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Oxford County Land Petitions : 1763-1865

 

Each applicant for a grant or lease in Upper Canada was required to submit a written petition. He or she also had to supply the necessary supporting documentation such as certificates from a local magistrate confirming his or her age, good character, loyalty and identity, or a discharge certificate from the Army or Navy. 

The records of the land granting process focused on four essential steps:

  • allocation of specific lots to the petitioners;
  • surveying of the land to establish precise boundaries;
  • performance of the settlement duties (clearing and cultivating a certain acreage, erecting a dwelling of minimum size); and
  • issuance of the deed.

The key to a successful petition was to identify oneself without any doubt and to justify any special entitlement. Therefore, the petitions will often contain an applicant's story detailing services, losses and suffering during the American Revolutionary War or the War of 1812. They may also contain discharge certificates, letters of introduction from prominent individuals in Britain, reports by the Surveyor General or the Attorney General on technical and legal matters, and some lists of settlers by region.

The petitions were received at the Executive Council Office. They were presented and read before a meeting of the Land Committee of the Executive Council, and a decision was recommended by the Councillors to the Lieutenant Governor.   This collection of records relate to pioneer settlers of Oxford County and represents their efforts to secure a life in a new land.

These Oxford County records were excerpted from a database developed by Library & Archives Canada.

 

Adams, Edward Hardy - 1832

Alger, Isaac - 1830

Alyea, Peter - 1820

Ames, Brockway - 1826

Anderson, James - 1847

Anglemire, Jacob - 1832

Arnold, Nehemiah - 1805

Arnold, Turpin - 1854

Ash, George - 1834

Averill, Paul - 1811

Babbit, Levi - 1801

Bailey, Adam - 1823

Bailey, James - 1820

Bailey, John - 1820

Bailey, William - 1820

Baker, Martha Burtch - 1816

Barnes, Lenadar - 1807

Barnum, William - 1852

Barraclough, John - 1835

Barrett, Michael - 1834

Barwick, James - 1835

Bates, William - 1840

Baxter, Charles - 1851

Baxter, Hugh - 1845

Baxter, James - 1845

Bean, Edward - 1797

Beattie, William - 1852

Bedford, William - 1832

Bettridge, William - 1835

Bevans, Moses - 1818

Bickerstaff, George - 1847

Birdsall, Benjamin - 1816

Bone, Mary - 1836

Bostwick, Henry - 1804

Bostwick, John - 1818

Bovard, Charles - 1820

Bowen, William - 1811

Boyce, James - 1841

Bradnock, Thomas - 1849

Brock, John - 1845

Brock, William -1845

Brown, Benajah - 1805

Browne, Richard - 1820

Brownson, George - 1841

Bryce, James - 1818

Bulless, Daniel - 1807

Burdick, Caleb - 1805

Burdick, Isaac - 1804

Burdick, James - 1802

Burdick, Levinah - 1805

Burdick, Levinah Teeple - 1805

Burdick, Samuel - 1803

Burke, Edmund - 1802

Burns, John - 1855

Burtch, Archibald - 1814

Burtch, Archibald - 1816

Burtch, Archibald - 1820

Burtch, Ethan - 1817

Burtch, Margaret - 1816

Burtch, Nathan - 1806

Burtch, Nathan - 1807

Burtch, Nathan - 1809

Burtch, Susan Teeple - 1815

Burton, Edmund - 1836

Burton, Edmund - 1837

Cain, Sarah - 1832

Campbell, Alexander - 1796

Campbell, Robert - 1834

Canada Company settlements - 1834

Canfield, Abraham - 1820

Canfield, Samuel - 1799

Carrall, James - 1820

Carroll, Abram - 1845

Carroll, Edwin - 1855

Carroll, Henry - 1821

Carroll, Isaac - 1800

Carroll, John - 1800

Carroll, John - 1800

Carroll, John - 1820

Carroll, Nelly - 1833

Carroll, Peter - 1835

Carroll, William - 1846

Carroll, William - 1850

Chamberlain, Joel - 1834

Chamberlain, Joel - 1834

Chamberlain, Myron - 1834

Chamberlain, Myron - 1834

Chambers, George - 1837

Chandler, Samuel - 1812

Clark, George - 1811

Clark, George W. - 1855

Clark, Robert - 1816

Clark, William - 1833

Clarke, William - 1836

Claus, William - 1817

Clement, Catherine - 1833

Clement, Jean Baptiste - 1833

Clements, Sarah - 1834

Clinton, Henry - 1832

Cohoe, Andrew - 1818

Colbourne, William - 1818

Cooper, Alexander - 1853

Corbin, Joshua - 1846

Cornwell, Richardus - 1816

Costello, William - 1819

Cowan, John - 1825

Cowen, Jeremiah - 1841

Cox, Peter - 1845

Cron, John - 1835

Cron, John - 1836

Cummings, James - 1841

Cunningham, John - 1826

Curtis, David - 1807

Curtis, William - 1816

Curtis, William - 1817

Daniels, John - 1833

Daniels, John - 1847

Davis, Joseph - 1824

Davis, Robert - 1824

Dawson, William - 1830

Day, John - 1837

Day, Margaret Highland - 1837

Dean, Josiah - 1798

Dean, Polley Burtch - 1807

Dean, Silas - 1805

Dease, Sarah - 1836

DeBlaquire, Henry - 1856

Deeton, Aaron - 1845

Delt, Joseph - 1835

Deton, Francis - 1832

Devine, Michael - 1835

Dexter, Thomas - 1802

Dibbel, Asa - 1801

Dowling, Nicholas - 1836

Doyl, Catherine Summers - 1808

Doyl, Charlotte Burtch - 1816

Doyl, John - 1816

Doyle, David - 1820

Drew, Andrew - 1820

Drew, Andrew - 1836

Eaton, Daniel - 1815

Eaton, John - 1797

Edmonson, William - 1856

Edy, Omri - 1820

Elgie, William - 1839

Elliott, Nancy - 1836

Elliott, Nancy Coon - 1820

Ernest, Cornelius - 1823

Evans, James - 1821

Evans, Joseph V. - 1832

Evens, Joseph - 1849

Everet, John - 1835

Fanning, Sarah - 1803

Farley, James - 1823

Farquson, H. H. - 1838

Fay, Lebbius - 1797

Fay, Patrick - 1848

Ferguson, John - 1855

File, Malachi - 1835

Finch, Titus - 1829

Fisher, Thomas - 1823

Ford, Robert - 1834

Foster, Charles - 1847

Fowell, John - 1860

Francis, George - 1846

Francis, Leicester - 1846

Fraser, James - 1834

Fraser, John - 1837

Fraser, John - 1837

Fraser, John -1832

Fuller, David - 1807

Fuller, David - 1808

Fuller, James - 1802

Fuller, James - 1808

Fuller, James - 1835

Fuller, Jonathan - 1807

Fuller, Jonathan - 1808

Fuller, Stephen - 1835

Fyke, John -1845

Galbraith, William - 1825

Galloway, John - 1822

Galloway, Zachariah - 1801

Garnett, Rothwell - 1834

Garnett, Rothwell - 1836

Geale, Catherine Lyons - 1835

Gibson, James - 1837

Gilbert, Abraham - 1835

Gilbert, Benjamin - 1831

Gilbert, John - 1836

Gilbert, John - 1837

Gilbert, Peter - 1831

Gillam, John - 1818

Gillis, John - 1845

Givins, J. - 1837

Graham - 1834

Graham, David - 1831

Graham, James - 1808

Graham, John - 1797

Graham, Philip - 1837

Graham, Philip - 1837

Graham, Philip - 1839

Grant, Anson - 1831

Grant, Anson - 1834

Grant, Ferdinand - 1836

Grant, George Chauncy - 1834

Grant, John C. - 1834

Grant, William - 1835

Green, J. C. - 1832

Green, Priscilla - 1839

Green, William - 1834

Grout, Anson - 1835

Gunn, Robert - 1851

Hall, Ichabod - 1811

Hall, Joseph - 1833

Hall, Samuel - 1800

Hall, Samuel - 1802

Hamilton, Robert - 1806

Haskin, Elisha - 1797

Hatch, John - 1833

Hawkings, Philip - 1845

Henshaw, Samuel - 1845

Heron, Andrew - 1799

Heron, Andrew - 1801

Hews, Joseph - 1839

Hickey, Hugh - 1850

Hicks, Martin - 1853

Hill, Alexander - 1857

Hill, Ebenezer - 1797

Hill, Nathaniel - 1836

Hillman, William - 1836

Holcroft, Thomas - 1856

Holcroft, William - 1836

Holmes, Hiram - 1835

Hook, William - 1853

Horner, Stacy - 1797

Horner, T. - 1818

Horner, Thomas - 1797

Horner, Thomas - 1817

Horner, Thomas - 1829

Horsman, Dennis - 1850

Howard, Elizabeth - 1797

Howden, John - 1820

Howden, John - 1837

Howden, John - 1838

Hughson, Jacob - 1839

Hull, Samuel - 1816

Hunter, Elijah - 1838

Hunter, Rollo R. - 1857

Ingersoll, Ann Maria - 1822

Ingersoll, Charles - 1832

Ingersoll, James - 1835

Ingersoll, Thomas - 1797

Ingersoll, Thomas - 1797

Ingersoll, Thomas - 1798

Ingersoll, Thomas - 1799

Ingersoll, Thomas - 1800

Jackson, John - 1830

Jefferson, John - 1836

Jessup, Susannah - 1799

Johnson, Levi - 1834

Johnson, Sidney - 1835

Jones, Jonas - 1824

Kalbfleisch, Charles Lewis - 1855

Karn, George - 1820

Karn, Leonard - 1820

Kerby, William - 1817

Kettle, Frederick - 1841

Kilborne, Whiting - 1847

Kilburn, Anthony - 1808

Kipp, Isaac - 1801

Kirkpatrick, Thomas - 1834

Lamport, Henry - 1820

Lancaster - 1825

Lancaster, Joseph - 1823

Lancaster, Joseph - 1826

LaPenotiere, Thomas - 1837

Laurie, Andrew - 1845

Lawrence, Effingham - 1801

Lawrence, John - 1855

Lawson, Henry - 1819

Leader, John - 1847

Lee, Patrick - 1838

Lee, William - 1841

Leonard, John - 1855

Light - 1833

Light, A. W. - 1835

Light, A. W. - 1839

Light, Alexander - 1837

Little, John - 1848

Lockry, Robert - 1855

London, Richard - 1845

Loomis, Benjamin - 1801

Lornaway, Henry - 1843

Losee, John - 1830

Lossing, Peter - 1816

Lossing, Peter - 1816

Lossing, Peter - 1819

Lossing, Peter - 1823

Lossing, Peter G. - 1818

Luddington, Levi - 1800

MacDonald, George - 1831

MacKay, Angus - 1835

MacKay, William - 1832

Mahoney, Selina Gilbert - 1832

Marks, Ruth - 1802

Marlatt, Samuel - 1831

Martin, Calvin - 1843

Martin, John - 1808

Martin, Mary Doyle - 1820

Marvin, Daniel - 1830

Matheson, Robert - 1835

Mathews, Samuel - 1811

Mathieson, Donald - 1851

Matthews, Abner - 1812

Matthews, Thomas - 1801

Maurner, Jacob - 1847

McAfee, Tamir Hughson - 1833

McAuley, John - 1816

McCartney, William - 1816

McCorquodale, Alexander - 1836

McCorquodale, Donald - 1836

McCorquodale, Hugh - 1831

McCrum, Samuel - 1841

McDiarmid, Hugh - 1845

McDonald, Elizabeth - 1836

McDonald, George - 1839

McDonald, Hasket - 1832

McDonald, Peter - 1836

McDonald, Robert - 1831

McDonnell, Alexander - 1798

McDonnell, Alexander - 1801

McDonnell, Angus - 1800

McDonnell, James - 1826

McGuire, William - 1837

McIntyre, Donald - 1820

McIntyre, John - 1843

McKay, Angus - 1832

McKay, Angus - 1837

McKay, James - 1836

McKay, William - 1834

McKay, William - 1834

McKay, William - 1834

McKean, George - 1845

McKenzie, Alexander - 1855

McKenzie, John - 1840

McLeavy, Robert - 1847

McLeavy, Robert - 1848

McLeod, Alexander - 1831

McLevey, John - 1835

McLevey, John - 1836

McLevey, Robert - 1835

McMartin, William - 1845

McMichael, William - 1816

McNab, Colin - 1792

McNames, Isaac - 1807

McNames, John - 1810

McNames, John - 1810

Mercer - 1817

Merrill, Isaac - 1822

Merritt, William - 1818

Millard, Jesse - 1841

Miller, Adam - 1816

Miller, Adam - 1818

Miller, Cornelius - 1837

Milmine, James - 1817

Milton, James - 1845

Moony, William - 1845

Moore, Charles - 1825

Moore, Samuel - 1816

Morgan, Lucius - 1800

Mott, Sears - 1816

Moyer, Henry - 1830

Mudge, Mica - 1830

Muma, Henry - 1849

Munn, Hiram - 1831

Murray, Alexander - 1845

Murray, George - 1832

Murray, James - 1832

Murray, John - 1833

Nelles, A. - 1824

Nelles, Abraham - 1828

Nelles, Abraham - 1828

Nichol, George - 1836

Nichols, Dorothy Rosenburger - 1834

Nichols, George - 1804

Nichols, George - 1820

Nichols, George - 1837

Norwich Church of England - 1837

Norwich Inhabitants - 1836

O'Neil, Edward - 1851

Oakley, Edward - 1838

Ogden, Robert - 1832

Oldfield, Joseph - 1844

Oliver, Robert - 1842

Omstead, Jonas - 1802

Osterhout, Mary - 1820

Otis, Christopher - 1819

Oxford Surveyor - 1830

Oxford Surveyor - 1830

Page, Elizabeth Hicks - 1836

Palmer, Arthur - 1834

Parker, Carleton - 1836

Parks, Alexander - 1844

Parsons, Chatwell - 1804

Pascoe, Richard - 1837

Pearl, Joseph - 1852

Pearl, Joseph - 1856

Peffers, Agnes - 1853

Pelton, Ann Doyle - 1833

Perrin, Thomas - 1835

Phillips, John - 1811

Phillpot, George - 1833

Pickel, Nicholas - 1831

Pickwell, James - 1850

Pine, Calvin - 1853

Pinkham, Hanson - 1847

Piper, Caleb - 1805

Piper, Caleb - 1806

Porter, Lebbens - 1800

Post, Israel - 1816

Post, Levina Stiles - 1822

Pringle, Lockwood - 1836

Putnam, Seth - 1800

Putnam, Seth - 1802

Putnam, Seth - 1802

Putnam, William - 1836

Raddish, Thomas - 1797

Reed, Israel - 1843

Reily, Alexander - 1831

Rexford, John - 1830

Reynalls, Carew - 1837

Reynalls, Carew - 1837

Reynalls, Carew - 1837

Reynolds, John - 1833

Reynolds, William - 1837

Roots, Henry - 1857

Rosbuck, Jane - 1837

Ross, Adam - 1837

Ross, David - 1852

Ross, Janet - 1834

Ross, John - 1833

Ross, John - 1834

Rounds, Lyrena - 1836

Rouse, Noah - 1847

Runchy, Reuben - 1817

Rupert, William - 1833

Rush, Henry - 1845

Rush, Peter - 1818

Russell, Charles - 1824

Russell, Peter - 1803

Rutherford, Robert - 1826

Ryerson, George - 1818

Sage, Sam - 1802

Sage, Willard - 1804

Sage, Willard - 1820

Sanderson, Thomas - 1839

Sarles, Andrew - 1823

Sayles, Deborah Fairchild - 1807

Sayles, Mordecai - 1796

School Reserves - 1847

Scott, Harry W. - 1845

Scott, William - 1852

Secord, Elijah - 1845

Seechrist, John - 1848

Seechrist, John - 1851

Selleck, Charles - 1802

Servos, Daniel - 1799

Servos, John Dease - 1807

Shannon, William - 1841

Shanshotts, Mary - 1825

Shantz, Christian - 1845

Shattuck, William - 1803

Shaw, John - 1833

Sheck, Alan W. - 1850

Sherman, John - 1798

Sherwood, Samuel - 1801

Sherwood, Thomas - 1800

Silleck, Ira - 1849

Slingerland, Henry - 1840

Smith, Peter - 1834

Smith, S. B. - 1840

Smith, William Kennedy - 1797

Snively, Anson - 1856

Spalding, Erastus - 1832

Sprague, Jonathan - 1835

Sprague, Jonathan - 1837

Springer, Aaron - 1859

Stafford, Abel - 1800

Stafford, Frederick - 1800

Staly, Albert - 1845

Stevens, Frederick - 1841

Stevens, Frederick - 1842

Stevenson, Thomas - 1841

Stewart, Archibald - 1845

Stiles, Peter - 1833

Stiles, Selah - 1831

Stratford, Samuel John - 1845

Street, Samuel - 1817

Street, Thomas Clark - 1836

Strong, John - 1830

Studevant, Hamlet - 1845

Sudworth, Abraham - 1833

Sudworth, Abraham - 1836

Sullivan, Catherine Markle - 1837

Sutherland, James - 1831

Sutherland, Robert - 1834

Swarts, James - 1832

Swarts, Maria - 1831

Swarts, William Dickson - 1820

Swartz, Margaret - 1825

Swartz, Mary - 1834

Swartz, Mary Catherine - 1838

Swayze, Israel - 1835

Sweet, Barton - 1801

Sweet, Barton - 1802

Sweet, Barton - 1811

Sweet, Robert - 1800

Sweet, Robert - 1802

Sweet, Robert - 1811

Taylor, Samuel - 1845

Teeple, Frederick - 1816

Teeple, Lemeul Covel - 1832

Teeple, Oliver Mabee - 1831

Teeple, Pellum - 1832

Teeple, Peter - 1817

Teeple, Phoebe - 1823

Teeple, Simon Peter - 1829

Teeple, Stephen - 1822

Teeple, William - 1812

Teeple, William - 1816

Teeple, William - 1819

Teeple, William - 1819

Teeple, William - 1823

Teeple. Edward - 1815

Teskey, William - 1845

Thompson, George - 1847

Thompson, James - 1837

Thompson, William - 1848

Thornton, Abel - 1805

Thornton, Benjamin - 1831

Thornton, Benjamin - 1853

Thornton, Jasper - 1832

Thornton, Remember - 1831

Thornton, Reuben - 1830

Thorpe, Gabriel - 1849

Throckmorton, Joseph - 1820

Tiffany, Gideon - 1801

Tims, Richard - 1820

Tims, Richard - 1820

Titus, Ebenzer - 1820

Todd, James - 1832

Todd, Thomas - 1832

Tolerton, Jonathan - 1830

Tolerton, Jonathan - 1839

Tomkins, Dennis - 1828

Topping, Edward - 1848

Topping, Edward - 1850

Tousley, Alanson - 1820

Tousley, Sikes - 1801

Tousley, Sikes - 1816

Towhey, Michael - 1845

Towsley, Ariel - 1800

Treneman, James George - 1850

Tripp, Michael - 1832

Tripp, Michael - 1833

Tripp, Moses - 1836

Trull, Reuben - 1804

Truscott, George - 1834

Tubbs, Richard - 1815

Underwood, William - 1816

VanSittart - 1835

VanSittart - 1836

VanSittart, Henry - 1836

VanSittart, Henry - 1840

VanSittart, Henry - 1847

Varney, Smith - 1818

Veitch, Janet - 1835

Veitch, Jannet - 1837

Wagster, Jacob - 1836

Wait, Thomas - 1820

Walker, George - 1836

Walker, Robert - 1849

Watson, Edward - 1801

Watson, Edward - 1809

Watson, Thomas - 1801

Webster, Hugh - 1818

Weir, Samuel - 1818

Weir, Samuel - 1837

Wells, Edward - 1830

Wesleyan Methodist Church - 1836

Whitehead, George - 1836

Whiting, Augustus - 1797

Whiting, James - 1836

Whiting, William - 1835

Wilcox, Amansa - 1831

Wiley, Henry - 1817

Wilkinson, William - 1836

Willcocks, William - 1800

Williams, John - 1845

Williams, John - 1847

Williams, John - 1848

Wilson, Robert - 1848

Winder, William - 1838

Winegarden, William - 1843

Wintermute, Anna - 1835

Withers, William - 1848

Wolverton, Asa - 1845

Wood, Guy - 1817

Wood, James - 1845

Woodrow, Edmund - 1818

Woodward, Jesse - 1832

Woolley, Enoch - 1832

Workman, James - 1856

Wright, Charlotte Smith - 1803

Wright, George - 1841

Wright, James - 1845

Wright, Sherman - 1832

Yeoward, Frederick - 1817

Young, Alexander - 1831

Young, John - 1825

Young, William - 1819

Young, William - 1827

Zorra Inhabitants - 1836

Zorra Locatees - 1836

Zorra Presbyterians - 1836