Land Records

Land ownership, protected by a legal chain of title, is so important to our Western civilization that land records are the best kept of all records in this country. The descent of land is the purest proof of lineage. The recitals of family relationships therein were usually created with no need to deceive, and inheritance of real property was carefully regulated and documented. Transactions involving the transfer of property, whether real or personal appear in many forms and their contents may show:

• family or individual migration, usually through acquisition or disposition of real property
• chains of title as stated in the deeds
• divisions of estates in releases, quit claim deeds, or partitions
• marriage, through prenuptial agreements or dower relinquishment
• relationships and place names
• life style, through bills of sale, deeds of gift

Your ancestors, regardless of economic status, are very likely to appear in some land record or related document at some time, even if only as a witness.

• Some member of your family probably owned land. According to William Dollarhide in "Retracing the Trails of Your Ancestors Using Deed Records": "[N]ine out of ten adult white males in America owned land before 1850. Even today the figure is over fifty percent."
• A record naming your family member and describing his (or her) property probably exists. Records of land ownership, especially conveyances, are valuable and carefully preserved. When floods and fires occur, these are the first records to be reconstructed.
• Land records are easily found. Every county courthouse or town hall contains an index to these land conveyances, although these are not every-name indexes. If your family "moved West", the Bureau of Land Management maintains an online index to federal land patents.
• Land records are readily available. Abstracts of land records are frequently published and may even be available online through local history and genealogy societies or at the respective county USGenWeb. The Family History Library has microfilmed many of the deed books from counties and towns in the United States. The Bureau of Land Management includes a link to original land patent images.

Original Land Grants

Our country is divided into state land states, the original thirteen states, plus Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maine, West Virginia, Texas, and Hawaii; and federal, or public domain, land states, the remaining thirty. In both cases, the original transfer of land from the governmental owner, whether Crown, proprietor, or the United States government, proceeded in the following manner:

1. Application: a request for land, usually a certain amount in a particular place
2. Warrant: a written order to survey which usually restates the amount and location requested in the application
3. Survey: actual process of going upon the land, measuring and marking the courses and distances, and drawing a tract diagram [For more information on this procedure, including images of the records generated by the process, visit the Wisconsin Historical Society's section, " Surveyor's Notes and Plats for Wisconsin."]
4. Return of survey: written testament combining the warrant and survey and signifies that the purchase price and all fees have been paid
5. Patent: final deed from the proprietor or the state passing ownership of the particular tract of land to its initial purchaser

These records of the first transfer of land from the proprietor or colony to an individual are usually found in the respective state archives or historical societies. Those original transfers from our own government can be found in the National Archives, most of them part of Record Group 49, Records of the Bureau of Land Management. Subsequent land transactions were then recorded in the county courthouse, in the county where the land was located at the time the land transaction occurred. Remember, though, that deeds could be recorded many years after land sale. If that is the case, they will usually be found in the county where the land was located at the time of the recording. Land transactions in the New England states will usually be found in the town records.

County Land Records

• Start your land record research online with USGenWeb and search for online land record indexes and abstracts in your county of interest.
• Check the Library of Congress Catalog or the WorldCat for published transcripts and abstracts. These publications usually contain every-name indexes.
• Many land records have been microfilmed and are available through the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. Therefore, your next step in land record research is to visit the Family Search web site and perform a Place Search in the Family History Library Catalog. Although most of the country maintains land records at the county level, if researching in New England, search under the town name for these records.
  • If microfilm copies exist, order the index volumes first and copy all surnames of interest, including surnames of all known inlaws. Like probate record indexes, these indexes are not every-name indexes. In addition, watch out for words like "et ux." or "et al."
  • Next, order all volumes of interest. Be sure to read deeds surrounding those recorded by your subjects. Many times, families recorded multiple deeds at the same time. Some of these may not have appeared in your index search.
  • Neighboring land owners will be found in the land descriptions. Study those deeds as well.
  • Plot your ancestor's neighborhood.
  • Follow the land from the time it enters your family until it leaves the family.
• If the required county or town books have not been microfilmed, you will need to visit or write to the county courthouse yourself. Write first for copies of both the Grantor (the Seller) and Grantee (the Buyer) index pages that contain the surname of interest. You may then write and request copies of specific deeds. If you will need copies of many deeds, it is best to hire a researcher or, better yet, go to the courthouse yourself.
• Deed books do not include all property transaction records. Most county recorders have separate volumes for mortgages. In addition, they may maintain additional volumes of land partitions. Most of these records have not been microfilmed, so a visit to the county courthouse or the town hall will be required.
• If your ancestor and his family do not appear in the land records, they may still appear on tax lists. Information on your family may appear in land records of their neighbors. You can identify these neighbors through census records.

Surveying the Land

Plotting your ancestor's neighborhood may yield vital genealogical evidence. There are two survey methods used to describe land in this country. Become familiar with both of them.

• metes and bounds: each individual parcel of land described and bounded; this is the method used in the state land states.
• rectangular survey: inaugurated in 1784, used in public land states; land divided as follows:
  • township: six-mile square survey consisting of 36 mile-square (640 acres) sections numbered in ranges east or west of a designated principal meridian and north or south of an associated base line

Metes and bounds Rectangular survey

You will be able to "map" the land which belonged to your ancestor using only a protractor and a ruler. There are also mapping programs available to do this for you, such as DeedMapper 4.0 and Black Oak Mapper 6.0, or a large variety of mapping programs aimed at real estate companies - and therefore quite expensive. Try your skills with both survey methods using the problems on the left.

Federal Land Records

Land entry examples

Federal records document only the first transfer of title to land from the United States to another party. These land entry case files are part of Record Group 49, Records of the Bureau of Land Management, and are now located at NARA in Washington, DC, as are the Headquarter's Tract Books for the Western states. Tract Books for the Eastern States are still held by the Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States Office, 7450 Boston Blvd., Springfield, VA 22153. Land entry case files prior to July 1908 are organized first by state, then land office, type of land entry, and final certificate number. Although the name of the entryman is useful for confirmation, you must have the above information to obtain a copy of the original case file. To obtain copies of case files created after July 1908, you must provide the state and patent number, with the name of entryman for confirmation. To obtain a military bounty land warrant, you must provide the year of the Congressional Act authorizing the warrant, acreage, and warrant number.

Locating Federal Land Records

Searching Land Patents

The Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, maintains an online database for federal land records. All information necessary to request a copy of a land record case file in one of the eastern land states can be found in this database. A new addition to this site is a growing database of survey plats. The information required to request the original records of a western land state file may not be in this database. If not, however, the site now provides an e-mail contact for requesting a certified copy of the patent certificate, which will provide the necessary information. You can also obtain that information from the tract books for the western land states held by the National Archives. These tract books are organized by state, then by legal land description. Legal land description may be found in land transactions in the county records, tax records, or some commercial atlases. Legal land description may be found in the BLM's online data base. Using this legal land description, find the necessary information in the appropriate tract book. [Example]

• To find bounty land warrant numbers
  • Information will be in tract book
  • Information will be in pension records or unindexed bounty land warrant application files
• In addition to their online database, the Bureau of Land Management, Eastern States, General Land Office (GLO) has placed their pre-1908 data base on CD-ROMS available from the Government Printing Office. Note that this series does not include credit land entries and failed homestead entries.
• The Bureau of Land Management office in California maintains an excellent web site. Their Master Title Plats and Historical Index sheets are again online, although the scanned copies of the index cards don't seem to be available. If you are researching California families, check this site.

Types of land entry case files:
• Credit prior (1800-1820)
  • Documents: Credit prior receipt, final certificate
  • Information: name, date, residence, money paid, land office, assignee, legal description of land, acreage, patent date, patent volume and page number, dates and amount of previous payments.
• Credit under (1820-1840)
  • Documents: Credit receipt, final certificate, relinquishments, declarations requesting further credit
  • Information: name, entry date, money paid, legal description of land, discount received, act under which entered, final certificate date, acreage, debits and credits, patent date, volume and page number of record copy of patent.
• Cash (1820 to mid-twentieth century) [always cite act of Congress of 21 April 1820 providing for the direct sale of land]
  • Documents: Final certificate, application, receipts, preemption proof, graduation affidavit and proof [NOTE: cash entries did not require an application as such]
  • Information: name, place of residence at time of purchase, land office, price paid, legal description of land, acreage, patent date, volume and page number of record copy of patent.
• Homestead (1862 to 1976 (Alaska to 1986)) [always cite act of Congress of 20 May 1862]
  • Act states that: heads of household, widows, and singles over 21 years who were citizens or had declared their intention to become citizens were to be given 160 acres if they: lived on land 5 years, build a home, cultivated the land. Civil War veterans could count time in service towards residency requirement, but had to have one full year of residence. Entryman could commute claim to cash entry. Only half of homestead entries filed before 1900 went to patent. Cancelled entries are also held at NARA and are filed under application number.
  • Documents: Homestead application, certificate of publication of intention to complete claim, homestead final proof, testimony required of claimant and two witnesses, certified copy of naturalization papers, final certificate authorizing patent.
  • Information: name, age, post office of claimant, legal description of land, description of house, date when residence established, number and relationship of members of family, evidence of citizenship, nature of crops, number of acres under cultivation, description of personal property and house, patent date, volume and page number of record copy of patent.
  • If you have Nebraska families, Footnote has digitized NARA's microfilm publication M1915, Land Entry Case Files of the Broken Bow Land Office, Broken Bow, Nebraska: Homestead Final Certificates, 1890-1908. Check them out!
• Military bounty land warrants (1788-1858)
  • Documents: Surrendered warrant, certificate of location, correspondence, applications to locate land. The application file itself is maintained with the military pension records.
  • Information: name of veteran, date of issue, military or naval organization, war served in, name of heir or assignee, act under which warrant issued, acreage, land office where surrendered, legal description of land, patent date, volume and page number of record copy of patent.
• Private land claims
  See also American State Papers
  • As the U.S. added land to the public domain, it recognized land titles granted by previous rulers to the residents. Claims had to be verified and patents issued to confirm title.
  • Documents: Correspondence, reports, maps, plats, petitions, affidavits, transcripts of court decisions, deeds, abstracts of title, copies of original grants, depositions, testimony of witnesses, notices and evidence of claims, certificate and plat of survey, appeals.
  • Information: name of claimant, period of occupancy, date of claim, acreage, legal description of land.
  • Records are organized by state and claim docket number.

Land Record Research: Procedure and Points to Remember
• Trace the land from the time it entered your family to the time it left. Don't forget to search records at least 20 years after your ancestor left the area.
• Not all deeds have been recorded, so map out all owners in an area to help locate your ancestor and his neighbors.
• Note the date of deed signing and of recording. Try to explain any large discrepancies. Read the deeds surrounding the one that interests you. Families would frequently bring in several deeds to be recorded at the same time.
• Follow up on any other documents mentioned in a deed.
• Use land records in conjunction with censuses, etc. to build up picture of your ancestor's neighborhood.
• Become familiar with the laws relevant to the transfer of property at the time and place of interest.

Be Aware of Problems
• Deed books are derivative documents. The original deed is usually not available and clerk's transcriptions of metes and bounds contain frequent errors.
• Deed books are indexed only by grantor-grantee, so you may have to search page by page. Look for publications of land abstracts. Their indexes usually give interior names which may help you locate a deed much faster. In an index, keep your eyes open for the words et al. These deeds included multiple persons and are more likely to be deeds documenting transfer of property through inheritance.

A Short List of Documents Frequently Found in Deed Books

For further information on land records, see the following websites:
• Bureau of Land Management
• NARA's Introduction to Land Entry Case Files
• Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office, Record Group 49, compiled by Kenneth Hawkins
• Direct Line Software Land Reference page which contains links to land record research articles and a downloadable pool of deed abstracts

For further information on researching land records, see the following:
• International Internet Genealogical Society University: U.S. Land & Property Research
• "Analyzing Deeds for Useful Clues," by Elizabeth Shown Mills
• "Retracing the Trails of Your Ancestors Using Deed Records," by William Dollarhide
• "Lots of Leads from a Little Lot," by Michael John Neill

For definitions of terms in land records, see:
• Surveying units and terms
• Legal terms in land records

For an introduction to Indian land cessions, including wonderful maps, see:
• Indian Land Cessions in the United States, 1784-1894, United States Serial Set, Number 4015

A sample of state resources:
• Spanish and Mexican Land Grant Maps, 1855-1875 (California)
• Spanish Land Grants (Florida)
• Georgia's Virtual Vault: District Plats of Survey
• Georgia's Virtual Vault: Headright and Bounty Plats of Survey, 1783-1909
• Federal Township Plats of Illinois, 1804-1891
• Kansas State Historical Society's "House History Checklist"
• Land Office Records in the Maine State Archives
• Maine LandRecords.com
• Maryland State Archives: Land Records
• Missouri Land Patents: 1831-1969
• New Hampshire: County Registries of Deeds
• Pennsylvania State Archives: Scanned Records
• Texas Land Grant Database
• Utah Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps
• Vermont Land Records
• The Library of Virginia: Land Records
• Wisconsin Public Land Survey Records

The above list focuses on state web sites with links to images of historical land records. A Google search using keywords "your county name" and "land records" or "deeds" will locate the official county repository web site. That site may have online deed indexes that might include historical records and links to document images. Tax assessment records may also include links to property images. A county example:

• Shelby County, Tennessee, Register of Deeds

Miscellaneous sites of interest:
• David Rumsey Map Collection
• Google Maps and Google Earth
• Perry Castaneda Library Historical Map Collection
• Public Records Online Directory
• Online Deed Platter