An ongoing research project of the Ontario Genealogical Society, Toronto Branch

A widow leaves her mark on Toronto

By Jane E. MacNamara, on December 31st, 2011%

Was the Toronto community of Brockton named for War of 1812 hero Sir Isaac Brock?

Well, no. As Stephen Otto tells us in a new article for the Simcoe’s Gentry project, it was named for Sir Isaac’s not-so-famous cousin James Brock who was granted Park Lot 30.

An officer with the 49th Regiment of Foot and private secretary . . . → Read More: A widow leaves her mark on Toronto

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The York Report: Settling in

By Janet Berkman, on February 15th, 2011%

It was April 1796, and Simcoe was concerned. The town did not seem to be developing as quickly as it should and a few of his government officials were making every excuse to delay their move to York. Some of the grants made in September of 1793 (perhaps in haste) now needed clarification, and the allocation . . . → Read More: The York Report: Settling in

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Toronto’s Park Lots: The Granting Process

By Janet Berkman, on January 28th, 2011%

In 1793, the area along the Lake Ontario shoreline just west of the Don River was surveyed as the Town of York, the new capital of Upper Canada. To encourage “suitable” government officials to move to the new town and undertake the work of establishing homes and businesses there,  John Graves Simcoe, the newly-appointed Lieutenant-Governor of Upper . . . → Read More: Toronto’s Park Lots: The Granting Process

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The Research Team

By Janet Berkman, on January 21st, 2011%

A sample of the working notes and other material collected by the Simcoe's Gentry research team

The Simcoe’s Gentry project was begun in 1997 by volunteer Diana Park (1926-2001) and a group of researchers. They combed through Crown Land and Land Registry records, books and periodicals, estate files of the grantees and their descendants, manuscripts held by . . . → Read More: The Research Team

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Simcoe’s Gentry: the Park Lots of Toronto

By Janet Berkman, on January 4th, 2011%

Have you ever wondered why so many east-west streets in downtown Toronto are crooked?  Did you realize that this is an artifact of the way the original land was first surveyed and granted to the original landowners in the area? Might you be related to an early family that settled in now-downtown Toronto?

Intersection of Dundas . . . → Read More: Simcoe’s Gentry: the Park Lots of Toronto

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