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|Records=Land and Property | |||
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==Online Resources== | |||
*[https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspxsearch/default.aspx General Land Office - Patent Search] are searchable online and most have free images of patents to download. The minimum information needed for a search is the state where the land is located and the name of the person receiving the patent. Surveys and Land Status Records can also be searched here. | |||
* [https://familysearch.org/search/image/index#uri=https://familysearch.org/recapi/sord/collection/2074276/waypoints General Land Office - Track Book Search] are searchable online. They contain the name and legal land description on all applications for land from the federal government. Even if that application did not result in a patent. This is a manual search, so a general idea of where the land is located is needed. Otherwise there is too much to search. | |||
==Samoa Land and Property== | |||
About 90 percent of the land is communally owned by aiga. The existing tenure law on communal lands prohibits alienation of any real property except freehold land to any person whose blood is less that one-half Samoan. Unless the Governor approves the transfer in writing, it is unlawful for any matai of a Samoan family to alienate any family lands to any person or lease it for any term more than 55 years. ASG estimates that 1.5625 square miles of American Samoa's total area of 76.1 square miles are freehold land. | About 90 percent of the land is communally owned by aiga. The existing tenure law on communal lands prohibits alienation of any real property except freehold land to any person whose blood is less that one-half Samoan. Unless the Governor approves the transfer in writing, it is unlawful for any matai of a Samoan family to alienate any family lands to any person or lease it for any term more than 55 years. ASG estimates that 1.5625 square miles of American Samoa's total area of 76.1 square miles are freehold land. | ||
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:NARA Pacific Region (San Francisco)<br>1000 Commodore Drive <br>San Bruno, California 94066-2350 | :NARA Pacific Region (San Francisco)<br>1000 Commodore Drive <br>San Bruno, California 94066-2350 | ||
The | The FamilySearch Library has the following sources: | ||
*''{{FSC|556400|item|disp=Plantation records, 1942}}''. Records provide the name of the plantation, the owner and who depended upon the plantation for support including the name, age, sex and relationship to the plantation owner). San Francisco Federal Records Center, San Bruno, California (FS Library International film 1084654 Item 2). | |||
*''{{FSC|557657|item|disp=Land claims, 1901-1965}}''. High Court, Pago Pago, American Samoa (FS Library International film Index 1084050 Item 3, 1901-1965 International films 1083316 - 1083330, and Land and title court index 1966-1973 International film 1083333). | |||
*''{{FSC|557660|item|disp=Matai title court files, 1902-1973}}''. High Court, Pago Pago, American Samoa (FS Library 1902-1973 International Vault films 1083334 - 1083350, 1083374, 1083383 - 1083393). | |||
*''{{FSC|556557|item|disp=War damage claims, 1946-1953}}''. Includes applications for settlements of claims against the United States government for damages caused by the U.S. Marines, 1942-1944, on the Island of Tutuila, American Samoa with affidavits and other supporting documents. San Francisco Federal Records Center, San Bruno, California (FS Library International films 1084793 - 1084800). | |||
*''{{FSC|583624|item|disp=Land records, 1900-1959}}''. Includes land appraisals, description and location of property. Office of Registrar of Titles. Federal Records Center, San Bruno, California (FS Library International film 1084786). | |||
*''{{FSC|556391|item|disp=Registers of Matai names and titles, 1895-1972}}''. Includes claims of succession to Matai title with supporting affidavits and certificates permitting the usage of the title. The Matai name was the name taken taken by the head of the clan after election and entitled the clan chief to act in behalf of the clan to control and administer the communally owned property. Lands & Titles Division of the High Court, Pago Pago, Americam Samoa. Federal Records Center, San Francisco, California (FS Library International film 1083950 and International Vault films 1083951 - 1083952, 1084046 - 1084048, 1084652 - 1084654 Item 1, and 1084049). | |||
== Getting Started == | == Getting Started == | ||
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Determine the time and place your family might have owned property. | Determine the time and place your family might have owned property. | ||
Research should begin at the smallest jurisdictional level - usually the county (except in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont, where town clerks have kept the records). These records are found in the local town or county office, or many times on microfilm at state archives or the | Research should begin at the smallest jurisdictional level - usually the county (except in Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Vermont, where town clerks have kept the records). These records are found in the local town or county office, or many times on microfilm at state archives or the FamilySearch Library. | ||
There is a high likelihood that your ancestor can be found in land records. “It is estimated that by the mid-1800s, as many as ninety percent of all adult white males owned land in the United States.”<ref name="Hone">William Dollarhide, forward to E. Wade Hone, ''Land and Property Research in the United States,'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry Inc., 1997), xi.</ref> | There is a high likelihood that your ancestor can be found in land records. “It is estimated that by the mid-1800s, as many as ninety percent of all adult white males owned land in the United States.”<ref name="Hone">William Dollarhide, forward to E. Wade Hone, ''Land and Property Research in the United States,'' (Salt Lake City, Utah: Ancestry Inc., 1997), xi.</ref> | ||
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There are instances when an ancestor bought land from the government such as:<br>homestead grants, military bounty land warrants, lottery land, mining and timberland claims and more. If an ancestor received or bought land from the government, review the topics having to do with the "Government to Person" [[United States Land and Property#The_Acquisition_Process|Land Acquisition Process as]] well as the topics named above to learn how to obtain these records. Return to the [[United_States_Land_and_Property#The_Acquisition_Process|United States Land and Property]] page for information on these topics. | There are instances when an ancestor bought land from the government such as:<br>homestead grants, military bounty land warrants, lottery land, mining and timberland claims and more. If an ancestor received or bought land from the government, review the topics having to do with the "Government to Person" [[United States Land and Property#The_Acquisition_Process|Land Acquisition Process as]] well as the topics named above to learn how to obtain these records. Return to the [[United_States_Land_and_Property#The_Acquisition_Process|United States Land and Property]] page for information on these topics. | ||
== Tips | == Tips == | ||
*Recognize that it may take time to navigate the complexities. | *Recognize that it may take time to navigate the complexities. | ||
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*Plat each transaction. This may reveal additional acquisitions or divisions between transactions and identify mixed jurisdictions. It may also allow you to analyze what is happening to neighboring properties. | *Plat each transaction. This may reveal additional acquisitions or divisions between transactions and identify mixed jurisdictions. It may also allow you to analyze what is happening to neighboring properties. | ||
== References == | |||
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<references /> | <references /> | ||
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<br> {{U.S. Land and Property}} | <br> {{U.S. Land and Property}} | ||
[[Category: | [[Category:Land_and_Property]] | ||
[[Category:Samoa]] | |||
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