The old mapping system are a really great way of finding the old homesteads. Our Historical Altas were done the mid 1850-1860 time period and are basically the who's who of lot/concession information, heck even our lawyer uses them to do his research on titles.
https://digital.library.mcgill.ca/countyatlas/searchmapframes.php
Though remember this little fact and that if it was there pre/post of when they did the recording-it's not going to be on the map. I have found just as many cellar hole that were never documented than what I intended to find in the first place.
Figure this: A man gets a land grant-moves the new Mrs, one child, one in the oven to a treed lot in the wilderness.
Now he doesn't build the home that is depicted in the atlas generally, they started with a cabin, maybe a few cabins as the family grew.
Then when it was affordable they built the home.
Now generally the original settled spot will still be close, like a few hundred ft/yrds. away.
Then there are the ones that were never recorded in history, as I have on my property.
Not huge producers of finds, but they are of historical significance no less.
That's the one thing I really enjoy about this hobby is the discovery-of the undocumented history.
I have one permission and I have found 6 more sites on their 250 acres than what they knew of, each time they're amazed that one was there even.
