Hands-On Early Ontario Land Records

An enormous amount of information about the people and families who lived in early Ontario survives in land records. The records of the Crown Lands Department are extensive, complicated and sometimes a little mysterious, but extremely rich in unique and intriguing historical detail.

This three-session course, designed for both family and local historians, will provide an introduction to the land granting process and the main types of Crown Lands records. You’ll learn how to use the various finding aids and collections at the Archives of Ontario (including those on microfilm from Library and Archives Canada) to document a person’s acquisition of (or attempt to acquire) land in Upper Canada.

Participants will work in groups following case histories through the records. The hands-on practice will help you proceed confidently with your own searches.

Registrants must have e-mail and Internet access, and will be expected to do some assigned background reading before each class. Registration is limited. It is particularly important that participants commit to attending all three sessions.

Instructor: Jane E. MacNamara
Jane E. MacNamara, Toronto, is the author of Inheritance in Ontario: Wills and other Records for Family Historians (OGS/Dundurn, 2013) and writes about genealogy at wherethestorytakesme.ca. A long time member of OGS and a member of the Society of Genealogists (London), Jane lectures about research methodology, Ontario, and English family history to genealogical and historical groups throughout southern Ontario. She teaches courses for the OGS Toronto Branch, most notably hands-on courses about Ontario records. She leads regular trips to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City and is the organizer of Genealogy Summer Camp, an innovative program that brings out-of-town researchers to Toronto for a week of tutorials and hands-on research, now in its 17th year.

Please register online—it's quick and easy!
Use PayPal to pay by credit card or PayPal account or mail a cheque.
Pre-registration is required to guarantee your space.  Registration is not complete for mail-in registrants until payment and contact information is received by our registrar.*
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* For this reason, online registration is strongly recommended.

Toronto Branch runs a regular program of courses in a wide variety of subjects for genealogists at all levels of expertise. Visit our courses page for more information.

The Archives of Ontario is wheelchair accessible. For more information about our policies on accessibility, cancellation and refunds, late and at-the-door registrations, and copyright, visit our courses page.