Genealogical friends! Last week we covered courthouse and legal records; what they can do for you as a genealogist and how you might go about finding such records. This week I also hope to touch upon another record category that you may be unfamiliar with or have yet to tap into: Land records. As always, I will guide you through the basic principles of what these records are and what they mean to us as genealogists as well as how we might find these sorts of records.
The first key in understanding this type of record is that there are two subtypes: Land patent/grants and deeds. Patents/grants in the U.S. are the first records we see of land ownership. It usually specifies a specific location and amount of property. We can think about this concept in tangent with acts such as The Homestead Act of 1862 or as compensation for military service. On the other hand, a deed can either indicate an initial grant of property ownership or a transfer/sale of a property. Patents/grants and deeds might provide us as genealogists the ability to figure out who our ancestors’ neighbors were. In the future this might allow us to find further documentation on our ancestors. They can also provide us with a list of heirs that could help identify further members of our family trees.
Now the big question becomes how can I find these types of records? Well as always, the digital age is a genealogist’s heaven. Online databases once again are a perfect place to start. When it comes to land grants during colonial times many of those records have been digitalized and you can find them on www.archive.com or search up old land grant books on Google. Some states also have their own databases that are worth looking, dependent of course upon where your ancestors might have held land. If you are finding too difficult to find land grants know that they can sometimes be difficult records to locate. As much information as they provide for us, land patents/grants and deeds do have a tendency to be lost, consumed by courthouse fires, misplaced, etc. Luckily you can also identify land records/property rights your ancestors may have had through easements. These are essentially documents that give someone the right to cross/enter onto your ancestors’ property. A tip to locate an easement: take a look at railroads and technology companies that might have had to cross over or enter property in an area your ancestor may have lived and check to see if you can find easements that might have allowed these companies to cross onto land owned by your ancestors.
Like any record type we could talk extensively about how to locate and extract information from land records, but these are just the basics! If you’re finding yourself confused about the topic do not worry, remember everything in genealogy takes time, you will see the fruits of your labors as you watch your tree grow one person at a time! If you would like further explanation on this topic and other genealogy topics feel free to check out my longer form webinar contact located under the webinar tab of this same website. If you find that your question is still not answered feel free to reach out and contact me directly using the above contact information. As always, I wish you luck on your continuing genealogical journey!
Winona I Laird “The Genealogy Granny”
