LESSON TWELVE
LAND RECORDS OF THE FEDERAL AND PUBLIC DOMAIN STATES

This Lesson will cover:

• Land grants and patents issued by the federal government
• Homestead files
• Bounty lands
• State Land States
• Public Domain lands
• The American State Papers
• Locating and using land records
• Grassroots of America
• Sample land indexes
• Research guides
• The Freedmen's Bureau

The previous two chapters dealt with the original land acquisition in North America by European colonists, and the distribution of that land by the rules of those colonies to special interest groups, and finally the distribution from those special interest groups to individuals during the colonial period. Once the United States was created, a method for distributing its own land became essential starting with land to military soldiers who helped obtain the land.

Millions of land grants and patents were issued by the federal government and by the original thirteen colonies and several states. Records of land grants included application files and the patents themselves. Applications for federal land grants and patents, including bounty land patents and homestead records, are under the jurisdiction of the Federal Government, and are available from the National Archives. Request form NATF 84 for a search in land records or find these forms online at www.archives.gov.

This lesson and chapter that accompanies it, covers a time period in which a vast variety of land records were used.

Homestead Files
Homestead land grants provided free land for immigrants and other specified individuals selected by the government. Application files contain much family information such as copies of marriage licenses and naturalization papers. Before July 4, 1836, the president of the United States signed land patents. After July 4, 1836 the president was authorized by Congress to appoint a secretary to sign the president's name on patents.

Bounty Lands
Bounty lands were offered to veterans in lieu of pay for services. Although many soldiers claimed their land they often sold it and never settled on it. A copy of a bounty land warrant is seen below:

Understanding State Land States

Linda Haas Davenport has an excellent page to all U.S. State Patent papers that links from her online information on "Taking the Mystery Out of Land Records, Chapter 7, State Land States." I highly recommend it at http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~haas/land/statelandstates01.html

More on land records in the United States can be found at the National Archives Website: http://www.archives.gov/genealogy/land/