Ontario Land Record Index - New Guide

Do you have an ancestor who settled in Ontario (previously Upper Canada and Canada West)? If so, you have hopefully obtained his or her land records. If not, you will need to venture into the often confusing maze of Ontario land records.

To start, OliveTreeGenealogy.com offers a lookup servive in the microfiche index of the CLRI (Ontario Land Record Index) You must consult the CLRI in order to obtain the Archival Reference (and other details). Then you must convert the Archival Reference to a microfilm number in order to view the original record.

The Archives of Ontario has recently put online a guide to the complete process of researching Ontario Land Records using the microfiche index. It is called How to Use the Ontario Land Records Index ca. 1780 - ca.1920 and is an online guide to how to find the microfilm

To understand the archival reference code in CLRI entries and to identify the microfilm reel that contains the original entry, consult the Ontario
Land Records Index: How to Find the Reel of Microfilm You Need available in the microfiche binders in the Main Reading Room

In case you have not visited the AO website in the last while The Archives of Ontario wants your feedback. They have a customer service survey they would like you to fill in. Give them your feedback and you have the chance of winning $200.