Returns in Obedience to Warrants of Survey : 1785-1821.

            The Lieutenant Governor issued a Warrant of Survey to the Surveyor General instructing him or one of his deputies to "admeasure and lay out" a tract of land in the name of an individual, group of individuals, or, in some cases, a particular regiment.  The instructions specified the number of acres and the geographical location of the lands to be granted. In obedience to the Warrant of Survey, the Surveyor General issued a Report to the Executive Council which is known as the Return in Obedience to the Warrant of Survey.            

            The Returns contain a detailed description of the parcel of land that was surveyed. Frequently, the names of the grantees of adjacent lands are included in the survey. The number and date of both the Lieutenant Governor's Warrant and the Surveyor's Return are given with each document. The grant number and volume number, the number of acres surveyed, and the location of the grant are noted in abstract form in the margin of the main document. The full document describes the grant in great detail.
 The Returns are numbered in chronological order by date. There are 1241 numbered Returns. These are followed by several lists of grants for which fees were paid, together with schedules of all monies received. The final item on the second reel is a detailed list of instructions which were issued to the Deputy Surveyors by the Surveyor General George Sproule.            

            A microfilm shelf list is available in print.