Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763–-1865)

[SarahND]

Hi all,
I just saw this on Dick Eastman's Online Genealogy Newsletter:

The following announcement was written by Library and Archives Canada:
Ottawa, September 23, 2010 - Library and Archives Canada (LAC) is pleased to announce the launch of a new online database, “Upper Canada Land Petitions (1763–-1865).”
 
Through this online database, researchers can access more than 77,000 references to petitions for grants or leases of land created by individuals who lived in present-day Ontario between 1763 and 1865. 
 
The database is available at: http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/data ... dex-e.html

Regards,
Sarah

[paddyscar]

=D> Woo-hoo! This will be a boon to people seeking relatives, especially because some places were so small, or out of the way that there aren't many ways you can track them down.

Frances

[Muriel]

Oh yes =D> - a whole branch of my family became farmers in Ontario before most of them drift south of the border. Lots of fun awaits.

Muriel

[John Gourlay]

Yes, this is good news. I was able to find my most famous relative, Fife boy, Robert Fleming Gourlay, a social if not eccentric reformer and my 2nd cousin, 5 times removed, mentioned.
Robert 1778-1863 is worth Googleing for those interested in the British settlement of Canada. Robert's bronze bust sits in St.James Park, Toronto as a tribute to his land reforms which he also conducted in Scotland and England. I was fortunate enough to obtain a second hand copy of his biography on the net a few years ago. It's entitled 'Robert Gourlay, Gadfly. Forerunner of the Rebellion in Upper Canada 1837'
John Gourlay

[Currie]

Some of this material may be included in “House of Commons Parliamentary Papers” http://parlipapers.chadwyck.co.uk/marketing/index.jsp which may be available to you via your library or educational institution. There’s an assortment of information there about various early colonial land schemes, the individuals involved, petitions, and many other things too numerous to mention.

For example, Aberdeenshire Library has this database and it is accessible from home http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/librari ... reference/

Some of the earlier Parliamentary Papers info may also be available in Google Books.

Alan