Collection consists of correspondence, surveys, notes, plans, and maps of Peterborough area surveyors John Huston, John Reid, Alfred J. Cameron, and John W. Pierce. Also included are speeches, newspaper clippings, biographical accounts of various local surveyors, miscellaneous published items re Peterborough, and documents and photographs relating to Pierce's survey of the Ontario-Manitoba border in 1921.

The fonds consists of field notes, reports, descriptions and certificates relating to surveys conducted by John Reid. The areas surveyed included Cavan Township, Monaghan Township, Smith Township and Otonabee Township which are in the County of Peterborough. There are also some records pertaining to John Reid's service in the militia.

Fonds consists of historical materials pertaining to the Lakefield, Ontario area: land records, a transcription of the Katchewanooka Herald (1855-1859), Strickland family genealogy, and a family Bible which belonged to Helen S. Wallis.

Collection consists primarily of photocopies and emails with information pertaining to various aspects of Peterborough's history, from both the city and the county. Brief history of the town of Lakefield is also included.

Collection includes correspondence, email printouts, notes, photographs, research materials, and newspaper clippings. Much of this material pertains to research on the Traill family of Lakefield, Ontario.

This collection consists of the following documents: a deed from Gilbert Bogart and Cornelius Van Horn to Gilbert A. Clapp, Adolphustown Township, 1827; deed from Azel Hawkins to John Brown, Hope, 1830; deed from Luke Bedford to John Brown, Hope, 1830; deed from John Megrath to John Donaldson, Otonabee, 1836; deed from Joseph Clarke to John Brown, Hope, 1838; deed from John Potter to Philip Potter, Darlington, 1840; deed from John Kennedy to James Crofts Kennedy, Port Hope, 1864; conditions of sale document re Alexander Lackie, Millbrook, with poster attached, 1887. The John Brown mentioned in three of the documents was an important merchant in Port Hope and a member of the Assembly of Upper Canada.

This collection consists of deeds, mortgages, leases, and an account sheet, 1864, for the Townships of Dummer, Burleigh and Anstruther.

Map taken from Sessional Papers No. 5, Fifteenth Volume, Journals of the Legislative Council of the Province of Canada, Third Session of the Fifth Provincial Parliament, 1857

This collection consists of two legal documents which belonged to Mrs. Friedman's sister. One is an indenture between James Holden and Thomas Westaby of Lincolnshire, dated February 20, 1686. The other is a land grant to Henry Smith, of 200 acres in Garafraxa township, Halton County, dated December 2, 1824 and December 27, 1825.

This fonds consists of four maps dated between 1875 and 1905:: Martyn's Mill on the Otonabee River; land flooded by the Otonabee River in Smith Township; the Otonabee River between Dickson's and Martyn's Dams; and the acreage between Catchacoma Lake and Gull Lake.

This fonds consists primarily of the correspondence of Scott Ackerman Medd to his parents Sidney Taylor Medd and Estelle Lumsden Ackerman and his sister Mary E. Medd. The correspondence covers such topics as Scott's education at Trinity College School in Port Hope and at the Royal Academy in London, England, his development as and artist, life in England, and World War II. The fonds also contains the family records of Thomas and Mary Medd consisting of emigration and settlement letters, 1819-1919; correspondence to Robert Medd, 1820-1852; and correspondence to and from Sidney Taylor Medd during World War I. Also included are photographs of various members of the Medd family and sketches and sketchbooks of Scott Ackerman Medd.

This fonds consists of research material, mostly in copy form, created during the writing of This Green and Pleasant Land.

This 73-page typewritten manuscript is an anecdotal record of the information McBain amassed about the properties in northeast Cavan Township. It includes a record of the hamlet of Springville west of the Cavan-Monaghan boundary and of Fairmount (formerly Morrow), a crossroads on the 12th Line, and references to Ida and Mount Pleasant on the middle road. There are in-depth references to properties and families on the 11th, 12th, 13th and 14th lines east of the middle road to the Monaghan boundary.

The 15 microfilm reels from the Department of Lands and Forests holdings contain field survey notes for most townships in southern Ontario dating from 1784 to 1945. The handwritten guide to the survey notes was prepared by students in a geography course at Trent University. This guide is available in the Reading Room.

The fonds includes photocopies of the following items: Township Patent Book, 1820-1872, including the names of the grantees, lot purchased and dates as well as township/municipal election returns, and oaths of office for 1850. It also includes the correspondence of John Reid, township road surveyor, with elected officials and citizens, including maps, drawings etc.; township business papers, including receipts, taxation abatements, and school business; and Statute Labour lists and returns for the year 1850.

Item is an undated land document and attached hand-drawn plan for Lot 26, Concession 12 in Otonabee Township. The reverse side of the plan has the inscription, "Campbell to Fraser."

The fonds consists of the deeds and other land records relating to property in Seymour Township.

This item is a document cover sheet with an inscription "Glengary 13th Nov. 1828, Bishop McDonell, Cornwall, Private, 25 Nov., [to] The Honbl. Peter Robinson, His Majestys Wardon of Woods in Upper Canada & c., York".

This item is a report of the selection and despatch of the Irish immigrants that Peter Robinson settled in the Peterborough area in 1825, including names of the ships used, numbers carried, a list of townships in which the immigrants settled and the results of the harvests in 1826. A transcript of the report is included.

The item is a microfilm of a copy book of correspondence from and to Peter Russell, president administering the government of Upper Canada during the period November 1796 to March 1798. The correspondents include Captain William Claus, Superintendent of Indians and Indian Affairs, and Captain Joseph Brant. Included are copies of speeches made by Russell to "Brothers, Chiefs and Warriors of the Six Nations" concerning their land grants on the Grand River, as well as speeches to "Brothers, Chiefs and Warriors of the Chippewa Nation".

The fonds consists of carbon copies of Surveyor's correspondence regarding a municipal drain dated November 6, 1958; and 3 undated identical maps for zoning in the City of Peterborough.

This collection consists of research material pertaining to sailing directions in Lake Ontario in 1815-1816; a photocopy and typescript of "Captain W.F.W. Owen's journal & memoirs of the back or Northern Communication between Lakes Ontario and Huron, 1817"; and a photocopy of "Elias Smith, Loyalist, Letter Book, 1799-1800" with accompanying typed indexes. Also included is a copy of "A History of Elias Smith U.E. 1736-1820, patentee of Hope Township and Merchant of Montreal" by Phyllis White, 1990, and a copy of "Oaths of Allegiance sworn before William Willcocks, J.P. 1800-1806 and Robert Baldwin 1800-1812" compiled by Phyllis White, 1997.

Item consists of a bound volume of both published and handwritten pages. The published title page reads as follows: "Practical points, or, maxims in conveyancing, drawn from the daily experience of a very extensive practice, by a late eminent conveyancer, Mr. Bradley, to which are added, critical observations on the various and essential parts of a deed. By the Late J. Ritson, Esq, second edition, corrected, London, 1820." Several published pages are interspersed throughout the hand-written pages and are bound together with them. The name Chas. Avery Moore (May 1824) appears a few times near the beginning of the volume, as does the name W.H.I. Vizard. The hand-written pages are an excellent example of exemplary penmanship.