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Tennessee,
Maine,
and
West
Virginia.
Upon
annexation
to
the Union, both
Texas
and
Hawaii retained
ownership
of
their
public
lands
and
became
State
Land States. So, twenty U.S. States retained
ownership of their lands and each set up a
General Land Office for the issuing of land grants.
For example, Virginia, as a State Land State, sold
land directly to private individuals. But land in
Michigan, a Public Land State, was sold by the
United States Federal Government.
To locate the earliest land records from the
agency that sold the land, you first need to know
if the land grant was located in a State Land
State or a Public Land State.
Documents
Relating
to
Original
Land
Grants
There are a few definitions needed for words or
phrases you may come across in reading old deeds or
land grants which may give important genealogical clues
about your ancestors. These are documents issued by
the government agency in charge of selling land, each of
the twenty State Land States, or the United States
Federal Government. The origin of these procedures
and documents dates back to England during the 15th
Century and continued in America.
A Warrant
This was the first
document
in
the
land
grant
process. A warrant
authorizes a tract
of land to be set
aside for a land
grant or sale. It
may describe the
land
in
general
terms, such as "200 acres of land West of the New
River". A governmental agency issued a warrant, e.g.,
the
King
of
England,
the
Commonwealth
of
Massachusetts, the Proprietor of Maryland, the State of
Connecticut, or the United States Federal Government if
the land were located in one of the thirty Public Land
States after 1787.
Warrants are records that can confirm that your ancestor
did indeed receive a land grant, it is the first document in
what may be several records relating to a land grant to a
private party.
Warrants were issued by Colonial, State, and Federal
Governments as payment to soldiers for service in
various wars, including the Colonial Wars of the 18th
Century, the Revolutionary War, and the War of 1812.
These "bounty-land" warrants indicated a certain number
of acres of land without describing the land precisely.
The warrant certificate had a cash value based on the
location of the land and the number of acres involved.
Warrants could be assigned (sold) to someone other
than the person granted the warrant before the land was
surveyed.
Survey
After a warrant was issued a survey of the land was
conducted,
and
defines
the
exact
location
and
boundaries of the land grant authorized in the warrant.
Before
the
land
grant
could
be
possessed,
the
boundaries of the land had to be marked on the ground.
A survey might include a map or description of the
boundaries of the land, and the government's surveyor
may have written a statement that he had followed the
provisions of the warrant.
The survey document might include the names of the
surveyor's assistants or "sworn chain bearers", who
were often chosen because they lived next door to the
property being surveyed. As a result, survey records
often reveal genealogical clues to the neighbors of your
ancestor, and assist in locating the land exactly.
Patent
The final document was the title certificate that was
issued to a person granted or sold land -- the first private
owner
of
land.
The
patent
was
issued
by
the
governmental agency that originally owned the land.
Reference to a "patent" indicates the person holds an
"original entry of land".
Land Patents Today
The keeper of any
surviving
land
warrants, surveys, or
patents today is the
issuing government
agency.
For
example,
if
you
know your ancestor
received a colonial
land grant in North Carolina (a State Land State), any
surviving warrants, surveys, or patents are held by the
State of North Carolina and are located at the North
Carolina State Archives. Or, if you think your ancestor
obtained a land grant in Indiana (a Public Land State),
the keeper of the warrants, surveys, and patents is the
United States Government. U.S. Public Land Records
today are under the care of the Bureau of Land