A Toronto farm, 1799-1800
Over the last six months or so, I’ve been digging into the papers of the Honourable David William Smith, Upper Canada’s first Surveyor General, part of the amazing manuscript holdings of the Toronto...
View ArticleA tale of two Isaac Gilberts
In my last post, I showed you a sample of the fascinating papers of the Honourable David William Smith[1], Upper Canada’s first Surveyor General, in anticipation of a lecture at the Ontario...
View ArticleExploring the Lennox and Addington Archives
Earlier this month I had the opportunity to visit the new Lennox and Addington County Museum and Archives in Napanee. I’d been asked to do a presentation for the local historical society there, and...
View ArticleSt. Andrew’s Societies in Ontario: A look at the records
St. Andrew’s Societies were formed in many Ontario communities by Scottish settlers and their descendants. They helped new immigrants, provided fellowship, preserved Scots values and culture, and in...
View ArticleUntangling Ontario Township Papers
This is the first in a series of posts about an important set of records for Crown Land research, Township Papers. Think of it as a conveniently organized gateway into the massive collection of Crown...
View ArticlePaths to a Patent: Acquiring Crown Land in Upper Canada
If you wanted to acquire land in Upper Canada, there was a process or path to follow. The essential steps were the same, but depending on who you were, your particular circumstances, and where the land...
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