The first place that I would look is the Ontario Census records. These can usually be found at your local library. Start with the 1901 census for the area where your family lived. This census is a wealth of information, it indicates the date of birth and the approximate year of emigration. It also provides you with the annual salary which was earned by your ancestor, along with other information. Once you have found your relative then move back to the 1891 census and keep on going back until you find no relatives. By doing this you will find out approximately when your relative moved to the area.

Once you have a list of your family taken from the census, now is the time to search in the Ontario births, marriages and deaths. The index for these is available at the Family History Centre, 1400 Murphy Road, Sarnia, Ontario. The hours, are I believe, as follows:

Tuesday - 7pm - 9:30pm
Wednesday - 1pm - 4pm & 7pm - 9:30pm
Thursday - 9am - noon & 1pm - 4pm & 7pm - 9:30pm
Saturday - 9am - noon

When you obtain the information to send for certificates and complete the necessary forms, you will then have to wait for a period of time before hearing from Salt Lake City. At such time as you receive your certificates, you can then proceed with your investigations.

If you have a date of death - look at newspapers of the area where your relative died. Some of these are available on inter-library-loan, if your family died out-of-town. The Sarnia Observer is indexed at the Sarnia Public Library, so it is quite simple to find obituaries which can provide you with a wealth of information. The only Newspapers on line that I know about it the Durham County Newspaper Index, at:

Do remember to take a look to find other Indexed Newspapers, these can be a wealth of information.

Get a map of the area in which your ancestor lived. The historical county atlases (1870-880) show all the lot and concession numbers for each township, as well as the names of some of the landowners. These also show where churches and cemeteries are located. Farmers/Business Directories will list where a man lived, and whether he was a tenant or landowner. Many of these are available on microfiche. Both the 1871 and 1901 Census will help you determine location, or you can look at the agricultural census returns for 1851 and 1861. These will list lot and concession numbers. Check the Ontario Archives Computerized Land Records Index. The information contained in the index refers only to the first alienation from the Crown, when a deed or patent was issued. The information is taken from three Record Groups, the Crown Land Papers (RGI), the Canada Company Papers, and the Peter Robinson Papers (MS-12). The index is available on microfiche through Salt Lake City, and is indexed by surnames and/or municipality. Your local Family History Centre may already have it on hand.

In 1763, the British Crown began to issue grants of land in Ontario, largely to attract British settlers to Canada. These grants were made by way of location tickets or occupation permits. Land Certificates were made to veterans and United Empire Loyalists. Grants of Land ranged from 200-5000 acres, depending on the rank of the soldier. Crown Land Grants contain a wealth of information, including testimonials from neighbours, family members and the settler himself. If your ancestor was a United Empire Loyalist, you will be able to look at the Upper Canada Land Petitions (UCLP). These are available on microfilm, and are indexed by surname.

Generally speaking, about accepting a grant "for where it was", you rarely see a Loyalist petition which asks for a grant in a particular location. The child of a Loyalist who received a free land grant did not look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak. Sometimes between the lines you can see that siblings received adjacent land, or at least in the same township, and this could have been the result of influence on local Land Boards.

The grant may or may not turn out to be arable land, which would not be apparent to the grantee without a personal (or agent's) visit. They were required to perform certain settlement conditions, as other settlers were, before they acquired the ultimate patent (title deed) for the property. In the meantime, they could go themselves and do the pioneer work, or they could hire a local to do the necessary clearing and building. They could also sell their pre-patent right to someone else, which amounts to what we would call an investment property. If they viewed the property and considered it non-arable, it was possible to exchange it for another location (with much bureaucratic time and paperwork), having to provide proof it was not fit for agriculture.

From 1792-1876 instruments were called Memorials or contracts that affect the ownership of a particular lot. They include Bargain of Sale, Bill of Sale, Mortgages and Wills. When the registrar recorded the memorial, the owner was allowed to retain the original deed. The registrar recorded a transcription of the transaction in a Copy Book. The Abstract Index to Deeds contain a one line entry for each transaction regarding each parcel of land. It is like a legal history of each lot from the time it was alienated from the Crown to the present. The first line will be the issue/patent from the Crown. Each transaction will have a document number. You can then use this number to access the Copy Book to read the memorial. Memorials contain the names of the parties, the date, the type of instrument, and description of land.

70% of all wills and letters of administration were registered at the registry office. Many probate records can be found in the land records, as land was often the only asset of the deceased. Separate will books are kept at the registry offices and are indexed in the General Register. If the will has been probated prior to 1900, you can write to Ontario Archives, 77 Grenville Street, Toronto, Ontario, M7A 2R9, who will mail you a copy of the will. I don't believe that there is a charge for this.

If your ancestor died after 1900, and the will was probated, then you have to write to the Surrogate Court in the City of which the death occurred. There may well be a charge for photocopies and postage for this service.

Once you have a will, this will tell you a lot about your family. Usually giving the name of the spouse and also the names of all the children. If the children have married, it will give their married names, which can also be a big advantage.

1842 Province-wide census, heads of households only 1851/52 First census to name all household members Enumerated - January, 1852 1861 Enumerated - August 14 1871 Enumerated - April 2 1881 Enumerated - April 4 1891 Enumerated - April 6 1901 First census to give dates of birth

Finding ancestors in census returns helps to fill in your family groups and sometimes adds a generation to your family tree. The personal schedules of the census provide the most valuable information for the genealogist. Here you will learn of their religious affiliation which will help in searching out church records. When you have found your family, do not stop at that page. You might as well finish the entire town or township for other surname occurrences, because you never know when you might find another family a little further on. Of course, the record will not specify relationships between families; you will have to seek other proof. The 1871 census of Ontario has been indexed (heads of households only) and is available in book form or from the Internet at the National Archives of Canada.

IMPORTANT ADDRESSES
National Archives of Canada 395 Wellington Street Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N3	Royal Canadian Military Institute 426 University Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5G 1S9
Archives of Ontario 77 Grenville Street Toronto, Ontario M7A 2R9	United Church of Canada Archives Victoria University 73 Queen's Park Crescent East Toronto, Ontario M5S 1K7
Presbyterian Church of Canada Archives Knox College 59 St. George Street Toronto, Ontario M5S 2E6	Canadian Baptist Archives McMaster Divinity College McMaster University Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1
Canadian Society of Friends (Quaker) 60 Lowther Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5R 1C7	United Empire Loyalists' Association of Canada Dominion Headquarters 23 Prince Arthur Avenue Toronto, Ontario M5R 1B2
Ontario Genealogical Society 40 Orchard View Blvd Suite 253, 2nd Floor Toronto, Ontario M4R 1B9

The following websites may help you if you're looking for information on your ancestor's land holdings or location.

Also, the Archives of Ontario has the following kinds of land records:
1. indexes to land patents;
2. correspondence of the Surveyor General and Commissioner of Crown Lands;
3. schedules and land rolls;
4. Fiats and Warrants;
5. "The Township Papers".

UPPER-CANADA-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-ALGOMA-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-BRANT-L-request@rootsweb.com ONDURHAM-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-ESSEX-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-GREY-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-HALDIMAND-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-HALTON-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-HURON-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-KENT-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-LAMBTON-L-request@rootsweb.com ONT-LEEDS-GRENVILLE-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-MIDDLESEX-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-NORFOLK-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-SIMCOE-L-request@rootsweb.com ONT-STORMONT-DUNDAS-GLENGARRY-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-WATERLOO-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-WELLINGTON-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-WENTWORTH-L-request@rootsweb.com CAN-ONT-YORK-L-request@rootsweb.com

I would strongly recommend that you join a Mailing List, especially if you are a beginner. These lists are most helpful and you can gain an abundance of information on your family if you are lucky. All you have to do is click on one of the above, leave the subject line blank, then type SUBSCRIBE in the body of message. Remember to either turn off your signature or type - end at the end of the message.

Always lurch around for a few days until you get the idea of how to write messages, and always give as much information as you have.