Kentucky Land and Property

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U.S. Land and Property

Kentucky

Land and Property

Online Resources

• 1700-1909 Kentucky, Wills, Deeds, and Marriages, 1700-1909 (Published 1929) ($), index.
• 1773-1780 Genealogy Trails History Group, Early Kentucky Land Records, 1773-1780, index.
• 1782-1924 Kentucky, U.S., Land Grants, 1782-1924 at Ancestry ($)
• 1850-1880 United States, Kentucky, Agriculture Schedules, 1850-1880 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index & images
• 1934-1953 U.S., Tennessee Valley, Family Removal and Population Readjustment Case Files, 1934-1953 ($), index.
• Kentucky Court and Other Records, Vol. I at Ancestry ($); FS Library Book 976.9 D2a 1969
• Kentucky Court and Other Records, Vol. II at Ancestry ($); FS Library Book 976.9 D2a 1969
• The Kentucky Land Office has information and links to many land record collections. Select Land Office from menu, then Military Registers & Land Records and Non-Military Registers & Land Records. Some of these collections with additional links are also listed below under Land Grants.
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Kentucky Land Records

The availability of land attracted many immigrants to America and 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 or she lived there. They often reveal other family information such as the name of a spouse, heirs, other relatives, and neighbors.

You may learn where a person lived previously, his or her occupation, if the ancestor served in the military, if he or she was a naturalized citizen, or other clues for further research. Sale of the land may show when the person left and may mention where he or she was moving to.

Kentucky was a "state-land" state, meaning the state government appropriated all land within its borders. Land was surveyed in odd-sized lots in much of the state, but west of the Tennessee River it was surveyed in townships. Several types of land grants were issued in Kentucky. Warrants authorizing surveys of the desired land were issued to persons qualified to receive grants for military service (military warrants) or cash payments (treasury warrants). The Land Grant Process consists of the following steps:

1. A person selected a piece of vacant land. They applied for it by entering a claim that described its features to a government official or entry-taker who recorded it. Entries/applications list the name of the person seeking the land, a description of the land, the number of acres, the name of adjacent land owners, and the date the entry was made.
2. A warrant was authorized after a three month period if no legal caveat, formal opposition, was filed. There was sometimes as many as 10 years between a claim or application and the warrant was authorized.
3. Then a plat or survey was created from the land description given in the entry or warrant. The surveyor sent copies of the plat to the land office.
4. Finally after officals received the necessary papers and fee a grant or patent was issued that entitled applicatant to the land.

Land grants, original warrants, surveys, patents, and Virginia land records are at the Kentucky Land Office, Capitol Building, Frankfort, KY 40602. The files and their indexes are open to the public. Additional land records are at the Kentucky Historical Society and the various county courthouses. The following collections are at the Kentucky Land Office and on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library. Indexes are generally found at the beginning of each set.

Land Grants

Virginia Grants (1773–1792). These grants were issued to men who served in the French and Indian War and in the Revolutionary War or their heirs.

• Hammon, Neal O. Early Kentucky Land Records, 1773–1780. Louisville, KY: Filson Club, 1992. This book indexes early Kentucky land records, beginning with the Fincastle County entries in 1774 to 1776 and continuing to the military surveys. The original Fincastle records are at the Montgomery County, Virginia, Courthouse. Military lands do not include grants for Revolutionary War service.
• Virginia. Governor. Virginia Grants, 1782–1792. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. FS Library film 272809–17 Film 272809 is an index to this record.

Old Kentucky Grants (1793–1856). These records include military, seminary, and academic records; treasury warrants; and preemption grants. Some of these were based on warrants and surveys issued by Virginia.

• Kentucky. Governor. Old Kentucky Grants, 1793–1856. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. FS Library films 272818–26 Film 272818 is an index for these records.

Kentucky Land Warrants (1816–1873). These were primarily warrants for lands east of the Tennessee River.

• Kentucky. Governor.Kentucky Land Warrants, 1816–1873; Index, 1812–1836. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. FS Library film 272843–64. Film 272843 is an index for these records.

Grants South of Green River (1797–1866). These lands were reserved by Virginia for soldiers of the Revolutionary War and were also used as a relief for squatters. Kentucky. Governor.

• Grants South of Green River, 1797–1866. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. FS Library film 272827–41 Indexed in Film 272827.

Tellico Land Grants (1802–1853). These grants were for lands the Cherokee Indians ceded to the United States in 1805. They were obtained by Treasury warrants.

• Kentucky. State Land Office. Tellico Land Grant Surveys, v.1–2, 1802–1817. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. FS Library film 272961. These volumes show the survey number and indicate the grant and survey volume and page number, the name of the person receiving the survey, and the number of acres.
• Kentucky. State Land Office. Tellico Land Grants, 1803–1853, v.# 1–2. Salt Lake City Genealogical Society of Utah 1962. FS Library film 272842. These grants include the name of the person the grant was given to the number of acres the land certificate or warrant number and the grant volume and page number.

• Kentucky, Land Grants, 1782-1924 at Ancestry ($)

Grants West of the Tennessee River (1822–1900). These grants were based on Treasury warrants.

• Kentucky. Governor. Grants West of Tennessee River, 1820–1900. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. FS Library Collection. Film 272865 is an index to this record.

County Court Orders (1836–1955). In 1835 the counties began selling unowned lands within their boundaries.

• Kentucky. Governor. County Court Orders, 1836–1955. Salt Lake City, Utah: Genealogical Society of Utah, 1962. FS Library films 272875–938. Films 272875–6 are indexes to this record. Due to the numerous disputes and litigations concerning Kentucky lands, consult the Court of Appeal deed books:
• Kentucky, Court of Appeals. Deed Books, 1780–1909. Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society, 1966. FS Library films 551280–92. Film 551280 is an index to these records.
• An abstract of some of these deeds is: Cook, Michael L. Kentucky Court of Appeals deed books. 4 vols. Evansville, Indiana: Cook Publications, 1985. The abstracts are arranged alphabetically. WorldCat 12839714; FS Catalog book 976.9 R2c.
  

• The Kentucky Land Office also has links to many of the above record collections, and additional information and collections. Select Land Office from menu, then Military Registers & Land Records and Non-Military Registers & Land Records.

Indexes to Land Grants and Surveys. Several important indexes are available for researching the land grants, military land warrants, state land office records, and court of appeals land records in Kentucky.

• Brookes-Smith, Joan E. Master Index: Virginia Surveys and Grants 1774–1791. Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society, 1976. FS Library film 1320833 item 6. This index is alphabetical by name and shows the county, number of acres, dates of the survey and grant, volume and page number of the original documents, and Kentucky Historical Society volume number.
• Jillson, Willard Rouse. Old Kentucky Entries and Deeds: A Complete Index to All of the Earliest Land Entries, Military Warrants, Deeds and Wills of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. 1926. This is a name index that is alphabetical within the name of the county, military warrant, deed, or will. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library. 1978, c1969 reprint at FS Library fiche 6051260; book 976.9 R22j.
• Jillson, Willard Rouse. The Kentucky Land Grants: A Systematic Index to All of the Land Grants Recorded in the State Land Office at Frankfort, Kentucky, 1782–1924. Louisville, KY: Standard Printing, 1925. This index is alphabetical by the location of the grant. Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library. FS Catalog book 976.9 R22ji.
• Index for Old Kentucky Survey’s and Grants; Index for Tellico Surveys and Grants. Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society, 1975. FS Library film 1402856. This index shows the name of the person receiving the land, survey number, county, acreage, survey and grant dates, volume and page numbers of original documents, and Kentucky Historical Society volume number.
• Taylor, Philip Fall. A Calendar of the Warrants for Land in Kentucky, Granted for Service in the French and Indian War. Baltimore, Maryland.: Genealogical Publishing, 1967. FS Catalog book 976.9 R21t and fiche 6019959. These warrants are indexed and include the warrant date and number, name and rank of the veteran, acreage, and description of the property.

Land Holders

• Early Kentucky landholders, 1787-1811. Compiled by James F. Sutherland. FS Library Book 976.9 R2su

County Records

Once a parcel of land was transferred from the government to private ownership, it may have stayed in the family for generations or for only a few months. It may have been subdivided, sold, and resold, with each transaction creating new records. These person-to-person transactions are an important resource to the genealogist since the potential for an ancestor to be recorded is high. These records may offer genealogical clues such as the given name of the wife, a previous residence, names of children, or death information. Land records also offer clues to maiden names if a father deeded property to his daughter upon her marriage. Witnesses and neighbors may also be in-laws or relatives.

It is important to trace the purchase and sale (or the acquisition and disposition) of each parcel of land an ancestor owned. The original records are filed in the county clerk’s or recorder’s offices. Be aware that as new counties were formed and boundaries changed, transactions were then recorded in the new county, while the parent county retained the records previously created. Most of the county deeds, town lot certificates, and other important land records from many counties are on microfilm at the FamilySearch Library. Contact the county clerk or recorder for records that have not been microfilmed.

Some films are digitized and can be viewed online. Films can be viewed at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City and at various FamilySearch Centers. Do the following steps in the FS Library online catalog to locate film numbers:

1. Go to FamilySearch catalog.(www.familysearch.org)
2. Click on “Place Search.”
3. Enter the locality where your ancestor lived. Hint: Grants are cataloged under the state or federal government while deeds are cataloged under the county.
4. Select Land and Property from the Topic List.
5. Once you have the film number, you should be given the information to locate the film at various FamilySearch Centers.

State Records

In the early days land disputes were common and so deeds ended up appealed to the STATE court level. These are abstracted in Michael L. and Bettie A. Cook's Kentucky Court of Appeals Deed Books Vol VI (Deed Books A-G, 1796-1803), Vol VII (Deed Books H-N, 1803-1811), Vol VIII (Deed Books O-U, 1811-1821) and Vol IV (Deed Books V-Z, 1821-1835) of the Kentucky Record Series. Vol IV includes the District of Kentucky (1783-1789) state supreme court records.

Reference Tools

The Internet site for the Kentucky Department of Libraries and Archives has an explanation of how land was distributed in the state. Another resource for understanding the land and property records in Kentucky is:

Adkinson, Kandie. The Kentucky Land Grant System, Newsletter (Marshall County Genealogical Society: Kentucky) 13, no. 4 (October 1998): 25–28.

United States Land and Property describes government land grants, grants from states, and major resources, many of which include Kentucky.

References

• The Kentucky Secretary of State's Land Office County Court Orders Database," FS Library Book Kentucky Ancestors. [Frankfort, KY: Kentucky Historical Society] 44:1 Autumn 2008