Land Records

Ontario Land Records Index (1780-1920)

The Ontario Land Records Index covers the years from about 1780-1920, and lists settlers who requested Crown land on which to homestead, were granted permission to lease or reside on a specific Crown land lot while completing their settlement duties, received the patent awarding private ownership of a specific Crown land lot, or leased or purchased land from the Canada Company or were Peter Robinson settlers.

The Ontario Land Records Index is on microfiche (4 x 6" squares of film) and is kept in the Special Collections Room at the Kingston Frontenac Public Library's Central Branch. It is in a black index-card box marked Ontario Land Records Index with the shelfmark SPECCOLL 971.371 OLRI.

How to Use the Microfiche

The box contains two versions of the index, one index arranged alphabetically by settler’s surname, and one index arranged alphabetically by township. If you know the name of the town but not the township, check the Ontario Locator website.

You will need the 16-page guide How to Use the Ontario Land Records Index to find Kingston-Frontenac Information (available in the Special Collection Room or below as a PDF). This document tells you how to interpret the numbers and codes that you will find on the microfiche

You are welcome to take the box of microfiche and the duotang to the microfilm machines and view them there. Please return them to the Information Desk when you are done

There is also a copy of the Ontario Land Records Index on microfiche in the Lorne Pierce Collection at Queen's University.

Resources

Articles

Files

Microfilms

Crown Land Records

The following microfilm contains documents relating to the grant, sale or lease of Crown Lands. Most of these records originated in the Office of the Surveyor General or the Crown Lands Department. Land patent indexes created by Provincial Secretary's Official Documents section are also included here as well as records of the Heir and Devisee Commission.

Many of the records are summarized in the Ontario Land Records Index, available on microfiche at many libraries and archives.