Peristence Pays Off: My Finding Aid is linked to from Library and Archives Canada

Followers of Olive Tree Genealogy blog may recall that I have written several posts, beginning in August 2013, about the mis-labelled Heir and Devisee Commission Papers available on Canadiana.org

Example from HD 1144 Christian Bradt

While searching for my ancestors I discovered that of the 21 digitized microfilms, 10 are incorrectly identified as to volume numbers and content contained. To assist other genealogists and researchers, I am began methodically going through the images to identify what each film contained.

Thus I created a Finding Aid with correctly identified contents of each microfilm and published it on my website. I wrote to Canadiana.org many times over the course of 3 years offering the Finding Aid to them but when I finally got an answer my offer was refused.

This year I was able to speak directly to Mr. Guy Berthiaume the Librarian and Archivist of Canada, on the Dec. 4 Twitter chat: Ask the Librarian and Archivist of Canada your questions, 11:30AM-1PM (EST). AskTheLAC

My question was in four parts since Twitter only allows 480 character tweets. I explained what my Finding Aid was, and my last tweet had my question for Mr. Berthiaume:

"My Q is:Will you look at my Finding Aid for those 10 incorrect films & speak to me about correcting the online content descriptions?" 

He did. Then Library and Archives Canada contacted me, and today I am pleased to announce that a link to my Finding Aid for the Heir and Devisee Commission films H-1133 to H-1153 is linked to on Library and Archives Canada.

Huge thanks goes to Mr. Berthiaume for taking time to look into these issues! Now researchers will have updated and correct information on the content of each of these digitized films.

More Ways to Find an Ancestor in the 1851 Agricultural Census

Previously I talked about the 1851 Agricultural Census and using the online Library and Archives Canada Search Engine to find an ancestor.

You can also search on Ancestry.com in their online Canadian Census records. Unfortunately you cannot narrow your search to just bring up results for the Agricultural Census. However when you enter an ancestor's name, IF that person is found in the existing Agricultural portion of the 1851 census, and IF they are found in a surviving 1851 Personal Census, you will see two results. One will be the personal census, the other the Agricultural.

Search Results 1851 Census for Charles Black - 2 entries, Agricultural & Personal

If the person is found in one census and not the other, how do you tell which you have? It's simple. The result for the Agricultural census will not display an age. 

Search Result for Agricultural Census - no age is shown

The database you want to search is called 1851 Census of Canada East, Canada West, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Don't enter the individual's age or year of birth. Just search by first and last name, and location.

It would make life easier if Ancestry had entered the word "Agricultural" into their database fields so we could narrow the search but they have not done so. However with a little patience you can find your ancestor providing that census has survived for the area the ancestor lived in.

Don't overlook this resource as it has great genealogical value to researchers. 

Finding Ancestors on 1851 Agricultural Census Canada

Previously I talked about the 1861 Agricultural Census for Ontario and the goof that Ancestry.com made when bringing it online.
Why search for ancestors in an Agricultural Census? These records provide details of exact location of land, type of farming, house lived in, livestock and more.
 Ancestry.com doesn't appear to have the 1851 or 1871 Agricultural Census schedules (at least they are not easily found!) but there's good news!
In 2011 I talked about how to go directly to the Agricultural census on Collections Canada. That was a great database and search engine, much better than the new one on Library and Archives Canada. But it no longer exists. You must now search for ancestors in the 1851 Agricultural census at Library and Archives Canada. 

1. Select Canada West (Ontario) from the drop down list for Province/Colony.

2. To narrow your search by township or county (or both) simply add them as keywords. 

 

Be very careful using this search engine! It is unforgiving. For example if your ancestor's name was recorded as "Thos." (for Thomas) on the original census page, searching for "Thomas" will give you ZERO hits. 

 

It is best to use wildcards, for example "Tho*" allows for abbreviations and full name. 

 

I had ancestors in Flamboro Township in Wentworth County in 1851 so I entered keywords "flamboro wentworth" and got 3 hits. Each hit has a list of available images. All I needed to do was start at the first image and begin looking.

Here's an example of what one page of the 1851 Agricultural Census looks like. The graphic used here is blurry but the original is crystal clear.
So don't be afraid to give this a try in your search for more details of an Ontario ancestor.

Finding an Ancestor in the Challenging Upper Canada Land Books

Upper Canada Land Book K

I've shown you how to find an ancestor's petition in the Upper Canada Land Petitions online. If you missed that, you can follow the step-by-step instructions at Searching Ontario Canada Land Records, eh? and Understanding Notations on the Envelope of an Upper Canada Land Petition

Now we're going to tackle the very challenging set of online records called Upper Canada Land Books.

As I mentioned in my tutorial on  Understanding Notations on the Envelope of an Upper Canada Land Petition, the envelope on an ancestor's petition should not be overlooked.

In fact if you are lucky there will be a notation on the envelope that tells you the Land Book the page where you will find the entry for your ancestor's petition for land. Even if there is no notation indicating the Land Book Volume and page number, there should still be an entry in the Land Books.  I'm going to show you how to find those entries whether they are notated or not on the Petition envelopes.

What Are the Upper Canada Land Books?

But first let me explain what the Land Books are. When an individual petitioned for land in Upper Canada (present day Ontario), he or she had to present supporting documentation with the petition. The petition and supporting documentation would be read in the Executive Council. This Council consisted of a Land Committee who were responsible for recommending a decision as to whether or not to grant the petition. The  Council Clerk then made a corresponding entry in the appropriate Land Book.  These books contain the deliberations, decisions and recommendations of the Land Committee of the Executive Council of Upper Canada.

Sometimes the Land Book only contains a summary of the petition. Sometimes there is more detail. It is always wise to uncover all records possible for a given ancestor and I do recommend finding your ancestor's entry in the Land Books. The dates covered by these digitized Land Books are 1792-1867.

These Land Books do not have an online index (except for Land Book C) but there are several different online listings of the microfilm reels providing Volume numbers and dates found in each reel. However none of the online listings agree so I've tracked down which online listing is correct and that is the one you will need to use.

The Digitized Upper Canada Land Books

Let me explain in more detail. The actual filmed Land Books are online at Heritage Canada. But you can't just jump in and start searching as there are 14 films numbered from C-100 to C-110, as well as H-1976 to H-1978. The "H" films are all Finding Aids but I don't find them very helpful.

Clicking on the "About" tab for film C-100 says that this film contains Upper Canada Land Books Vol. 18-19. No dates are provided for any of the films listed on Heritage Canada. They only list Volume Numbers but the envelopes of Land Petitions do not record Land Book entries by Volume number. Instead they record it as a letter such as "Land Book K" or "Land Book M"

So we can't use the Heritage Canada descriptions to help us find our ancestor's entry. But we must use their online digitized images of the Land Books! A search of Library and Archives Canada finds a listing but on their website it shows there are 22 microfilms (as opposed to Heritage Canada's 14).

Finding What Dates are Covered in the Digitized Land Books

It took me quite awhile to find a list that provided accurate details as to what dates and Land Books are covered in each film.

I tried the search engine on Collections Canada found at http://collectionscanada.gc.ca/lac-bac/search-recherche/arch-adv-elab.php?Language=eng but results using the "identifier" found in the two lines under a specific film number on the About tab for a specific film back on Heritage Canada bring up results that do not fit the Heritage Canada film.

For example the identifier for film C-100 for example is "RG 1 L1 205068" Entering this in the search engine brings up 5 results. Each is for a different film. The hit for C-106 shows the following details:

 "Upper Canada Land Minute Book T contains the minutes of meetings of the Executive Council between 10 August 1837 and 29 June 1839 (pages 1-614), plus a nominal index organized under A to Z. For Minutes omitted in April 1838, see Upper Canada State Minute Book K (RG 1, E 1, vol. 55; mikan #3815028). " It also states C-106 contains Volume 38. 

But Heritage Canada website description for C-106 states it contains Vol. 36-39. We're in the ball park but we still don't know exactly what is covered in the film on Heritage Canada's website!
However the good news is that eventually I found this list of microfilm numbers on the Library and Archives Canada website. So far the details on this list have proven accurate as to what is on each film on the Heritage Canada website.

Finding Your Ancestor's Land Book Entry Using Notations on the UCLP Envelope

Now we get to the fun part. First you must find your ancestor's petition in the Upper Canada Land Petitions. See my previous blog posts for help with this. Once you have found the petition, check the envelope carefully. If there is a notation such as "Entered in Land Book J, page 110" as was found on one of the examples I used, that of the petition of Elizabeth Bowman DeForest, you're in luck.

Next you consult the list of microfilm numbers I finally found, to find out what film contains Land Book J. It is

C-103

28

Upper Canada

J

13 Aug. 1816 - 10 Feb. 1819

Now you go to Heritage Canada website and choose C-103. Once the first image loads you conduct a search the same way as we searched for the Upper Canada Land Petitions. See Searching Ontario Canada Land Records, eh? for a reminder of the method we used. It's a little different searching the Land Books because you are simply going by date which is found at the top of the images. Once you find the year and month you need, you check the page numbers until you get to the page you need.

And here is the entry for Elizabeth Deforest, found in Image 213 of C-103. It's a very simple entry and does not reveal any additional details about Elizabeth or her petition.

Finding Your Ancestor's Land Book Entry When the UCLP Envelope Has No Notation

But what if your ancestor's Upper Canada Land Petition envelope has no notation showing what Land Book it was entered in? What you must do in that case is note the dates - you want to write down the date of the original petition and the last date found on the envelope.

So in the case of my ancestor John Greenlees and his petition of 1826, I could see that the first date is 6 December 1826 and the last is 11 December 1826. So that is my timeframe. Checking the list of microfilm details on Library and Archives Canada I can see that my time period of interest is found on C-104.

C-104

31

Upper Canada

M

9 Feb. 1824 - 13 Dec. 1826

Back to Heritage Canada and a quick search through C-104 to find December 1826 and there was his entry.

And that is how you find an ancestor's Upper Canada Land Book Entry using the Upper Canada Land Petitions.

War of 1812 Free Acess to USA & Canadian Records

The War of 1812. This is the War that both sides (Canada and America) claim they won ^[FN] . It started on June 18, 1812 when America declared war on Great Britain. 

If your ancestor fought in this War, you can take advantage of the free War of 1812 databases online 

War of 1812 American Records - Free Access via Fold3 during June 2012

Fold3 observes the War of 1812 bicentennial with rich and revealing historical documents within the War of 1812 Collection. They include the War of 1812 Prize Cases from New York's Southern District Court, Letters Received by the Adjutant General, and War of 1812 Service Records for Lake Erie and Mississippi, and the War of 1812 Pension Files. 

War of 1812 Canadian Records - Free Access via LAC (Library & Archives Canada)

LAC has digitised and published its War of 1812 holdings online. These include the following records:

• War of 1812: Board of Claims for Losses, 1813-1848, RG 19 E5A
• War of 1812: Lower Canada Nominal Rolls and Paylists, RG 9 1A7
• War of 1812: Miscellaneous Records
• War of 1812: Upper Canada Returns, Nominal Rolls and Paylists, RG 9 1B7

 These records are not indexed. The best method for finding an ancestor is to consult the HELP file for each set of records. There you will find an itemized list of what is on each microfilm reel. This will help you narrow your search but be prepared to spend some time scrolling through the pages. 

I spent some time on the Claims for Losses microfilm on Sunday and can tell you that there are some names indexed starting at image 272 on microfilm t-1123.

You can also consult Olive Tree Genealogy War of 1812 section as there are some smaller databases online.  These include several Canadian Muster Rolls, Lists of widow's receiving Canadian pensions, property losses, prisoners of war and more.

^[FN] How can both sides claim they won the War of 1812? Easy. In a nutshell: USA won the Battle of New Orleans, the last battle of the war. America claims a win based on this battle. But it was fought after peace was declared. Thus Britain (and Canada) claim the win overall. As well, America never realized its objective to "annex" Canada, therefore that would in military and political circles be considered a loss.

Still interested? Read what an American historian had to say at Canada Won the War of 1812  

Spoiler alert: The article begins with "In a relatively rare admission for an American scholar, a leading U.S. historian who authored a provocative new tome about North American military conflicts states bluntly that Canada won the War of 1812."

Of course I'm not objective. Being a Canadian I believe that we won the war. But whoever won, we all lost many soldiers and civilians in some horrific battles. It is easy to perceive a War as "romantic" when in reality war is a horrible event. But nonetheless it happened and as genealogists we are naturally curious to know if one of our ancestors was involved and to what extent. Hopefully some of the databases that are being offered online will assist us in that quest.