Nebraska Land and Property: Difference between revisions

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Nebraska

Land and Property

Online Resources[edit | edit source]

See United States Land and Property for more databases and resources.
1788-1960s U.S. Land Patent Search at Bureau of Land Management, index and some records
1820-1908 U.S., Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; images only - index
1861-1932 United States, Cancelled, Relinquished, or Rejected Land Entry Case Files, 1861-1932 at FamilySearch How to Use this Collection
1863-1908 Nebraska, Homestead Records, 1863-1908 at Ancestry ($)
1863-1908 U.S., Homestead Records, 1863-1908 at Ancestry - index and images ($)
1890-1908 Nebraska, Broken Bow Homestead Records, 1890-1908 at FamilySearch - How to Use this Collection; index and images
Survey Plats and Field Notes at Bureau of Land Management - index
Land Owner Search at Historygeo.com ($), index to maps of original land owners
Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Nebraska Land Records[edit | edit source]

Nebraska is a public domain state, in which land is surveyed and transferred to private ownership through federal land offices. See United States Land and Property. Settlers could either purchase the land or, after the passage of the National Homestead Act in 1862, receive homesteads.

The first land office in Nebraska was established at Omaha in 1855. The FamilySearch Library has research handbooks for many counties describing the evolution of the land office districts.

Each local land office kept tract books and township plats. Records of the land offices and microfilm copies of all tracts are at the Nebraska State Historical Society. The NSHS library has a collection of over 500 county atlases or plat books. The approximate time period of these atlases and plat books is 1885 to the present. Of these estimated 500 atlases/plat books, 147 have been microfilmed. These are mainly from 1885 to 1947, though not every county has an atlas for every year.

A database has been developed to give an accurate account of our holdings and to help researchers in verifying the existence of atlases/plat books for their years of interest.

You can write to the society for a reference leaflet on Nebraska land laws and records.

Homestead Land[edit | edit source]

An applicant received up to 160 acres (1/4 of a section) of undeveloped land in any federal-land state or territory. To obtain the land a settler had to:

File application papers, and pay filing fees, eventually a total of $18
Improve the land over the next five years (usually build a dwelling, and start a farm)
File for a deed of title.

Applications may include final certificates, applications with land descriptions, affidavits showing proof of citizenship, Register and Receiver receipts, notices, newspaper clippings, and testimonies of witnesses (neighbors), or even family Bible records.

Between 1862 and 1986 about 10 percent of all land in the United States, 270,000,000 acres (420,000 sq mi), were transferred from federal to private control through 1.6 million granted homesteads.^[1]

Homestead applications and other land office records are available from:

Textual Reference Branch
National Archives and Records Administration
7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20408
Telephone: 202-501-5395
Fax: 202-219-6273
Internet: http://www.archives.gov/

Patents and copies of tract books and township plats are at the:

Bureau of Land Management
2515 Warren Avenue
Cheyenne, WY 82003
Telephone: 307-775-6001
Fax: 307-775-6082
Internet: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/WY/

Mailing Address:
Box 1828
Cheyenne, WY 82003

You will need a legal description of the land to search these files effectively. See the Homestead Records Wiki page for instructions about using the online GLO-BLM Land Patent Search to find this description and obtain application files.

Railroad Lands[edit | edit source]

Many large sections of land were granted to the Union Pacific Railroad, which then sold it to settlers through its own land offices. Many of the records of these transactions were destroyed in a fire. The Burlington Railroad also sold land. Microfilm copies of these records are at the Nebraska State Historical Society.

After land has been transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions are recorded at county offices. The FamilySearch Library does not have copies of the county land records. You can obtain copies of deeds and mortgages from the recorder in each county.

References[edit | edit source]

Nebraska Research Outline. Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1998, 2001. (NOTE: All of the information from the original research outline has been imported into this Wiki site and is being updated as time permits.)

↑ United States, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, “About the Homestead Act” in Homestead National Monument of America at http://www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/abouthomesteadactlaw.htm (accessed 5 February 2010).

[1] United States, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, “About the Homestead Act” in Homestead National Monument of America at http://www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/abouthomesteadactlaw.htm (accessed 5 February 2010).

[1]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Nebraska is a public domain state, in which land is surveyed and transferred to private ownership through federal land offices. (See the United States Research Outline for more information.) Settlers could either purchase the land or, after the passage of the National Homestead Act in 1862, receive homesteads.
+{{NE-sidebar}}{{breadcrumb
+| link1=[[United States Genealogy|United States]]
+| link2=[[United States Land and Property|U.S. Land and Property]]
+| link3=[[Nebraska, United States Genealogy|Nebraska]]
+| link4=
+| link5=[[Nebraska Land and Property|Land and Property]]
+}}
-The first land office in Nebraska was established at Omaha in 1855. The Family History Library has research handbooks for many counties describing the evolution of the land office districts.
+== Online Resources ==
+*''See [[United States Land and Property|United States Land and Property]] for more databases and resources.''
+*'''1788-1960s''' [https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx?searchTabIndex=0&searchByTypeIndex=0 U.S. Land Patent Search] at Bureau of Land Management, index and some records
+*'''1820-1908''' {{RecordSearch|2074276|U.S., Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908}} at FamilySearch - [[United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; images only - index
+*'''1861-1932''' {{RecordSearch|2170637|United States, Cancelled, Relinquished, or Rejected Land Entry Case Files, 1861-1932}} at FamilySearch [[United States, Cancelled, Relinquished, or Rejected Land Entry Case Files - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]
+*'''1863-1908''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60593 Nebraska, Homestead Records, 1863-1908] at Ancestry ($)
+*'''1863-1908''' [http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=60593 U.S., Homestead Records, 1863-1908] at Ancestry - index and images ($)
+*'''1890-1908''' {{RecordSearch|1840496|Nebraska, Broken Bow Homestead Records, 1890-1908}} at FamilySearch  - [[Nebraska, Broken Bow Homestead Records - FamilySearch Historical Records|How to Use this Collection]]; index and images
+*[https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx?searchTabIndex=0&searchByTypeIndex=1 Survey Plats and Field Notes] at Bureau of Land Management - index
+*[https://historygeo.com/ Land Owner Search] at Historygeo.com ($), index to maps of original land owners
+*[https://www.familysearch.org/search/full-text Full-Text Search - Land Records] at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P00oMDsAsSw How to Search]
-Each local land office kept tract books and township plats. Records of the land offices and microfilm copies of all tracts are at the Nebraska State Historical Society. The society has a card index to the tract books of about ten counties. You can write to the society for a reference leaflet on Nebraska land laws and records.
+==Nebraska Land Records==
+[[Nebraska Genealogy|Nebraska]] is a public domain state, in which land is surveyed and transferred to private ownership through federal land offices. See [[United States Land and Property|United States Land and Property]]. Settlers could either purchase the land or, after the passage of the National Homestead Act in 1862, receive homesteads.
-Homestead applications and other land office records are available from:
+The first land office in Nebraska was established at Omaha in 1855. The FamilySearch Library has research handbooks for many counties describing the evolution of the land office districts.
-'''Textual Reference Branch'''<br />National Archives and Records Administration<br />7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.<br />Washington, DC 20408<br />Telephone: 202-501-5395<br />Fax: 202-219-6273<br />Internet: http://www.archives.gov/
+Each local land office kept tract books and township plats. Records of the land offices and microfilm copies of all tracts are at the Nebraska State Historical Society.  The NSHS library has a collection of over 500 county atlases or plat books. The approximate time period of these atlases and plat books is 1885 to the present. Of these estimated 500 atlases/plat books, 147 have been microfilmed. These are mainly from 1885 to 1947, though not every county has an atlas for every year.
-The United States Research Outline (30972) has instructions for ordering copies.
+A database has been developed to give an accurate account of our holdings and to help researchers in verifying the existence of atlases/plat books for their years of interest.
-Patents and copies of tract books and township plats are at the:
+You can write to the society for a reference leaflet on Nebraska land laws and records.
-'''Bureau of Land Management'''<br />2515 Warren Avenue<br />Cheyenne, WY 82003<br />Telephone: 307-775-6001<br />Fax: 307-775-6082<br />Internet: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/WY/
+=== Homestead Land  ===
-Mailing Address:<br />Box 1828<br />Cheyenne, WY 82003
+An applicant received up to 160 acres (1/4 of a section) of undeveloped land in any federal-land state or territory. To obtain the land a settler had to:
-You will need a legal description of the land to search these files effectively.
+:#File application papers, and pay filing fees, eventually a total of $18
+:#Improve the land over the next five years (usually build a dwelling, and start a farm)
+:#File for a deed of title.
-A large section of land was granted to the Union Pacific Railroad, which then sold it to settlers through its own land offices. Many of the records of these transactions were destroyed in a fire. The Burlington Railroad also sold land. Microfilm copies of these records are at the Nebraska State Historical Society.
+Applications may include final certificates, applications with land descriptions, affidavits showing proof of citizenship, Register and Receiver receipts, notices, newspaper clippings, and testimonies of witnesses (neighbors), or even family Bible records.
-After land has been transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions are recorded at county offices. The Family History Library does not have copies of the county land records. You can obtain copies of deeds and mortgages from the recorder in each county.
+Between 1862 and 1986 about 10 percent of all land in the United States, 270,000,000 acres (420,000 sq mi), were transferred from federal to private control through 1.6 million granted homesteads.<ref>United States, Department of the Interior, National Park Service, “About the Homestead Act” in ''Homestead National Monument of America'' at http://www.nps.gov/home/historyculture/abouthomesteadactlaw.htm (accessed 5 February 2010).</ref>
+[[Homestead Records|Homestead]] applications and other land office records are available from:
+'''Textual Reference Branch'''<br>National Archives and Records Administration<br>7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.<br>Washington, DC 20408<br>Telephone: 202-501-5395<br>Fax: 202-219-6273<br>Internet: http://www.archives.gov/
+Patents and copies of tract books and township plats are at the:
+'''Bureau of Land Management'''<br>2515 Warren Avenue<br>Cheyenne, WY 82003<br>Telephone: 307-775-6001<br>Fax: 307-775-6082<br>Internet: http://www.blm.gov/rmp/WY/
+Mailing Address:<br>Box 1828<br>Cheyenne, WY 82003
+You will need a legal description of the land to search these files effectively. See the [[Homestead Records]] Wiki page for instructions about using the online GLO-BLM Land Patent Search to find this description and obtain application files.
+=== Railroad Lands  ===
+Many large [[Grants to Land Companies and Railroads|sections of land were granted]] to the Union Pacific Railroad, which then sold it to settlers through its own land offices. Many of the records of these transactions were destroyed in a fire. The Burlington Railroad also sold land. Microfilm copies of these records are at the Nebraska State Historical Society.
+After land has been transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions are recorded at county offices. The FamilySearch Library does not have copies of the county land records. You can obtain copies of deeds and mortgages from the recorder in each county.
+== References  ==
+*''Nebraska Research Outline.'' Salt Lake City, Utah: Intellectual Reserve, Inc., Family History Department, 1998, 2001. (NOTE: All of the information from the original research outline has been imported into this Wiki site and is being updated as time permits.)
+<references />
+{{Nebraska|Nebraska}} {{U.S. Land and Property}}
+[[Category:Nebraska, United States]][[Category:Land and Property]]