The “York Report” is an important part of the Simcoe’s Gentry story. It is part of the minutes of the Upper Canada Land Board. (Land and State Minute Book Volume A, covering 8 July 1792 to 27 June 1796) The minutes do not use the words “York Report” but the title was used colloquially in York land records that followed it.
The “York Report” was commissioned by Lieutenant-Governor John Graves Simcoe in 1796, and shows the state of York’s development to that date. Most of the Park Lots had already been granted. The York Report addressed Simcoe’s concerns that a viable town develop at York—not merely a governmental outpost where speculators held most of the land.
The York Report also revealed and rectified some of the problems that had cropped up in a land-granting system that the government had been re-inventing as it went along. This is particularly evident in a careful analysis of the Park Lots. The York Report recommended that Park Lots 1, 2, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 18, 20, 23 and 26 be allocated to different owners. (They had probably already been traded amongst the grantees.) The grantees for Park Lots 5, 11, 12 and 23 were not yet resident, and the grantees for Park Lots 27 and Township lot 33 had died.
The following is a transcription of the portion of the handwritten “York Report” that refers to the Park Lots—first the terms of the inquiry, and then the Report itself. The original Upper Canada Land and State Minute Book A is at Library and Archives Canada (R10875-18-5-E) and on microfilm C-101 at various institutions.
UPPER CANADA LAND AND STATE MINUTE BOOK, VOLUME A, p 336, 6 April 1796
His Excellency the Lieutenant Governor is confirmed daily in his opinion that the Interest of His Majesty, and that of the Public require, that the Seat of Government should so soon as possible be fixed internally on the Spot selected for that purpose on the River Thames, but as he He [sic] is under the immediate necessity, at present, of contracting those views which he trusts hereafter will be properly expanded, He desires the opinion of the Committee on such Arrangements as may be necessary to give effectual support to the growth and welfare of the Town of York. etc. etc. etc. —in consequence He directs the Honourable Council in Committee
First—
To examine and report to His Excellency in Council upon all former proceedings of the Council relative to the settling the lands of the Crown in the Town and Township of York, and in their Vicinity, and to state such parts thereof as shall seem just and expedient to be finally ratified and confirmed. For this purpose to call upon the Acting Surveyor General forthwith to lay before the Committee the several Plans in his Office to the Town & Township of York with a return of each & every assignment, He has been directed to make therein, & any documents in his possession relative thereto.
Secondly—
To summon every person to whom a certificate or order of Council has been given, or assignment has been made as a settler on Young [sic] Street, to appear of himself or his lawful agent before the Committee & to recommend the grant of Lands to those who may seem duly entitled to the same.
Thirdly—
To call upon the settlers in the Township of York & to confirm such Grants therein as may be proper.
Fourthly—
To report what period in the opinion ot the Committee ought to be allotted to each Officer of the Government for the construction of a House, in the front lots of the Town of York, agreeably to a Plan that shall be recommended by the Committee to His Excellency, provided such officers receive one hundred acres of land respectively in the first Concession of the Township of York, and adjacent to the Town, in aid of the expense necessary to the Erection of such an House conformably to the original principle
Fifthly—
To assign such portion of land as may hereafter reimburse Government for the expenses incurred in the opening of Young [sic] Street.
Lastly—
To adjust such regulations as may be expedient and not burthensome, to give an architectural Uniformity to the Town, an object of very great importance in the Establishment of a new Province and to propose whatsoever may have a tendency to promote the welfare and speedy settlement thereof.
p. 341
To His Excellency Major General Simcoe Lieutenant Governor & Commander in Chief of Upper Canada etc etc etc.
Report of a Committee of Council held at York Ap’l 6, 1796 and continued by adjournment to the 28th of May 1796
Sir,
The Committee of Council having taken into their consideration the Instruction of Yesterdays date which Your Excellency has been pleased to order to be laid before them entirely concur with Yr Excellencys opinion that the Lots immediately butting on each side the Roads of Communication, particularly Yonge Street, and Dundas Street, ought not to be granted to any but Bona fide Settlers.
They therefore humbly submit to Your Excellency the following Rule to be adopted in the locating those particular lots as a Means of Securing a full Compliance with so beneficial a Resolution.
When ever Your Excellency in Council may judge proper to grant the Prayer of a Petition for a lot in either of those Streets, the resolution thereon shall be so worded as to suspend an assignment thereof, from issuing from the Surveyors Office, until Yr Excellency in Council shall permit it, upon being satisfied that the applicant has built a House thereon, and is actually dwelling therein, either in his own Person, or by a Sufficient Tenant, and the said Resolution shall at the same time declare that the applicant shall forfeit all claim to the Lot prayed for, if he fails to execute the whole of this Stipulation before the Expiration of One year from the date of his permission to Occupy the Lot prayed for—
With respect to the Exceptions and Dispositions of the Reserves in the Vicinage of York it appears to the Committee to be unnecessary for them to enter into a discussion thereof, As Yr Excellencys Plan and Recommendation have been already approved by one of His Majestys Principal Secretarys of State with only one Additional Reserve for the Accommodation of the future Rector, and this they observe Your Excellency has amply attended to by Appropriating four hundred acres for that purpose.
The Committee beg leave to lay before Your Excellency a schedule of the Persons to whom farm lots have been ordered and to Recommend for Confirmation by Deed those to whom they find assignments have issued, and those who tho’ not under assignment they find either settled in the Vicinage of York or making some advance towards An improvement in their Respective Lots:
Schedule as under | |||
May 25, 1793 | |||
Thomas Collins—prayed for a Tract of Land of 69,120 acres. |
Inadmissable but ordered a Grant of two farm lots for himself & Son at Toronto. |
||
Sept 2nd, 1793 | |||
John Scadding—for No 15, East side the Don, first concession under assignment. |
Recommended. |
||
Lots in the Town |
Concession |
Recommended for Confirmation or Rejection |
|
Sept 2, 1793 | |||
John Cox U.E. |
14 |
First |
Under assignment Recommended. |
Frederick Brown |
13 |
do |
do |
G&B Mosley between them |
11 |
do |
Benjamin, do |
Ditto, ditto |
10 |
Second |
Geo. being Dead, this lot presumed to be vacant |
John & Thos Mathews |
10 |
First |
John appeared his lot improved do |
Paul Wilcot |
7 |
do |
Appeared, improved with broken fronts. do |
John Ashbridge |
8 |
do |
do do |
Jonathan Ashbridge and James McDonell |
9 |
do |
Jonathan Ashbridge. Recom’d for East half & broken front. |
Messrs. Cozens (Brothers) |
6 |
do |
Samuel appeared. Recom’d. |
Ditto |
16 |
Second |
No application & ignorant which of the Cozens may be entitled. |
Ditto, Dan’l | |||
Andrew & James Hunter |
5 |
First |
Did not appear |
Wm Cooper prays for this lot | Recom’d as And’w & James Hunter have left the Province | ||
Messrs. Cozens |
Back lot and for Lots No. 24, 25 |
Fourth |
West side Yonge Street. J&B Cozens appeared—Recommended |
John Philips |
Town lot, 1/2 No. 1 |
Third |
No appearance or application |
David Ramsey, U.E. |
do 2nd |
First |
Under assignm’t. No app’ce. Recom’d |
Christopher Robinson |
Town Lot 13 |
Second |
U.E. No appearance |
Magnus Swanson |
do 13 |
Third |
No appearance |
John Coon |
18 |
Second |
U.E. Recommended |
Cap Bouchette, exclusive of former grants. 2 lots for self & son |
24 |
1st |
Township of York |
Ditto as part of former grant |
29 |
2nd |
do. Under assignment. No appearance. Recommended. |
John & Thos Hewett |
15 |
do |
No appearance. |
John Stoner |
19 |
4th |
do |
Wm. Smith |
Back lot 11 |
3rd |
Recom’d |
Jos. Dainty, a certain part of |
33 |
1st |
Dead. Township of York. |
J.B. Rousseau, do |
34 |
do |
Town’p or York. Recom’d |
F. Willard. broken front |
12 |
do |
Dead |
Peter Benville, Jos Burk
Edwd Graham, A. Campbell |
Town lots 4 4 |
do Second |
No. 4 under assignm’t to Patrick Burn
No appearance. ditto |
Wm Demont |
2 |
Third |
Recommended |
Bensley Peters |
3 |
do |
No appearance. |
Abraham Lawraway |
19 |
Second |
Under assign’t. No appearance Recom’d |
Mr. Wm Wilcocks. |
Front lot 15 |
1st |
Township of York |
Mr W & Chas. Wilcocks
Chas. Wilcocks |
24 Front lot 13 |
2nd 1 |
do. Under assignment to Wm. & Chas. but the latter never having been in the Province. Recommended for Wm. only. Township of York not Resident |
Sept 4, 1793 | |||
Chief Justice Osgoode |
do 5 |
do |
Township of York not Resident |
Ditto |
26 |
3rd |
do do |
Peter Russell, Esq |
do 14 |
1st |
do Recom’d |
Ditto |
23 |
2 & 3rd |
do. (under assignm’t) do |
John White Esq |
do 4 |
1st |
do do |
Wm. Jarvis Esq |
do 2 |
do |
do do for No. 6 |
E. B. Littlehales, Esq |
do 1 |
do |
do do for No. 18 |
D. W. Smith, Esq |
do 6 |
do |
do do for No. 10 |
John McGill Esq |
do 7 |
do |
do Recom’d |
Mr. Justice Powell |
do 11 |
do |
do. Not Resident. No. 11 do for a Glebe |
Judge not appointed |
do 12 |
do |
do. Not Resident. No. 12. do for Mr. Justice Powell |
Solicitor General |
do 26 |
do |
Township of York do for No. 13 |
Incumbent |
do 9 |
do |
do. No. 9. do for Mr. Macaulay |
Major Smith |
front town lot 27 |
first |
Dead |
Captain Shank |
21 |
do |
Township of York. Recom’d |
ditto |
26 |
2nd |
do do |
ditto |
27 |
3rd |
do do |
Geo Porter |
5 |
do |
Recom’d to be confirmed |
Cap S. Smith |
do 22 |
1st |
Township of York. Recom’d |
ditto |
27 |
2nd |
do do |
ditto |
28 |
3rd |
do do |
Captain Aneas Shaw |
Fr Town lot 20 |
1st |
do do for 23 |
ditto |
28 |
2nd |
do do |
ditto |
29 |
3rd |
do do |
Captain Spencer |
do 23 |
first |
do. not resident. do for No. 20. |
ditto |
30 |
2nd |
do do |
David Burns, Esq |
do 25 |
1st |
do do |
James Macauley. Esq |
do 10 |
do |
do do for No. 9 |
Mr. R.Richardson |
do 31 |
2nd |
do do |
Adj’t McGill |
do 25 |
do |
do do |
D. McDonell |
do |
||
June 7, 1794 | |||
Thos Ridout | prays to relinquish two lots granted in the Township of York. | ||
June 28 | |||
James Macaulay | Copied from the Minutes of Council. Prays for lot No. 65 on the Road leading from York to Lake Simcoe, & 400 acres in the rear of the above lot. Granted. | ||
July 9 | |||
Copied from the Minutes of Council. The Town of York to be built according to a Plan laid before the Council, & that all persons obtaining a Grant to build a House within 3 years from the date of his certificate or forfeit the same.
|
|||
[July] 15 | |||
Adam McColgan | Prays for lot in the Township of York | ||
Geo. Playter, Esq |
FT. lot 8 |
first |
U.E. Township of York. Recom’d |
ditto |
20 |
2nd |
do. under assignm’t. ditto |
ditto |
3 |
do |
do do do |
James Playter |
11 |
do |
do do do |
Eli Playter |
12 |
do |
do do do |
John Playter |
17 |
do |
do do do |
Watson Playter |
21 |
3rd |
do. West side the Don do |
Bolton and McLeod |
22 |
2nd |
Not resident, being vacant. ditto for a Glebe. |
Bolton Brother |
21 |
2nd |
do. being vacant. Do. for Abner Miles. |
Lieut. Arch’d McDonell |
14 |
do |
No appearance. |
Thomas Ridout |
T. lot 31 |
3rd |
Recom’d for a Town lot only having drawn 1200 acres elsewhere |
John Denison |
22 |
do |
Township of York. No appearance. |
Lewis Grant |
24 |
do |
do do |
Augustus Jones |
30 |
do |
|
Sept 5, 1794 | |||
John McKay |
F.T. Lot |
||
Mr. James Clarke, Barrack Master |
T Lot 15 |
third |
Recommended. |
Captain Bouchet in part of an Order of Council |
3 32 |
first third |
under assign’t. Recom’d
do. West of the Don. do |
George Newman |
25 |
do |
not resident. Recom’d to be rescinded. |
[J. Lead] |
FT Lot |
do do do | |
Capt. G. Glasgou |
do 39 |
second |
do do do |
Lieut. J. Givens |
32 |
do |
Township of York Recom’d to be granted |
Lieut. Alex’r McDonell |
T. Lot 12 |
third |
Recom’d |
Angus McDonell, Esq |
B. T. Lot 7 |
second |
do. No appearance. |
Sept 5, 1795 | |||
Mr. J. McDonell |
6 |
second |
Not resident. Recom’d to be rescinded, and reserved for a glebe. |