Welcome to Kent County Ontario GenWeb

Kent County is located near the South-Western tip of Ontario, between London and Windsor. Have you hit a brick wall with your Kent County ancestors? Search for your family origins on Kent County GenWeb. I hope this site will help you find that brick-wall ancestor.

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Read about COMPLETE Canadian Census 1851-1916 Coming Online in June!

2 Thumbs Up To Library & Archives Canada for putting digitized images and an index online for Soldiers of the South African War 1899 - 1902 Tip of the Month Kent County Records Black Settlement Cemetery Records Census Records Church Records Court Records Directories Home Children Land Records Lookups Loyalists Military Records Newspapers Orders in Council Township Records Vital Stats (Births, Marriages, Deaths) Featured Genealogy Criminal Assize Clerk criminal indictment files, 1853-1929 (309 Kent County names) Chatham General Hospital School of Nursing Quick Links Census Records Canada Naturalization Records Canada Ancestors At Rest Death Records Past Voices: Letters Home Olive Tree Genealogy Genealogy Blog Feeds Genealogy Blogs Olive Tree Genealogy Genealogy updates of free records online and tips for finding those elusive brick-wall ancestors The Paper Trail Eclectic mix of old documents - you may just find an ancestor's will, land record or general store receipt here! Past Voices Letters, letters and more letters! Letters from Civil War soldiers, from wives to husbands, sons to mothers, sisters to sisters... Ancestors at Rest - The blog for AncestorsAtRest.com website. Contains death records of all kinds - funeral cards, death notices, cemetery receipts, obits...and more Family Bibles - Another AncestorsAtRest.com blog of Family Bible entries and pictures of the births, marriages and death pages Antique Hunter - If you like antiques or collectibles, this brand-new blog will be one you don't want to miss!

Land Records of Kent County The following explanation of Ontario Land Records was posted on Ontario-L Mailing List by Lorine McGinnis Schulze of Olive Tree Genealogy and is posted here with permission Land records are very useful. Originally all land in Ontario belonged to the Crown. Although there were small areas of settlement in 1763 after the British took over, major settlement of Upper Canada began in 1783 and utilized Crown Grants. The CLRI (Computerized Land Record Index) is an index (not on computer!) which summarizes land grants from sales of of Crown Land in Ontario from Canada Company sales and leases, and from Peter Robinson settlers' grants. It provides invaluable clues for further research! Most settlers bought land soon after arrival, although of course there were exceptions to this - some lived with family previously settled, others had no urgent need for land (a blacksmith didn't need land as urgently as a farmer for example) The CLRI only shows the first time owner of Crown Land so if your ancestor purchased land from someone else his name will not show on this index but it is still a very useful tool. Not only does it provide you with exact location (township, lot #, concession #) it provides you with a date of transaction, whether or not there were special circumstances surrounding the transaction (a free grant, a hardship grant, a military grant, etc), and it provides you with an Archival Reference number. This Archival Reference number can provide more detail; often it does not but it is still a stone that should be turned. With a date of transaction you have narrowed the field for immigration. Beyond that the value of the CLRI is in the interpretation of the one line index entry which can lead you to other avenues of research. I have a more detailed explanation of the CLRI and other land records in Ontario on my site under my ONTARIO RESEARCH section. Once you have the exact land location for your ancestor (lot, concession #, township and county) you can venture into more records such as the Abstract Indexes to Deeds and Township papers, which can contain a wealth of genealogical treasure! Location of Land Records Upper Canada Land Petitions Upper Canada Land Petitions (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 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. Township Papers Township Papers are a miscellaneous group of land-related records have been arranged by township name, then by concession and lot or by town name and lot number. They're a mixed bag - they may contain correspondence re land, some petitions, copies of orders-in-council, etc Abstract indexes to Deeds The Abstract Indexes to Deeds are the indexed record of every transaction on a plot of land since it left Crown ownership. Fathers willed land to sons or to wives or daughters. Men parcelled off smaller sections of land and sold it to sons. Brothers settled near each other, or on the same land. Armed with the Abstract Indexes to Deeds you can check for every instance of your name of interest on that parcel of land. By referring to the date and Instrument Number found with each transaction, you can look up the complete record. You may find a will (Many wills are filed in the Land Records Offices) or other important document. Second Heir and Devisee Commission Case Files The second Heir and Devisee Commission was responsible hearing and determining claims to land brought forward by the heirs, devisees, or assignees of original nominees. Kent County GenWeb has lists of names of individuals from these case files for the following Townships: Camden Township Chatham Township Dover Township Harwich Township Howard Township Orford Township Raleigh Township Romney Township Tilbury East Township Zone Township ... for instructions on finding land and assessment or tax records see Land Records in Ontario 1880 list of landowners on the Historical Atlas for Kent County (1422 names)

 

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