Ontario.ca     |    

Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery

You can enter a search term one or more fields in the search form:

• Last Name
• First Name
• Township or Town
• Year (i.e. the year the case file was begun)

Please keep in mind that the spelling of names can vary. Try different spellings or use * to "truncate" your search term. For example, entering Fred* will return Fred, Fredrick, Frederick etc.

Search Results:

Brief Search Results

After a search, you will be presented with a summary list of the "hits" for your search. You can click on a Last Name to go to the full results, or use the click boxes on the left to choose a number of results.

Detailed Search Results

Detailed search results will provide you with information about a particular case file: the name or names of the applicant, the township or town, the year of application and the case file number.

One you have identified case files that interest you, you may:

• consult the reel or reels of microfilm at the Archives of Ontario in Toronto
• borrow the reel or reels of film through your local library using Interlibrary Loan
• borrow the reel or reels of film from a Family History Centre of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Days Saints (note the different microfilm reel number)

Return to Top

These 5184 case files, which date from 1804 to 1895, document claims for land made to the Second Heir and Devisee Commission.

Each case file may include some or all of the following documentation:

• Copies of searches conducted by the Surveyor General's and, later, the Crown Lands Department, and sent to the Commission recording: whether a location had been made for the land in question and, if so, the name of the individual to whom the land was located and when the location was made; the justification for the location (e.g., an order-in-council); background information relating to the location; whether the land had been described for a patent; whether settlement requirements had been met. Files also may include copies of location tickets;
• Notices signifying the intent of claimants to pursue a claim before the Commission, as well as affidavits from the local Clerk of the Peace attesting that the notice had been publicly read and proclaimed in the Court of General Quarter Sessions and had been displayed in the office of the clerk;
• Lists of documents compiled and submitted relating to the claim, as well as affidavits submitted by claimants and supporting affidavits from witnesses;
• Copies of relevant indentures assigning interest in the land in question, as well as original wills and copies of wills assigning interest in land to heirs;
• Affidavits from Land Registrars attesting to the fact that the indentures, memorials and wills in question had been registered, as well as incoming correspondence received by the Commission from claimants, trustees, solicitors, and other interested parties;
• Copies of receipts issued by the Crown Lands Department documenting the payment of instalments on sales as well as reports from land agents relating to the claim in question, and maps showing the land claimed.
• Some files include family trees. Documents within the files can contain genealogical information concerning the background of both the original locatee and of the claimant, their occupation, and family connections.

The case files do not contain information outlining the decision of the Commission regarding the application.

Return to Top

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.

The second Commission was established by legislation in 1805, essentially continuing the functions of the first Heir and Devisee Commission that existed from 1797-1805.

Whereas the first Heir and Devisee Commission heard claims to land made by original nominees, their heirs devisees or assignees, the second Commission was confined to claims made solely by heirs, devisees or assignees; since a majority of the original nominees had either died or had left the country. Those original nominees still living in Upper Canada were allowed to apply directly to the Surveyor General for their patents.

The second Commission was also more centralized, with sittings generally taking place in the Executive Council Chamber of the Court House in the Town of York. Sittings were originally held for ten days in March and in June, but were later confined to fifteen days in July.

Appointments to the Commission were made by the Lieutenant Governor from members of the Executive Council and the Court of King's Bench, with the Chief Justice being an ex officio member. Three Commissioners, of whom one had to be a judge, formed a quorum; six constituted a full tribunal. Decision was by a majority vote of the Commissioners present.

At the first meeting in 1805, John Beikie, Deputy Clerk of the Executive Council, was appointed Clerk to the Commission.

The last meeting of the Commissioners occurred in January 1896. The Commission, however, was not formally abolished until 1911 by the Ontario Act.

Return to Top