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Federal Land Patents
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=== Federal Land Records === | === Federal Land Records === | ||
When the United States acquired [[Wyoming|Wyoming]], most of the land that comprises the present state became part of the [[Grants from the Federal Government (Public Domain)|public domain]]. The federal government surveyed available land and began transferring much of it to private ownership through local land offices in a process called "land entry." The first land office was established at Cheyenne in 1870. Additional land offices were created in Evanston in 1877, Buffalo in 1888, Lander, Sundance and Douglas in 1890. | When the United States acquired [[Wyoming|Wyoming]], most of the land that comprises the present state became part of the [[Grants from the Federal Government (Public Domain)|public domain]]. The federal government surveyed available land and began transferring much of it to private ownership through local land offices in a process called "land entry." The first land office was established at Cheyenne in 1870. Additional land offices were created in Evanston in 1877, Buffalo in 1888, Lander, Sundance and Douglas offices in 1890. | ||
Land entry in Wyoming was either based on cash payment for the land (cash entries), or on conditions of settlement ([[Homestead Records|homesteads]]). Anyone who was twenty-one years old, or who was a head of household (including widows), could purchase land. Free homesteads could be obtained after 1862 by those who settled and cultivated the land for at least five years. A homestead applicant either had to be a U.S. citizen or must have filed his intention to become a citizen. | Land entry in Wyoming was either based on cash payment for the land (cash entries), or on conditions of settlement ([[Homestead Records|homesteads]]). Anyone who was twenty-one years old, or who was a head of household (including widows), could purchase land. Free homesteads could be obtained after 1862 by those who settled and cultivated the land for at least five years. A homestead applicant either had to be a U.S. citizen or must have filed his intention to become a citizen. | ||
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After a settler completed the requirements for land entry, his case file was sent to the [[Land Patent Search|General Land Office]] in Washington, D.C., where a patent (first-title deed) was issued. To locate the land entry or homestead case file for your ancestor, you will need to know either the patent number or the legal description (range, township, section) of the land. The county recorder of deeds may be able to tell you the legal description of the land from county land records. You may also be able to pinpoint the exact location of a tract by searching the entries in the tract book covering the approximate area concerned. | After a settler completed the requirements for land entry, his case file was sent to the [[Land Patent Search|General Land Office]] in Washington, D.C., where a patent (first-title deed) was issued. To locate the land entry or homestead case file for your ancestor, you will need to know either the patent number or the legal description (range, township, section) of the land. The county recorder of deeds may be able to tell you the legal description of the land from county land records. You may also be able to pinpoint the exact location of a tract by searching the entries in the tract book covering the approximate area concerned. | ||
Federal Land Patents are searchable and images available online at the [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ Official Federal Land Records] site. They have a variety of Land Patents on their site, including Cash Entry, Homestead and Military Warrant patents. They also have Survey Plats and Field Notes online for Wyoming. | |||
For copies of the tract books, township plats, and patent records, contact: | For copies of the tract books, township plats, and patent records, contact: | ||
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The [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] also has the original tract books, plats, homestead entry files, and cash entry files. The [[Family History Library|Family History Library]] has copies of the tract books on microfilm. The [[National Archives Rocky Mountain Region (Denver)]] also has some of the land office records. | The [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives]] also has the original tract books, plats, homestead entry files, and cash entry files. The [[Family History Library|Family History Library]] has copies of the tract books on microfilm. The [[National Archives Rocky Mountain Region (Denver)]] also has some of the land office records. | ||
A guide to the land office records at the Denver branch and a history of the federal land system in Wyoming is Eileen Bolger's, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming (Denver, Colorado: Federal Archives and Records Center, 1983; Family History Library book {{FHL|345179|title-id|disp=978.7 R23b}} ). | A guide to the land office records at the Denver branch and a history of the federal land system in Wyoming is Eileen Bolger's, Preliminary Inventory of the Records of the Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming (Denver, Colorado: Federal Archives and Records Center, 1983; Family History Library book {{FHL|345179|title-id|disp=978.7 R23b}} ). | ||
=== County Land Records === | === County Land Records === | ||