The Lot System of Prince Edward Island – Part 1

We all know Irish immigrant research can be difficult. Before throwing up our hands, we need to step back and think strategically. One way to do this is to group an immigrant community geographically. An excellent example of how to do this can be found on Prince Edward Island (P.E.I.), Canada. However, this serves as only an example, as this strategy can be utilized with any number of political jurisdictions.

The Lot System of P.E.I.

On P.E.I. you would group the immigrant community by the Lot they were living on. The island is divided into three counties; Prince, Queens and Kings; each having a “royalty” or shire town. Within those three counties are 66 Lots roughly around 20,000 English Acres (80 square kilometers). A map of this can be found on the Island Register website under “The Lots of P.E.I.” These date back to an English survey completed in 1766. Within the Lots are various communities. For example, the community of Abney is in Lot 64. This can also be found on the IslandRegister website under “PEI Place Names vs Lot Numbers.” Basically a Lot would be a township in other Canadian provinces. The Lot number can be found in deeds, censuses and scores of other documents. If you only see a county and parish name, then here are the lots within each:

Prince County

• North Parish: 1, 2, 3
• Egmont Parish: 4, 5, 6, 7
• Halifax Parish: 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
• Richmond Parish: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17
• St. David’s Parish: Prince Royalty, 18, 19, 25, 26, 27, 28

Queens County

• Grenville Parish: 20, 21, 22, 23, 67
• Hillsboro Parish: 29, 30, 31, 65
• Charlotte Parish: Queens Royalty, 24, 32, 33, 34
• Bedford Parish: 35, 36, 37, 48, 49
• St. John’s Parish: 50, 57, 58, 60, 62

Kings Parish

• St. Patrick’s Parish: 38, 39, 40, 41, 42
• East Parish: 43, 44, 45, 46, 47
• St. George’s Parish: Kings Royalty, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 66
• St. Andrew’s Parish: 59, 61, 63, 64

In Part 2 of this blog, I will be discussing strategies you can use to help identify where your ancestor may have come from in Ireland. If you would like professional help with your Canadian ancestry, call us at: 385-214-0925.