Missouri Land and Property: Difference between revisions

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*[http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx Bureau of Land Management, Land Patents], index

The availability of land encouraged westward expansion. Land ownership was generally recorded in an area as soon as settlers began to arrive. Land records are primarily used to learn where an individual lived and when he lived there. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. You may learn where a person lived previously, his occupation, if he had served in the military, if he was a naturalized citizen, and other clues. Sale of the land may show when he left and where he was moving.  

It's also good to keep in mind that many land records sold on a personal level (after colonial times) are/were usually kept with the county courthouse with the Recorder of Deeds.  Public Land sales can generally be found at GloRecords.blm.gov.

In the early 1800s many land claims were filed as [[Missouri, United States Genealogy|Missouri]] residents tried to document claims to lands previously granted by the French and Spanish. In 1805, the U.S. Congress established a Board of Commissioners to confirm earlier grants.  

*''Missouri Land Claims''. New Orleans, Louisiana: Polyanthos, 1976. {{FHL|203146|item|disp=FHL Film 1036517 item 2}}; {{FHL|203146|item|disp=FHL Fiche 6051438 (6 fiche))}}; {{FHL|203146|item|disp=FHL Book 977.8 R2m}}. This volume is a reprint of the 1835 Congressional Report, and has land claims for 1796-1835.

After the United States obtained possession of the area that became Missouri, land was surveyed and distributed through eight federal land offices, the earliest of which opened in 1818.  

See also ''Index of purchasers, United States land sales in Missouri'', by the United States, Work Projects Administration and the Ozarks Genealogical Society. Springfield, Missouri : Ozarks Genealogical Society (Missouri), c1985-1991. {{FHL|555802|item|disp=FHL 977.8 R22ip v. 1-3}}.  

*The Bureau of Land Management and General Land Office (BLM-GLO) has an on line [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx Land Patent Search] which is an index to millions of ancestors named in federal land patents and warrants from 1788 to the 1960’s located at the National Archives. This is the best place to begin when searching for a land patent because of the ease of navigation when searching for an ancestor. This internet web site also provides many images of patents.

*United States. Bureau of Land Management. ''Card Files''. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Land Management, 19—. On 160 Family History Library films beginning with {{FHL|511740|item}}, starting with film 1501522. Each card contains the following information: Certificate number District Land Office Kind of entry (cash, credit, warrant, etc.) Name of patentee and county of origin Land description Number of acres Date of patent Volume and page where document can be located . Because these index cards are arranged by township and range within each state, the researcher will need to already have an approximate legal description in order to access these cards.

*The Missouri State Archives has [http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/land.asp land records] dealing with:

:*Swamp land records for the 1800s. Located in the counties of New Madrid, Scott, Cape Girardeau, Dunklin, Mississippi, Wayne, Butler, Stoddard and Ripley.

Missouri uses the rectangular land survey system of section, township, and range.The townships were six-mile square blocks of land, divided into 36 one-mile squares called sections. The township was numbered north and south, starting from the center line, and the range was numbered east and west starting from the center line.  

*United States General Land Office ''Field notes from selected General Land Office township surveys'' {{FHL|479867|item}}, starting with film 1065682.

Tract books may also serve as indexes to the case files. They are arranged geographically by township and range, so you have to have some idea of the legal description of the land where your ancestor lived to be able to use them. Some legal land descriptions are included in county records.  

:Missouri, [name of county] – Land and Property

When federal land was finally transferred to private individuals, it was said to be patented.  

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Bureau of Land Management Eastern States Office<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 7450 Boston Boulevard<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Springfield, VA 22153<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Telephone: 703-440-1523<br>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Fax: 703-440-1599  

Also known as Land Entry Files or Patent Files, the case file is the accumulation of paperwork gathered during the land transactions which occurred when the land is transferred from the U.S. Government to private ownership and are kept at the National Archives in Washington D.C. These documents are the most helpful records for researchers because some files contain valuable information and may include personal or family information, such as military discharge papers, proof of citizenship, former residences, birthplaces and more. While not all files have pertinent information for the researcher, they are often worth obtaining. For further information regarding case files and how to order them, you will want to read the article [[Grants from the Federal Government (Public Domain)#Locating_the_Land_and_it.27s_Associated_Records|''Locating the Land and it's Associated Records'']] at the United States Land and Property wiki page. The physical address of where the records are kept at the National Archives is as follows:  

To obtain copies of a case file you will need the following information which may be found in the land patent records indexed at the [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx#searchTabIndex=0&searchByTypeIndex=0 BLM-GLO web site]:  

:*Certificate number or patent number

During the nineteenth century, the United States government, by various acts of Congress, donated some 6.5 million acres of federal land in Missouri directly to the state. This public domain land was then sold by the state, with profits designated for various internal projects or improvements. The state, rather than the federal government, issued the land patents, verifying title and ownership to the parcels sold, for purchased sections of this donated land. The patents list the name of the person(s) who acquired the land, the purchase date and patent date, as well as a legal land description including township and range, name of county, and number of acres sold.  

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After land was transferred to private ownership, all subsequent transactions, including deeds and mortgages, were recorded by the register of deeds and are generally kept at the county courthouse. These records usually date back to the time of the county's organization and frequently have grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) indexes.<br>  

Missouri, [COUNTY] – LAND AND PROPERTY  

*[http://www.sos.mo.gov/archives/resources/citations.asp Missour State Archives]

*[http://www.archives.gov/ The National Archives]

<br> {{Missouri|Missouri}} {{U.S. Land and Property}}  

[[Category:Missouri, United States|Land]]