I have looked into Land Records for my ancestors and need to know what to do with the "instrument numbers" that I now have. Is there somewhere that I can access these items? What will be shown on these? Some are deeds and some are wills.

From Lorine Schulze: Abstract Indexes to Deeds are by specific property. So for eg you might look up Conc 1, Lot 26, anywhere Township, Someplace County. You will see list, line by line, with Instrument #s on the left, dates, brief synopsis of the type of land transaction, names of parties involved, etc.

When you spot a record of interest, you copy the Instrument # and then obtain the full record (deed, indenture, will, etc) Many are on microfilm.

Usually there is a long description of the exact piece of land (outside boundaries), plus names of all persons involved in the transaction. There will be witnesses and a date. You may also find names of other people, such as heirs, or children --- it all depends what the transaction is. Wills are just that - wills that have been filed with the land records.

Some of the instruments I obtained in my searches of land records contained first names of wives - which had been unknown to me before finding them mentioned in the land records. So it's a valuable resource!

See http://olivetreegenealogy.com/can/ont/land.shtml for more help and explanations