Original Grants in Clair

In 1848, the first lands were granted to the original families that had settled much of what would later become the Parish of Clair.  These grants confirmed squatters rights that the inhabitants had earned through signficant toiling of the land.  These legal rights allowed the settlers to work the land and obtain the benefits of doing so - for themselves and later generations.

We can see from the text of the grants that each settler had to agree to clear a certain amount of land every year in order for the grants to remain in effect.

These grants were issued on the 29th day of November, 1848, under the signature of J. R. Partenow.  The grants itself has the number 4424, and was issued at Edmund Head (later to become Edmundston) in a document written by the firm of Urbain Boutotte et Associés, Madawaska and Carleton County.

Sources: Original copies - Ghislain Long.  Transcriptions - (to come)

Transcripts of the land grants in Clair, 1848.  source: Ghislain Long.  Images: Benoît Long:  Transcription: (to come)