lore is often incorrect, memories fade over time and it's like the childhood game of "Telephone". By the time the last person gets the message started by the first person, it is jumbled. So I would keep an open mind. Go with the known and methodically dig backwards.

Re Charles' death certificate, remember that death certificates can also be incorrect. The information on them was not given by the deceased and may have been given by a family member who didn't know the answer (but thought they did) or by a family doctor. You do not know how accurate that information is. 

I took a quick look and found the following information:

1851 Census Nissouri West, Middlesex Ontario shows Charles Vrooman, 44 born Canada, a farmer with wife Ester born New Brunswick, age 29 and son Isaac Hoyt Vrooman age 1 born Canada. Also living with them are Benjamin Hoyt, 71 born USA and wife Elenor 63 born Nova Scotia. Going to the second page of this census page, we see that this is one family living in one home (a log home). I suggest you will find that Benjamin and Elenor Hoyt are the parents of Ester.

1861 Census Nissouri West, Middlesex Ontario shows Charles, 53 born Canada West (present day Ontario), his wife Ester, 37 and children Alexander 10, Hoyt 8, John 8, Arthur 6, Elenor 4, Gertrude 2 and 72 year old Elizabeth born New Brunswick, a widow.

1881 Census Caradoc, Middlesex Ontario shows Charles age 73 and Ester 57 living with their son Hoyt

Looking for Elizabeth Vrooman born New Brunswick in earlier census records (1851) does lead to Adam and Elizabeth Vrooman in Haldimand County but you have no way of knowing if this is your Elizabeth or not. My suggestion is you search more obscure records such as Upper Canada Land Petitions, Land Board Records and CLRI. I note that Charles is listed as a farmer in the census records so finding his land records may prove very helpful as you may find he was given land by a parent.

Finding an Ancestor in Ontario before 1858

Susan asked a question about ancestors in St. Mary's Perth County Ontario

My family is the John Edmondson and Mary Ann Oddy. They lived in St Mary's, Blanchard twp. Perth County from 1837'ish. Had 9 children Sarah 1842,Alice 1844, Elizabeth 1845, Annie 1848, William 1849,Thomas 1851, Ruth 1854, James 1857 and John 1858. I am looking for info of any kind.

Susan, I hope you saw my response to another St. Mary's ancestor query. The information about the St. Mary's Museum, the CLRI which is an index to early land records, and early tax and assessment records may be helpful

Also, you should check the online 1851 census for your names. I had a quick look and I see that they lived in a log shanty. That's a very poor and very temporary home, so either they had not been in that location very long or they were quite impoverished. You can see this information on the second page of the 1851 census. Don't overlook that facing page as it tells you things such as who was in school, who was absent when the census was taken, and more. I see that their eldest child is listed as being in school but also noted as being absent.

Interestingly the names recorded in 1851 don't quite agree with your list above. John and Mary Ann are the parents but children in order of birth are William? R., Margaret, Sarah J., Alice, Elizabeth, Ann and what looks like Willin (possibly William which would mean the first child has a different first name than I was able to decipher)

Lucky you, your John is also on the 1851 Agricultural Census for St. Mary's. This will show you his exact land location, how many acres he owned, how many were cultivated, what he had planted, livestock he owned and so on. For more details on the 1851 Agricultural Census see my blog post Finding Ancestors on 1851 Agricultural Census Canada

There is a second adult Edmonson living with him or right next door but I am unable to easily decipher the first name. I'll leave it to you to have that fun! Another fun fact for you to consider is that a William Oddy shows as living very near your ancestor in the Agricultural Census.

I see that a Leonard Edmonson, age 66 is living beside (or possibly in the same house) as your John Edmonson in 1861 census. It may be Leonard whose name I could not decipher in the 1851 Agricultural Census. No doubt he is a relative, perhaps a father or uncle. Again, the Gods of Genealogy are on your side, as your John is found online in the 1861 Agricultural Census! 

Back to Leonard - he's in the 1851 Personal Census for St. Mary's with his wife Elizabeth. And nearby is William Oddy with family. You'll definitely want to check those individuals out.

I neglected to suggest to Sharon (the other St Mary's query) that she should have a look in the Church Records for St. Mary's but this is something you may want to do. The Edmonson's religion is noted in all the census records so you can have a hunt for the church in St. Mary's that they might have attended.

Understanding the CLRI and its Value in Finding an Ancestor's Land Records

Holly asked about land records for an early Upper Canada (Ontario) ancestor:

Calvin Wheeler b circa 1789/90 US is the ancestor who had land. What I know is; supposedly c 1812 he left Vermont/NY to Canada and first settled in Strathcona, and had a farm there-I have nothing to substantiate this. He married ELIZABETH CARSCALLEN UEL c 1810/12 in this or the Fredericksburg area- Lennox and Addington County-was there for awhile. He then went into Sheffield Twp L & A Co. c1820 and at some point 'acquired' abt 300/400a in what is now Tamworth, L & A County. Supposedly the town/area was originally called- Wheeler's Mills.



The first known child to be baptized in Fredericksburg was in 1819 Found:in Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763-1865) - Elizabeth Carscallen. Elizabeth's first 'petition' is dated in 1817, there are two. Her whole family siblings, father are listed in the petition list and are found residing in the Fredericksburg area- L & A. They still had children being born in Camden L&A by 1826. Last child born 1828 but I don't know the location.

Looking for: Calvin Wheeler re: land. (never have found his parents/birth place either!)

Ask Olive Tree Response: Holly, you've got some good information so I had a look in the CLRI (Ontario Land Record Index) on your behalf. If Calvin filed a petition for land, it should be noted there. Sometimes Petitions are not found in the Upper Canada Land Petitions index but mention of them can be found elsewhere (CLRI or Land Books for example)

The headings (fields) in the CLRI are:

Surname; First Names; Residence; Location; Lot; Conc.; Date ID ;Issued; Date ID; Issued; Trans. Type; FG Type; Type Sale /Lease; Archives RG Series; Reference Volume Page
 
Here is the entry I found:
Calvin; Wheeler; Murray; Murray; FR 1/2 28; 1; 8; 1816-05-25; FG; M; 01 C13; 123 027
 
I'll translate for you: Calvin Wheeler living in Murray received a Free Grant of land in right of his Militia claim, on 25 May 1815 by Order in Council. His land was in Murray, the front half of lot 28 Concession 1. The Archival Reference is 01 C13 and it is on Vol. 123 page 027.
 
This record appears in Record Group 1 (Crown Land Records), Series C-I-3 (Fiats and Warrants), Vol. 123 (Register for Military Fiats), Page 27, which has been microfilmed on MS 693, Reel 138.
 
There should be a petition on file which was heard in Council. No doubt his Military service was during the War of 1812 so you might find more in War of 1812 records (although they are sparse). The microfilmed fiat and warrant mentioned above will give the petitioner's rank and regiment. 
 
I'd also check Township papers for that lot and concession number, just in case there is something of note there. While I cannot be sure that the entry I found is for *your* Calvin, I urge you to look further, and check the Abstract Indexes to Deeds for the specific land location entered.

Finding Land Records for an Ancestor

Archie asked

For the purpose of filling a blank in the ancestry record of now deceased, Robert Leonard Wallace Archibald, my genetic dad and previous, decades-long owner of Lot 18, Con. 13, Brock Twp. where most of my growing-up years were spent and attended Sproule's public school only 7 tenths of a mile West of there, under the tutilage of Mrs. Webster firstly and conclusively, Mrs. Hughes, , I request to know the recorded date of he and/or he and his wife Marion's purchase of that 65 acres of land that Con.13 divided the house and barn areas of and also, if not asking too much, whatever dates you could provide additionally as pertains to its eventual subdividing and sale, would add to my record as an addendum brevity.

OLIVE TREE ANSWER: Dear Archie. Wow! Your query is the longest sentence I've ever read. But I think I understand what you want.

You are in luck because you can consult the Abstract Indexes to Deeds for Conc 13 Lot 18 Brock Township to see every transaction on that piece of property since it left Crown ownership. Each transaction gives (at a minimum) the name of the owner, the buyer, the date, and what kind of transaction it was. You can then obtain the full detailed record if you wish.

I hope you have read my earlier blog response "Those Wonderful Abstract Indexes to Deeds!" You may also wish to take a peek at the explanation and examples of Abstract Indexes to Deeds at my CLRI (Ontario Land Record Index) page on OliveTreeGenealogy.

How to Find a Loyalist Ancestor

Colleen's question:

My husband's grandmother Elizabeth Jane CUNNINGHAM was born in Rainham, Haldimand, Ontario, Canada in 1835. Her father was George B., CUNNIGHAM , b.1802. in Selkirk. His father was George CUNNINGHAM; mother unknown.

1. Is George (the first ) married to Mary SITTS?
2. Were the CUNNINGHAM's loyalists?

I have consulted members of the family; "The Story of Mary Sitts.,"Frontiersmen of New York, Volume 2","the Original Settlers of Haldimand", census sheets, and "United Empire Loyalists". among others. Everyone who writesseems to indicate that Mary Sitts is the ancestoress. That doesn't seem to fit.

.
Olive Tree Answer: Hello Colleen - Let's tackle Question #2 - where the Cunningham's Loyalists? There is no one list of Loyalists, and it is a
misconception to think that there is.

There were lists of approved Loyalists, but there was more than one, they are all different in varying ways, and no one list is considered the final word.

For example the Crown Lands Department created lists of Loyalists based on various sources. This is the Crown Lands (aka Old UEL List). It contains approximately 6,000 names but only about half are qualified UEL.

The Executive Council devised a different list from various district rolls. This lists is called the Executive Council UE List. This list, considered more accurate than the Old UEL List, contains about 3,000 names but is *not* complete.

*Both* these lists, which were first drawn up in the 1790s, have been altered since they were written. The important thing to remember is that when/if you consult
these lists, a negative result (your ancestor's name doesnot appear) does not necessarily mean he is not a qualified Loyalist!

That is why you must search ALL records. The first place I look for a possible Loyalist ancestor is in the land records, for Loyalists and their families were granted land in accordance with their military rank and dependants.

CLRI (aka Ontario Land Record Index) summarizes land grants from sales of Crown Land, from Canada Company sales or leases and from Peter Robinson settlers' grants.

UCLP are the actual Petitions for land which were submitted in Upper Canada (Ontario) . They frequently contain information about the petitioner and his or her family. Loyalists and discharged soldiers often mentioned the regiment in which they served.

Land Books are basically a summary of land grants. They
rarely contain more info than name, date and location. Sometimes they have little gems in the comment section. But they're helpful because if you can't find a petition in the UCLP it may be in the Land Book so at least you have some
record of the event.

I took a quick look on your behalf and I see that George Cunningham is recorded in Land Book "C" on June 17, 1797 as living on Lot 10, Concession 1 in Haldimand Township. You can check Abstract Indexes to Deeds to find out how George obtained the land - was it a grant? Did he purchase it?

I always start with the UCLP because it is indexed (UCLP Index) *and* if your ancestor is found, you may be lucky enough to find a wealth of genealogical information in his/her petition(s) for land grants.

After thoroughly searching the UCLP (and being very creative with spellling!!), I move on to the other sources,leaving no stone unturned.

You can also consult the following offline sources

- Haldimand Papers - papers and correspondence of Haldimand, Sir Frederick from 1758-1784

- Loyalist Claims and Conversion List, 1790-1837 - Audit Office 12 and 13

- The Loyalists in Ontario: The Sons & Daughters of the American Loyalists (Caveat: Reid's work must not be considered the final say - it isn't.But it's a great place to look for clues, and he does include that all important OC date if there is one )

- District Loyalist Rolls

- United Empire Loyalist Lists

All of these sources are fully explained on Finding a Loyalist Ancestor You will also find the microfilm reel numbers (if applicable) and location of each source.