Pictou County Registry of Deeds records

Title and statement of responsibility area

Title proper

Pictou County Registry of Deeds records

General material designation

  • Textual record

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Series

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Edition statement

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Issuing jurisdiction and denomination (philatelic)

Dates of creation area

Date(s)

  • 1771-1954, predominant 1771-1938 (Creation)

Physical description area

Physical description

24.8 m of textual records and other material (283 volumes)

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Archival description area

Custodial history

Scope and content

Series forms part of Nova Scotia Registry of Deeds fonds and consists of registers recording the sale or transfer of land between grantor and grantee, the assignment and release of mortgages, and judgments issued by the Supreme or County Courts that affected deeded land or mortgages. Unlike most counties, the Pictou County Registry of Deeds kept separate registers for each type of document including: land transaction registers, where all deeds and numerous other types of documents relating to land transactions were transcribed; deed registers, containing only deeds; quit claim deed registers; and, mortgage registers (some for particular mortgage companies). Some of the land transaction registers may also contain plans to accompany the deeds.

Series also includes: nine Judgment Books (1877-1953), recording County and Supreme Court judgments that affected deeded land or mortgages; six Will Books (1879-1922), recording wills that affected deeded land or mortgages; Crown Land Grant Books (1854-1931) and Crown Land Lease Books (1895-1910, 1928-1940), which provided a local copy of land grants and leases also recorded at the Crown Lands office.

There are several gaps in the sequence of original land transaction registers held at the Archives. Some registers were not transferred and remain in the Department's custody.

Notes area

Physical condition

Immediate source of acquisition

Records were transferred to the Archives from the Land Registry Office in Pictou in 2008, 2009 and 2011.

Arrangement

Documents are arranged in numbered volumes. In the earlier volumes (Volumes 1 to 100) all types of land transactions are recorded together in chronological order. After Volume 110, volumes were kept according to type of transaction (example: Deeds, Mortgages, Quit Claim Deeds, etc.), and then in chronological order.

Language of material

    Script of material

      Location of originals

      Availability of other formats

      The indexes, some land transaction registers, and the Crown Land Grant Books were microfilmed in 1968-1969.

      Restrictions on access

      Access is restricted to original volumes for preservation reasons. See reference copies on microfilm. Contact a Government Records Archivist for information about obtaining access to volumes not available on microfilm.

      Terms governing use, reproduction, and publication

      Finding aids

      To locate a particular document it is necessary to search the microfilmed index by name of grantor (seller) or grantee (buyer) to identify a book and page number.

      Volume list available

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      Related materials

      Accruals

      No further accruals expected.

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      Standard number

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