UNDERSTANDING THE ABSTRACT PAGES OF
THE LAND REGISTRY SYSTEM

If you are trying to search information on the pages of the abstract books in the Land Registry System,  it can be very time consuming and confusing trying to read the hand writing,  piece together the information and figure out all the abbreviations.  Here are some clues that might help.

After you locate the right book for the Township,  you need to find the Concession of the lot you are searching and then the lot. 

Our example here,  which has been transcribed to make reading easier,  is Lot one in Concession 2 of Marmora Township.  (That’s the Callaghan Rapids area)

You will see the columns are as follows:

• 1.     The number of the document (so you can find it in the filing system)

• 2.     The type of document (deed, mortgage, bargain and sale etc)

• 3.    The date of document was registered

• 4.    The Grantor – that is the person giving the document

• 5.    The Grantee – that is the person receiving the document

• 6.    Consideration or how much money changed hands

• 7.    Land and remarks.  A crown grant starts out usually as 200 acres,  but in this description you will find what part of that 200 acres is affected by the document.  

So looking at our example below, you can see the Queen (the Crown) gave 200acres to Thomas Callighan on the first line of the page.

THEN WHAT HAPPENED?

• 
  Next you have a B&S or Bargain and Sale.  (Like a deed)

Thomas Callighan sold the North half of the east half of the 200 acres to John Callaghan and he also sold the south half of the east half to Ferriniah Callighan.  He is now left with the west half being 100 acres.

• Next  we see that  “Patrick” Callighan gives a “Mort “to George Leonard, using the NE ¼ (50 acres) as security. (Doc. A180) This is a mortgage. He also gives two mortgages to William  Leonard (Document A362 for the east half and the NW quarter, and document A392 on the SW quarter.  In other words,  he has mortgaged all 200 acres.

In other words he borrowed money from William Leonard and gave a mortgage on the land as security.(It says $60,000,  but this is a transcription error and,  no doubt, was meant to be $600.00.   Strangely, too,  it was on the  NE quarter which  was sold to John and Ferriniah,  but this is a common problem of records from the old days.  Very often things weren't registered, and the paper trail is incomplete.   At this point,  Patrick Callighan somehow became the  owner of all 200 acres.

• 
  Next is a QC on the whole 200 acres.  This is a "Quit Claim deed" in which Catherine (probably Patrick's wife or sister)  is releasing any interest
  she may have in the property .This could be something like a spousal interest or perhaps an inherited interest.

  
  

• Further down William Leonard registers a D of M to Patrick Callighan -  This is a discharge of mortgage. 

  Obviously Patrick paid back the money he owed to the Leonards. The Remarks refer you to the original mortgages.

• 
  On the fourth line from the bottom there is an M beside John Plunkett. This is a mortgage which he gives to William
  Leonard in 1870. 

He was borrowing money  ($450.00) to buy the east 100 acres of  land from Patrick Callighan,  and you can see he gets his deed almost two years later. In the old days deeds were not handed over until it was fully paid for. The DM (Discharge of mortgage) or RM (Removal of mortgage) was  registered on title almost three years later (lazy lawyers)  and there is a typo there (1845 when they must mean 1875)

• 
  Meanwhile,  Patrick,  who seems to have needed more money,  mortgaged the west half again to William Leonard.

Nowadays,  the registry office  in Ontario is all electronic with guaranteed titles,  so while in the old days you would have to pull the actual document to check dates, today nobody cares about such details. 

TO SEARCH HISTORICAL ABSTRACT PAGES ON LINE, GO TO https://www.onland.ca/ui/

FOLLOW THROUGH AS FOLLOWS: 

• Search location (Hastings County 21)), 

• Historic Books,

• Browse all books,

• Browse Abstract Parcel Books,

• choose Marmora Twp.,

• Choose concession and search pages for lots