Background on the Grantbook Database

Introduction

Land Grants record the distribution of Crown Land and give the receiver of the grant (grantee) a legal document authorizing possession of the land. The land grants included in this series were issued between 1763 and 1803 and were for land located in the area which makes up present day New Brunswick.

The land grant, that is the document itself, was essentially the final step in the process to acquire land. When an individual(s) or corporation applied for a grant of Crown land, they were required to follow certain procedural guidelines and fulfill certain obligations before being given legal rights to the property.

The first step in the land grant process was the applicant's submission of a petition to the Lieutenant Governor. For the early settler, the petition usually described himself, his need, his family, and any service he rendered to the Crown which might entitle him to reparations (i.e. land). Next, the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council, acting as a Committee of Council on Land, would either approve or deny the petition. If the petition was approved, an Order/Warrant of Survey was issued to the deputy-surveyor who established the boundaries of the grant to be issued. Information gathered from the survey was then used to draw up a land grant document which served as the official record and final authority of granted Crown Land. Finally, a copy of the grant was issued to the petitioner as his proof of ownership. There were as many as three copies of this grant, one for the grantee, one for the Crown Land Office and one for the Provincial Secretary as the record keeper for the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council. Each could be considered an 'original'.

Background

The dates of the grants included in this collection (1763-1803) cover the two decades just prior to and the two decades immediately following the massive influx of Loyalist refugees from the Thirteen colonies. This flood of refugees from the War of American Independence placed many demands on the provincial administrators, one of which was an instant and immediate need for land. Land in New Brunswick, which was still part of Nova Scotia, was plentiful. However, the enormity of the demand created many logistical problems for those in charge of its distribution. Therefore, in an attempt to accommodate and administer the new settlers, the Privy Council in London decided that in 1784 the province of Nova Scotia be partitioned and the province of New Brunswick be formed. The Order-in-Council to do so was signed on 22 June 1784.

Grants

In this series are land grants made to more than 9,000 individuals who received land in New Brunswick between 1763 and 1803. In a unusual quirt of record keepingthe series of bound volumes contains patents, appointments, charters of incorporation, native land claims and sundry other items, in addition to the grants and property leases.

The grants were organized into the following bound volumes:

• Nova Scotia Grants - (all grants issued on or before 1784, then re-registered or recorded in New Brunswick records)

  Volume Grants Dates
  Grant Book 1 #1-40 1784
  Grant Book 2 #41-60 1764-1784
  Grant Book 2 #134-146 1764-1784
  Grant Book A #61-133 1763-1784

  Note: This is the New Brunswick Grant Book 'A', with the NS grants in the back.

• New Brunswick Grants

  Volume Grants Dates
  Grant Book I #4-49 1785-1786
  Grant Book II #51-102 1786-1787
  Grant Book III #146-242 1788-1792
  Grant Book IV #243-358 1792-1800
  Grant Book V #359-422 1800-1803
  Grant Book A #1-80a 1785-1787
  Grant Book B #43-382 1786-1800

Abbreviation Key

P The presence of an asterisk in this column indicates that the individual was the first name on the grant.
Vol Volume number
PG Page number the grant begins on
PR Original province of registration
Grant Grant number
NS Date The date the grant was registered in Nova Scotia
NOTE: After the partition of Nova Scotia, any existing land claims that fell within the boundary of the new province of New Brunswick had to be re-registered in New Brunswick. Therefore, two registration dates (one for Nova Scotia and one for New Brunswick) appear on grants issued before 1784.
NB Date The date the grant was registered in New Brunswick
P A "Y" in this column indicates the presence of a plan or map that corresponds with the grant. An "N" indicates the absence of a plan or map.
Acres The amount of land issued to the grantee
Place The Parish or Township where the land was located
Co County where the land was located.
Note: The counties indicated in this column follow the county boundaries that were in place at the time the grant was originally issued. They do not necessarily correspond to modern day county boundaries. The abbreviations for the county names are as follows. Not all of the following counties had been established in the time period covered in this collection (1763-1803) as can be seen by the county founding dates in brackets.

• AL = Albert County (1845)
• CA = Carleton County (1832)
• CH = Charlotte County (1785)
• GL = Gloucester County (1837)
• KE = Kent County (1826)
• KI = Kings County (1785)
• MA = Madawaska County (1873)
• NO = Northumberland County (1785)
• QU = Queens County (1785)
• RE = Restigouche County (1837)
• SJ = Saint John County (1785)
• SU = Sunbury County (1785)
• VI = Victoria County (1844)
• WE = Westmorland County (1785)
• YO = York County (1785)

Name Variations