Locating and Using the Records

The value of the American State Papers in conducting genealogical research is enhanced by the availability of the records and their ease of use. Although each volume of the American State Papers contains an index, their fragmentary nature has led to the creation of more comprehensive indexes.

In 1972 Phillip W. McMullin created a complete name index to the nine volumes comprising Class VIII (Public Lands) and Class IX (Claims) titled Grassroots of America; A Computerized Index to the American State Papers: Land Grants and Claims 1789–1837 with Other Aids to Research (Salt Lake City: Gendex Corporation, 1972). By listing all the volume and page references for each name entry, the index allows researchers to locate individuals or families throughout the volumes.

The Congressional Information Service (CIS) U.S. Serial Set Index, 1789–1969 (Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information Service, 1975–) also indexes the American State Papers. Although the CIS index is not as comprehensive as Grassroots of America for individual names, it can lead to information in the other classes of the American State Papers or the U.S. Serial Set that is not contained in Classes VIII and IX.

The Library of Congress American Memory web site offers a full-text collection of the American State Papers online at http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsp.html, and the table of contents and index for each of the volumes are searchable. Volumes 1–3 of the Public Lands Class that appear on the web site were printed by Duff Green, and the page numbers may not correspond with the Gales & Seaton version.

The thousands of claims in the Public Lands and Claims classes of the American State Papers, complemented by the above-mentioned indexes, provide researchers with a rich resource for locating information on individuals living in America from 1789 to 1837. The American State Papers, Grassroots of America, and the CIS Congressional Masterfile 1, 1789–1969, a CD-ROM containing the CIS U.S. Serial Set Index, are available in the Archives Library Information Center (ALIC) at the National Archives Buildings in Washington D.C., and College Park, Maryland. The American State Papers, various reprints, and other related books are available at libraries around the country.

For more information on researching claims at the National Archives, consult Anne Bruner Eales and Robert M. Kvasnicka, eds., Guide to Genealogical Research in the National Archives of the United States, 3rd ed. (Washington: National Archives and Records Administration, 2000). Chapter 15, Land Records, covers various topics relating to land claims and grants on public domain of the United States. Chapter 16, Claim Records, provides detailed information on researching claims against the U.S. Government at the National Archives.