Sidney Township Minute Book 1790 1849 notes

Notes about the
Sidney Minute Book 1790 - 1849

The Sidney Minute Book 1790 - 1849 and Stock Marks 1796 - 1891 has survived and is held at the offices of the City of Quinte West in Trenton. It has never been filmed so is not available at the Archives of Ontario or through the Church of Latter Day Saints. It does not appear in the usual indexes of early Upper Canada material.
The Sidney Minute Book 1790-1849

I had read about the book in a few older books but was not able to find it on microfilm. I'd like to thank Gerry Boyce, well known author in Belleville, for directing me to its location. The following have transcribed the full text (156 pages) of the book: Bill Smith (50), Jackie Crerar (32), Lorne Shunk (20), Peter Johnson (6) and myself, Randy Saylor (48). We are pleased to offer this transcription and hope you find our efforts worthy.

The book measures 8 x 12 3/4 inches and is in a cloth/leather binding and has become frail. I have taken digital images of all the pages. The City of Quinte West has given their OK for this project and I'd like to thank Sandra Kelleher for her participation.

Page 1 is dated 1806 and it is clear that the book was purchased at that time and the minutes for the years 1790 to 1805 were copied from a previous document (starting at page 3) with the same handwriting and ink. The list of those who purchased the book should be thought of as making this purchase in 1806, not 1790 as implied in a few older books.

The transcription is freely offered by us for your personal use only. Publication in any form is forbidden without my permission.
The stock marks are ear marks for the left, right or both ears of livestock. Each marking is different and was used to identify the owner of the animal. We copied the names but not the actual drawing of the ear marks.
Proof Readers: See a name you are not sure about? Contact me and I will send you the image of that page. All I ask is that you proof read the whole page. I will add your name to that page as the proof reader.
An excellent article was written in 1919 by W.S. Herrington about the Minute Book. The Royal Society of Canada has granted me permission to post the article.
Sidney Township 1790 - 1990 is an excellent book prepared to honour the bicentennial. It was published in 1990 by the Hastings County Historical Society. Each year has a mini chapter with information taken from the Minute Books and other sources and it includes photographs and maps.