Link 11. Information Scope
Altogether, up to the end of 1914, there were approximately 6,750 applications for land in the Peace River Country. The files generated to deal with these by the Dominion Lands Branch include documents such as those attached as Appendices--------- and---. For the pre-survey occupants, the information on file is somewhat sparse, for these applicants were required to prove little beyond the fact that they had already occupied and made improvements upon the land. Information is also sparse in the files for those purchasing fractional quarters and those utilizing Half-breed scrip. Here again, no homesteading duties were necessary. For the homesteaders proper, however, and those wishing to apply Military Bounty or South African scrip, the government required much more personal information. In these cases (about 96% of the whole), the documents disclose some of the following details:
-The name and gender of the applicant
-Whether the applicant filed him/herself or through a proxy
-The location of the land applied for, including all quarter-sections involved
-Whether the applicant used Half-breed, Military Bounty or South African scrip, and, if so, the
identity of the original scrip holder
-Where the applicant was born
-Whether the applicant was a British subject or became a naturalized Canadian
-The stated location of the applicant’s residence before filing was made
-The stated occupation or profession of the applicant before filing was made
-The age of the applicant when filing was made
-Whether or not the applicant was married when filing was made
-If the applicant was married when filing was made, the age of the spouse
-Whether the applicant had any children when filing was made, and, if so, how many
-The date of filing
-When, and if, the applicant first occupied the land, or if s/he lived on adjacent land
-Whether or not the land was eventually proven up
-At what point in time the land was either proven up, canceled or abandoned
-If the land was officially abandoned, when and why
-The age of the applicant when application was made for patent
-Whether the applicant was married when application was made for patent
-Whether the applicant had any children when application was made for patent, and, if so, how many and what their ages were
-Whether or not the applicant’s family was with him/her when the land was first occupied
-Whether or not the applicant’s family joined him/her while the land was being proven up
-The nature of the applicant’s first dwelling on the land (tent, caboose, cabin, barn, lean-to….)
-At what point in time clearing and the construction of other buildings was undertaken
-Whether or not the applicant took other employment while proving up the land, and, if so, the nature of this employment and where it was undertaken
-Whether the applicant enlisted for service in World War I as the land was being proven up
-Whether the applicant died, became ill, or went insane while the land was being proven up
-The identity of the beneficiary of the land if it was proven up but the applicant was deceased
-Other recorded information on file.
Of course, not all of the above details are included with each application for land. Where included, however, the details appear in the database with the following exceptions:
As the names of the original Military Bounty or South African scrip holders are not relevant to the settlement of the Peace River region, they are omitted. However, as some of the original Half-breed scrip holders were from the region, their identities have been included when disclosed.
Details about land clearing and the construction of farm buildings have also been omitted, for all proven up lands had to be cleared and provided with dwellings and barns or stables at some point before patent. The information was perfunctory, and the details of the buildings and their construction were not provided.
Also omitted are the testimonies provided by witnesses as to a homesteader’s residency and achievements. These declarations by neighbors are only replicas of the land patent applications the homesteaders were required to complete (see Appendix I).
Should anyone wish to check into such details, they may do so by consulting the land files themselves at the Provincial Archives of Alberta or the British Columbia Archives and Records Service. Specific points of information may be requested from the reference services of these institutions, or photocopies of documents may be obtained at a fee. In all cases, the relevant file numbers should be cited. These are included at the top of each record in this database