Notes to self about Pittsburgh Township

I finally got a copy of Tracing your Ancestors in Frontenac and Lennox & Addington Counties by Barbara B. Aitken and H. Dawn Broughton (ISBN 1-55034-007-7) from my public library. I wish I had a copy of this book before we went to Kingston, but now I have more reasons to go back. The book was written in 1987 so I hope the information is still valid.

These are my "notes to self" of additional things I could search for. Comments in parenthesis are for my benefit.

Family Research (page 5-7)

• best general handbook for Ontario genealogical research is Genealogy in Ontario: Searching the Sources by Brenda D. Merriman (look at a copy of this book from the library or amazon.ca)
  

Examples of "Primary Sources" (previous to this I thought a Primary Source was only a life event i.e. birth, marriage, death. Obviously some primary sources are better than others, but I'm glad the list is longer than I thought)

• Birth records (used ancestry.ca for civil birth registrations; Anglican Diocese for earlier christening records)
  
• Marriage records (used ancestry.ca for civil marriage registrations; Anglican Diocese for earlier marriages)
  
• Death records (ancestry.ca again)
  
• Census records (ancestry.ca)
  
• Wills & Probate records (have found some in 2 different indexes; need to figure out how to get a copy of them)
• Land records (ordered LDS film 199690 to get the Instrument for the Concessions & Lots of my ancestors)
  
• Tax assessment records
• Military records (exploring this option; a lot of films to go through from the LAC)
  
• Church records
• Cemetery records (used these)
• Funeral home records
• Burials and transport permits
• Court records

Secondary sources (not acceptable as proof but provide valuable information)

• Bible records
• Obituaries
• Newspaper clippings
• Published family histories
  
• Published county histories (i.e. Lilacs and Limestone)
• Directories
• Personal papers
• Tombstone inscriptions
• Atlases and land ownership maps (1878 Atlas of Frontenac)

REPOSITORIES p. 8-9 (I'm only mentioning the ones that I still need to do)

• Contact the Frontenac County Registry Office for copy of the wills I would like (613-548-3230).
• Marine Museum of the Great Lakes at Kingston (613-542-2261) for early records of... shipbuilding companies (check here for John Wilmot b. 1790 since he worked in the Kingston dockyard)
• Queen's University Archives Guide (get a copy of this if we ever go back to Kingston)

Find out what a Tweedsmuir history is for Pittsburgh Township?

CHURCH REGISTERS: p. 12

• Free Methodist - Pinegrove Free Methodist, Pinegrove Road, Pittsburgh Township register 1905-1966 (dates are too late for who I'm looking for)
• Methodist - Early Methodist Records 1805-1853, Methodist Episcopal Chruch includeing Smith's Creek, Bay of Quinte & Napanee circuits (looks like can get a copy from the Kingston OGS)
• There are other Methodist Churches listed under the UNITED Church, but the earliest dates are not early enough. There is a guide to the United Church Archives by Neil Semple from the Kingston OGS that might be helpful in determining if I should contact the United Church Archives. The oldest dates for Methodist are from the Sydenham Street Methodist/United Circut Register marriages from 1831-1850 but a church in that location would have been very far away from where my ancestors lived on Concession 1 Lot 11/12 of Pittsburgh Township (I think it would have been almost closer to go to Ganonoque since they didn't have to go to Kingston Mills to get across the Cataraqui River?)

CIVIL REGISTRATIONS

• More notices from Methodist Newspapers 1830-1857 (Graves family? looks like the Kingston OGS has a copy)

CEMETERIES

• Pine Grove, Concession VIII, Lot 33 (I think the Pine Grove church was a Methodist church. Depending on the dates, perhaps the Pine Grove cemetery might have some GRAVES family names).

LAND RECORDS

(I think I have this one finally figured out but if not I will have to get this book out of the library again)

WILLS

• All wills prior to 1940 are at the Archives of Ontario. (how do I order a film from the AO to look at the will???)

MILITARY RECORDS (page 41)

• The key to obtaining information is finding out the regiment or corps to which the man belonged. I need to find a copy of Searching for a Soilder in the British Army or Canadian Militia by John Grenville. There was once a copy at the Kignston OGS.

On page 61 there is a map of Pittsburgh Township

So basically I've got some clues of where to go for probate and military records which after I get my land records sorted out, is all I think I can do at this point.

GRAVES in Lower Canada (Quebec)

H-1161
Lower Canada Land Petitions 1637 - 1842

Lower Canada Land Index for the land Petitions in HG1, L3
QUEBEC and LOWER CANADA land petitions and related records 1637-1842

Volumes 1-210

Petitions for land grants submitted to the Land Comitte of the Executive Council in Quebec and Lower Canada, 1764-1841, together with related and supporting documentations, 1637-1842, form a relatively unified series. Included are many reports and schedules prepared by the Surveyor General, documents relating to the administration of the Jesuit Estates, draft and duplicate minutes and reports of the land Committee, and regulations of the land granting office, 1780-1840. Petitions submitted after 1841 are to be found in series L3. The land Books (series L1) generally give only a brief mention of the decision taken on the application for land. Thus they have very limited value for genealogical and biographical research.

The original order of the petitions has not been preserved. The petitions (volumes 29-209) were reorganized into an alphabetic sequence by name of petitioner or group leader in the early 1960's. Acess is to be had through the Index.

FINDING AIDS
The nominal card index in the Reference Room provides the name of individuals and the pages of the petitions which refer to each. In the case of group petitions, the page references are to the whole file and not to mentions of specific individuals.

The original arrangement of the petitions was essentially geographic, by the township in which the grant or lease was made. Finding Aid 619 provides lists according to the original order, alphabetically arranged by township and by name within each township. It can be used in conjunction with the nominal index to obtain page reference for all settlers ina specific township.

Finding Aid 876 is a copy of the "list of Lands Grnated by the Crown in ... Quebec", 1763-1890, for which the records are held by the Service de l'enregistrement des documents de l'Etat at Quebec. The published list is in two parts, arranged alphabetically by township and by name of grantee.

USE OF THE INDEX

1. Consult the Index under all possible Variant spellings of the names of interest. Note page numbers given there.
2. Consult the shelf list to determine the microfilm reel on wich the pages will appear. RESEARCHERS MUST USE THE MICROFILM.
3. Consult the microfilm in the Self-Service Reading room. The reels may also be borrowed through the inter-library loan arrangement.

MICROFILM

The complete series has been microfilmed. Reel numbers are given in the Slef List which follows this description. An earlier version of this shelf list was microfilmed (as reel C-623). The nominal card index will be microfilmed in 1981.

PHOTOCOPIES

Since the series has been withdrawn from circulation for conservation purposes, xerox copies cannot be made. Reader printer copies will be supplied at the standard charge of rxerox. When special cpies are required for pulication or exhibition, photographs can be supplied at the standard charge for such copies. Please specify the reel number as well as page numbers w3hen ordering photocopies.

CITATIONS

The recomended format is as follows:

PAC, RG 1, L3L vol. 201, pages 94801-94802; on reel C-2568

or

PAC, Lower Canada Land Petitions, vol. 201 pp 94801-802; reel C-2568

1822-1828
Graves, ---
Lower Canada Land
23846-23863
Shelf list 23765-24265 C-2511 (Bowen Hugh - Breyner, David) No dates

1792
Graves, Abner
Lower Canada Land
pp46314-46326
Shelf list 45933-46403 C-2529 (Gilman, Moses - Gongere, Joseph) No dates

1792
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
3206-3211
shelf list 3108-3336 C-2495 (Minutes & reports of the land committee: drafts and extracts of minutes etc) 1792

1792-1797
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp 47576-47588
shelf list 47246-47656 C-2530 (Grant, Donald - Grant, Thomina) no dates

1792-1821
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp. 46771-46834
shelf list 46404-46866 C-2529 (Goodfellow, Robert - Goupille, Louis) no dates

1797
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
p. 406
shelf list 374-449 C-2493 (Lists of petitons for land: Petitions &c for land and reference to the land committee with index) 1796-1799

1799
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp. 58-64
shelf list 58-64 C-2493 (List of petions laid before Council) 1799

1799
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp. 4522-4527
shelf list 4493-4706 C-2496 (Minutes & Reports of the land committee drafts and extracts of minutes) 1798-1800

1801-1802
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp. 35733-35788
shelf list 35645-35916 C-2521 (Davidson, James - Desjarlais, Marie J.) no dates

1802-03
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp. 756-759
shelf list 629-787 C-2493 (Lists of applicants who had taken the oath of allegiance) 1795-1806

1802-1825
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
p. 1540
shelf list 1410-1616 C-2494 (lists of the Patentees in the Townships for which Patents have been issued) 1802-1825

1805-1806
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp. 16603-16610
shelf list 16312-16931 C-2505 (Allsopp, James - Antrobus, John) no dates

1806
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
p. 1309
shelf list 1239-1409 C-2494 (List of Patentees... Book 1 duplicates pp 1217-1264) no dates (1809)

1806
Graves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
p. 2118
shelf list 1962-2299 C-2494 (scrip book listing grants with index) 1796-1832

1792
Graves, Adam & others
Lower Canada Land
pp. 170
shelf list 141-273 C-2493 (Memorials &c for land and references to the land committee with dates of warrants of survey) 1792-1793

1787-1829
Graves, George
Lower Canada Land
pp. 24766-24769
shelf list 24511-24777 C-2512 (Briand, Thomas - Brooks, John) no dates

Other GRAVES names like Agnes & Edward, John, John Jr, Josiah, Levinah, Lydia, Martha, Mary, Nancy, Nathaniel, Randel, Peres, Richard, William also but I'm not sure how or where they might fit in the family tree.

1792
Greaves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
pp 11-26
shelf list 11-26 C-2493 (orders for specific quantities of lands in Sundry Township) 1792

1801
Greaves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
p. 1651
shelf list 1617-1738 C-2494 (orders of the govenor in council specific quanties of land with index) 1801

1799
Greaves, Adam
Lower Canada Land
2352-59
shelf list 2345-2365 C-2494 (lists of names of grantees proposed to be published in the Gazette) 1799

1800
Greaves, Adam & Others
Lower Canada Land
47807-47810
shelf list 47657-48227 C-2530 (Grant, William - Green, James) no dates

1837
Groves, George
Lower Canada Land
pp. 48659-48666
48546-48666 C-2531 (Green, John - Groves, George) no dates

no other Groves (this one doesn't match the year I'm looking for)

Trying to find the right land records

While trying to find land information for Adam and George Graves, I thought that LAC film C-2741 might have what I was looking for, but no such luck. There was mention of George & Adam Graves, but it has more to do with a question about Adam & George's land. I copied the letter because I thought it was interesting. Some of the spelling mistakes are my transcription errors and some of the spelling mistakes are the way the word was spelled, so I've left it the way I typed it originally; unfortunately I didn't have time to proof read and compare to the film.

Bundle 6 Claim 19B page 10 is a letter with the names of a number of people and the description of their land

Entered in land book No 5 pages 305 & 306

Inspector Generals Office

York 26 October 1803

Sir

In obedience to your Excellencys Commands to make Examination with respect to the privilages and fees payable on Patents for Land remciming in the Secretarys Office, that had been signed during the Administration of Mr President Rufsell

I have the honor to Report, that for Seven of the Patents mentioned in the minutes of Search herewith transmitted the half fee appears to have been paid by Government. Two hundred and sixty four appears intitled to receive their Deeds free of expence, but of this number ten of them are stated as not to have buss seen by the secretaery or have paper the great seal. Five hundred and five are subject to prepayment of full fee. Three of these have not the paped the seal: and one is stated to have been cancelled. One has been resinded on account of Onstarory. One for which a Patent has been made out was relinquished in a petition to the land board of the Midland District. For fifty two, I have no document to direct me to decide of this number there are six for whom no Patents have paper the seal. One is not privlidged to the extend of land mentioned in the Patent. Two are misnomers. Two require further authority. Five ought not to ifree owing in some instances to the grantee having died long before the date of the Patent. For Two the land was granted to the wife and the deed made in the name of the husband. Eight are subject to the order in Council of the 11 June 1799, and one on account of his Father having been suspersded the UE list is uscroed for Enquirey. Making in the whole Eight hundred and fifty one Patents or suppossed Patents that are now reported upon.

I have the honour to be very Respectfully

Sir

Your Excellencys

Most Obedient

and Most humble servant

______ Gill

Insp Genl

His Excellency Peter Hunter Esq

Liuetenant Govonor of Upper Canada

and Lieutenant General Comnanding

His Majestys Forces in both the Cannadas

page 6

Report of a committee of the whole of the executive councin on the report of the inspector general on Examinations made by him in regard to priviledge on 851 grants of land.

Council Chamber York 2nd December 1803

The Honorable Henry Allcock Esquire Chief Justice

The Honorable Peter Sussell Esquire

The Honorable Erneas Shaw Esqure

The Honorabel John McGill Equire

To his excellency Peter Hunter Esquire Lieuntenant Govonver of His Majesty's Province of Upper Canada and Lieutenant General Commanding His Majesty's Forces in the Province of Upper Canada and Lower Canada.

May it please your excellency

Your excellency having by order dated the first day of November 1803 been pleased to refer to the consideration of the board the report of the inspector general on examinations made by him in regard to priviledge on 851 grants of land signed by his excellency Lieutenant Govonor Simcoe and Mr. President Anssell as received by the said inspector genreeal for mthe Auditor General (Mr Russell) 23 July 1803 and which said 857 grants are stated to be now in the possession of the secretary of the Province or his deputies. The baord took the said report to the said inspector general into considerant and after examingin discussing and deliberating on the same on many days to which they from time to time adjorned. Thie board has agreed to report to your excellency as follows:

That they find that there are 851 grants that are now in the hands of the secretary and his deputies. Two hundred and seventy three of the grantees in which are entitled or claim to be intitled to privlidge on which two hundred and seventy three the board submits toe following observations:

page 8

Fourty nine deeds are without description of Grantees and the six next following are without deed or description of the respective grantees (continues to list 6 names)

page 9

The remainder of the said 49/Viz/43 want further description the names of the said 43 are what next follow and for the land hereafter next specified (viz:)

page 10

Lieut George Graves Nos 11 & 12 in the 2nd Con & Broken Fronts Nos 11 & 12 in the 1st Concession 670 acres in Pittsburgh

Captain Adam Graves Nos 17 & 18 in the 1&2 Concessions with Broken fronts 980 acres in Pittsburgh