The early settlers who came to Upper Canada (what is now Ontario) were able to petition for land grants from the government. These records are now online at the Library and Archives of Canada web site, but they take some learning to know how to find what you seek. So I have created a web page about how to do such searches.

I will download and post images of all petitions by JOHNSTON or JOHNSTONE or JOHNSON. (There are 262 search hits for JOHNSTON and 11 for JOHNSTONE and 208 for JOHNSON.)

This is a web page of my Pre-Confederation Canada Johnstons web site. Click here for the main page.

My very real physical and other limitations make this page a low priority, so that I will do the capturing and posting of petitions sporadically. With 569 petitions to deal with, it is clearly going to take a very long time. But see the link below to the spreadsheet where I have captured the index information for all 569 petitions, so that you can see if your family or location has any petitions.

Contents

• Upper Canada JOHNSON, JOHNSTON & JOHNSTONE Land Petitions
• Statistical Overview

Click here for my spreadsheet of all 569 Johns(t)on(e) search hits in the land petition database, with duplicate worksheets sorted by (1) place, (2) date and (3) film-bundle-position. Until I have posted all of the petitions below, the spreadsheet is the best way to know whether your family made a petition. And it will give all of the information you need to search for that petition, using the instructions on my web page about how to do such searches. I will leave the spreadsheet up, even after posting all of the petitions, since it allows an easy way to profile all of the petitions from different perspectives.

NOTE that the numbering will change as more petitions are added. After each petition, two links labeled I (for Images) and T (for transcription - not an actual link in most cases) allow you to see either a PDF file of the original images of that petition or a web page with a transcription (and in some cases additional information) of the petition.

There are multiple ways to put the petitions in order: by county, chronological, alphabetical by name, by microfilm-bundle-petition number. I have decided to do it chronologically, by the date when the petition was made, with the earliest ones first. NOTE that I use the dates the petitions were originally made, while the LAC index apparently uses the dates that the petitions were granted. In some cases, these dates are as many as 10 years apart.

In cases where a petitioner self-identified as being from or petitioning for a particular township, I use that township below. In the other cases, I use the location of the signing of the document as the township. Clearly, this may not be the petitioner's actual residence, but it is the only township identified in the record, so that it is what I use. In some cases, the petitioner's parent is identified as being from a township, but there is no location for the petitioner, so that I use the location of the signing of the document in those cases.

Records with Images Online in Upper Canada Land Petitions

They are listed in alphabetical order within year: JOHNSON, JOHNSTON, JOHNSTONE. Do NOT assume modern spelling conventions were in effect: some records have the surname spelled in different ways. The surname listed here is the name in the Library and Archives Canada index, unless the signature is different in which case the name as signed is used here. I have not read through every petition, so that there may be petitions that have different spellings than listed here. The bottom line is that you should look at all three variants if they exist for the given name you seek. Also, not all index records include place names, so that some place names are blank.

1. 1788 - John JOHNSON - Montreal - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J Misc 1788-1795 - Petition 38 - I - T
2. 1788 - John JOHNSON - Carrillon - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J Misc 1788-1795 - Petition 39 - I - T
3. 1788 - John JOHNSON - Carrillon - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J Misc 1788-1795 - Petition 40 - I - T
4. 1790 - John JOHNSON - Cornwall - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J Misc 1788-1795 - Petition 42 - I - T
5. 1790 - John JOHNSON - Wolfe Island (as Grand Isle / Long Island) - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J Misc 1788-1795 - Petition 41 - I - T
6. 1792 - John JOHNSON - Matilda (Lunenburg) - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J Misc 1788-1795 - Petition 43 - I - T
7. 1793 - Patrick JOHNSON - Mill Creek - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J Misc 1788-1795 - Petition 44 - I - T
8. 1797 - Henry JOHNSON - Rawdon - Microfilm C-2108 - Bundle I-J 3 - Petition 60 - I - T
9. 1797 - Jonas JOHNSON - Pelham - Microfilm C-2108 - Bundle I-J 3 - Petition 58 - I - T
10. 1797 - Isabelle JOHNSTON CURTIS - Fredericksburg - Microfilm C-1648 - Bundle C 3 - Petition 125 - I - T
11. 1797 - William JOHNSTON - Hope - Microfilm C-1648 - Bundle C 3 - Petition 174 - I - T
12. 1797 - Andrew JOHNSTONE - York - Microfilm C-2108 - Bundle I-J 3 - Petition 59 - I - T
13. 1801 - Hannah JOHNSTON HAWLEY - Ernestown - Microfilm C-2044 - Bundle H 5 - Petition 11 - I - T
14. 1818 - George JOHNSON - Haldimand - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 41 - I - T
15. 1818 - Joseph JOHNSON - Brock - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 32 - I - T
16. 1818 - Robert JOHNSON - York - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 35 - I - T
17. 1818 - William JOHNSON - Cramahe - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 34 - I - T
18. 1818 - William JOHNSON - Toronto - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 48 - I - T
19. 1818 - George JOHNSTON - of Ireland in Lansdowne Township - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 54 - I - T
20. 1801 - Hannah JOHNSTON HAWLEY - Ernestown (King) - Microfilm C-2047 - Bundle H 11 - Petition 111 - I - T
21. 1818 - Joseph JOHNSTON - Cornwall - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 43 - I - T
22. 1818 - Margaret PATE JOHNSTON - York - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 27 - I - T
23. 1819 - Joseph JOHNSON - Toronto - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 6 - I - T
24. 1819 - Lawrence JOHNSON - Bayham - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 57 - I - T
25. 1819 - Nathan JOHNSON - Glanford - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 4 - I - T
26. 1819 - Peter JOHNSON - Bayham - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 59 - I - T
27. 1819 - Sarah McMICKING JOHNSON - Crowland - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 17 - I - T
28. 1819 - William JOHNSON - Toronto - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 12 - I - T
29. 1819 - Benjamin JOHNSTON - Southwold - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 58 - I - T
30. 1819 - James JOHNSTON - York - Microfilm C-2116 - Bundle I-J Misc. 1800-1836 - Petition 36 - I - T
31. 1819 - Thomas JOHNSTON - York - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 11 - Petition 61 - I - T
32. 1819 - William JOHNSTON - Etobicoke - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 11 - I - T
33. 1819 - William JOHNSTON (indexed as JOHNSON) - Talbot Road - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 3 - I - T
34. 1819 - Andrew & Frances JOHNSTONE - Scarborough - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 10 - I - T
35. 1819 - Robert JOHNSTONE - Scarborough - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 12 - Petition 8 - I - T
36. 1820 - Robert JOHNSTON - Toronto - Microfilm C-2116 - Bundle I-J Misc. 1800-1836 - Petition 41 - I - T
37. 1822 - William JOHNSTON - York - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 13 - Petition 16 - I - T
38. 1822 - Robert JOHNSTON - Cavan - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 13 - Petition 17 - I - T
39. 1824 - Robert JOHNSTON - Huntley - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 14 - Petition 18 - I - T
40. 1825 - Charles JOHNSTON - Hallowell - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 14 - Petition 27 - I - T
41. 1825 - Irvine JOHNSTON - Hallowell - Microfilm C-2110 - Bundle J 14 - Petition 28 - I - T
42. 1825-1828 - Abraham, Edward, Robert (2 petitions) JOHNSTON - Beckwith, Goulbourn, Huntley - Microfilm C-2739 - Bundle Perth Military Settlement - Petition 70 - I - T
43. 1830 - John JOHNSTON - Toronto - Microfilm C-2116 - Bundle I-J Misc. 1800-1836 - Petition 46 - I - T
44. 1831 - Isaac JOHNSTON - Erin - Microfilm C-2116 - Bundle I-J Misc. 1800-1836 - Petition 56 - I - T
45. 1832 - Robert JOHNSON - Huntley - Microfilm C-2116 - Bundle I-J Misc. 1800-1836 - Petition 63 - I - T
46. 1833 - James JOHNSON - Pickering - Microfilm C-2982 - Bundle Renewal of Leases 1815-1838 - Petition 81 - I - T
47. 1851 - Thomas Hall JOHNSON - Prescott - Microfilm C-2114 - Bundle J6 18550-1852 - Petition 16 - I - T
48. 1854 - Thomas Hall JOHNSON - Plantagenet - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle J8 1855-1858 - Petition 14 - I - T (57 pages)
49. 1855 - Thomas Hall JOHNSON - Plantagenet - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle J7 1852-1858 - Petition 17 - I - T
50. 1856 - Thomas Hall JOHNSON - Plantagenet - Microfilm C-2115 - Bundle I-J 8 1855-1858 - Petition 2 - I - T

Records with with Images Online in Upper Canada Sundries

These are all in RG 5 A1, Land Petitions in Upper Canada Sundries. I have created a web page about how to search the Upper Canada Sundries.

In the following, entries that begin with an asterisk (*) are entries that were not land petitions that appeared in the Upper Canada Land Petitions index. The Sundries, as their name conveys, contain all sorts of documents. I am gradually consolidating all Johns(t)on(e) Sundries entries here. But for now, 18 entries not listed here can be seen at Upper Canada JOHNS(T)ON(E) Sundries.

1. 1807 - Mary JOHNSON - Kingston (town) - Microfilm C-4504 - Volume 6 - Pages 2479-2481
2. 1815 - John JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-4545 - Volume 23 - Pages 9920-9922
3. 1816 - Isaac JOHNSON - Murray Township - Microfilm C-4546 - Volume 26 - Pages 12011-12013
4. 1817 - John JOHNSON - Whitby Township - Microfilm C-4600 - Volume 33 - Pages 15877-15878
5. 1818 - Joseph JOHNSON - Gwillimbury Township - Microfilm C-4601 - Volume 39 - Pages 18256-18257
6. 1819 - George JOHNSTON - Lansdowne Township - Microfilm C-4603 - Volume 43 - Pages 20890-20893
7. 1820 - Mrs. Mary JOHNSON - Mohawk Tract - Microfilm C-4604 - Volume 46 - Pages 22799-22801
8. 1820 - Sir John JOHNSON - Gannanoque - Microfilm C-4605 - Volume 48 - Pages 23513-23519 - I - T
9. 1820 - Conrad JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-4604 - Volume 47 - Pages 23073-23078
10. 1820 - John JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-4604 - Volume 47 - Pages 23073-23078
11. 1822 - William E. JOHNSON - Bertie Township - Microfilm C-4608 - Volume 55 - Pages 28227-28229
12. 1826 - Sir John JOHNSON - Grenadier Island - Microfilm C-4617 - Volume 77 - Pages 41736-41737
13. 1826 - William JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-4616 - Volume 76 - Pages 40993-40998
14. 1828 - Sir John JOHNSON - - Microfilm C-6866 - Volume 90 - Pages 49742-49744
15. 1830 - Mrs. JOHNSON - Penetanguishene - Microfilm C-6869 - Volume 99 - Pages 56070-56072
16. 1830 - William E. JOHNSTON - Bertie Township - Microfilm C-6869 - Volume 98 - Pages 55459-55461
17. 1831 - John JOHNSON - Oro Township - Microfilm C-6873 - Volume 110 - Pages 62365-62367
18. 1831 - Ann JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-6874 - Volume 109 - Pages 62274-62279
19. 1831 - James JOHNSTON - Eldon Township - Microfilm C-6873 - Volume 109 - Pages 62329-62330
20. 1832 - George JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-6877 - Volume 123 - Pages 68209-68210
21. 1832 - Hugh JOHNSTON - Adelaide Township - Microfilm C-6877 - Volume 123 - Pages 67857-67860
22. 1832 - John JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-6875 - Volume 118 - Pages 65992-65994
23. 1833 - Hugh JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-6880 - Volume 132 - Pages 72827-72828
24. 1833 - Hugh JOHNSTON - Adelaide Township - Microfilm C-6880 - Volume 132 - Pages 73127-73137
25. 1833 - Eliza JOHNSTONE - Medonte Township - Microfilm C-6879 - Volume 131 - Pages 72252-72253
26. 1833 - Eliza JOHNSTONE - Medonte Township - Microfilm C-6879 - Volume 131 - Pages 72252-72253
27. 1834 - Levi JOHNSON - Nissouri Township - Microfilm C-6881 - Volume 137 - Pages 74779-74780
28. 1835 - Anne JOHNSTON - Albion Township - Microfilm C-6887 - Volume 158 - Pages 86678-86679
29. 1835 - James JOHNSTON - - Microfilm C-6886 - Volume 155 - Pages 84909-84910
30. 1836 - Samuel JOHNSON - - Microfilm C-6892 - Volume 172 - Pages 94365-94368

The spreadsheet of all 569 Johns(t)on(e) petitions enables some interesting statistical perspectives that reveal a lot more as a big picture view of all the petitions -- by place, by year, and by microfilm reel.

Places

While there are 157 places (after merging variants), only three of them account for 25.1% of the petitions, and 20 of them account for 50.2% of the petitions. Here are the top 25 places.

Years

The chart shows clear differences in the rate of petitioning. (Click on image for full size.)

Microfilm Reel

Although the petitions span 76 reels of microfilm, the top 8 reels account for 75.4% of the petitions.