Virginia Land and Property

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Virginia

Land and Property

Online Resources

• 1623-1666 Cavaliers and Pioneers. Vol. I at Ancestry - index/images ($), Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants, 1623-1666; Also as: HathiTrust
• 1623-1774 Patents, 1623-1774, Index, Land Patents, [to Volumes 1-42](*) at FamilySearch Catalog
• 1639-1850 Virginia Land, Marriage, and Probate Records, 1639-1850 at Ancestry - index/images ($)
• 1690-1862 Northern Neck Grants, 1690-1862(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - Index, Northern Neck Grants, 1690-1874
• 1694-1742 Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1694-1742, Volume I at Ancestry - Abstracts ($)
• 1704 The Quit Rents of Virginia, 1704 at Ancestry - index/images ($)
• 1742-1775 Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1742-1775, Volume II at Ancestry - Abstracts ($)
• 1775-1800 Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1775-1800, Volume III at Ancestry - Abstracts ($)
• 1800-1862 Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants, 1800-1862, Volume IV at Ancestry - Abstracts ($)
• 1779-1860 Bounty Warrants, 1779-1860(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - The warrants are in alphabetical order. These are bounty land claim papers and may include affidavits giving service information, assignment of warrant to another person, enlistment date and place, discharge or death information, petitions from heirs, and the dates when bounty land was allowed or rejected.
• 1779-1921 Grants, 1779-1921; Index, Land Grants, Books 740124, ca 1825-1921(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - Includes patents from 1775-1776, 1779-1781. Includes Land grants 1779-1921.
• 1779-1924 Surveys, 1779-1878; Index, Land Surveys, 1779-1924(*) at FamilySearch Catalog
• 1783-1787 Register, Military Warrants Numbers 1321-1553, 4057-5478; and Preemption Warrants, 1783-1787(*) at FamilySearch Catalog
• 1786-1854 Northern Neck Surveys, 1786-1854(*) at FamilySearch Catalog - Each volume is indexed.
• 1808-1870 Register, Bounty Land Warrants, Numbers 5479-9914; March 20, 1808-March 11, 1870(*) at FamilySearch Catalog
• Virginia Gleanings in England, English probate records with Virginia estates, ($), index/images
• Virginia County Records, Volume VI at Ancestry - index/images ($)
• Virginia County Records, Volume IX at Ancestry - index/images ($)
• Virginia County Records, Volume X at Ancestry - index/images ($)
• Virginia Land Records at Ancestry - index/images ($)
• Revolutionary War Records: Virginia Army and Navy Forces with Bounty Land Warrants for Virginia Military District of Ohio, and Virginia Military Scrip.... Online at: FamilySearch Digital Library, Ancestry ($).
• Full-Text Search - Land Records at FamilySearch - index & images; dates, records, and places vary; How to Search

Virginia Land Records

Colonial and State Land Grants

Virginia has been a state-land state in which property has been distributed by the colony or state rather than the federal government. Various methods of distributing land have been used.

The Virginia Company of London, incorporated in 1606, granted land patents to settlers until 1623. These early patents have been lost or destroyed; however, much information on the persons (and their descendants) who received these patents is found in the John F. Dorman's source listed in the Virginia Genealogy and Virginia Public Records sections.

In 1623 the Virginia Land Company was dissolved, and the crown then distributed land through the office of the secretary of the colony. Land grants from this office were given in two ways—to those who brought persons to Virginia (headright grants) or to persons who paid money into the treasury (purchases).

Headright grants were issued from about 1618 to 1732. A person was given a patent for a certain number of acres (usually 50 per person) for himself, his wife, servants, slaves, or any other passengers for whom he provided passage. This system was abused by some people who went to different counties and claimed the same persons for headright grants. The grants are listed in Nugent's volumes.

After the Virginia Company was dissolved, settlers could purchase patents (grants) through a clerk of the county until 1921. (See Nugent.)

Accessing land patents, grants, and surveys on the Library of Virginia website Images of Land patents (pre-1779), land grants (after 1779), and Northern Neck grants (1692-1862) and surveys are available. Land Grant Recipients Search for the name of the person who received the land (the claimant) in the online search engine. Patents and grants also may be searched by the name of the county (when listed), year, and acreage. In some cases, geographic place designations, such as waterways, are included in the catalog entry and may be searched. Headrights Because the land patents list the names of imported persons, they are the primary source for documenting early Virginia immigration. Unfortunately transported individuals are not indexed in the database. In order to find an immigrant listed in these records, you must know the name of the person who claimed land for their importation. If you do not know the claimant's name, look in Nugent's published abstracts (see Abstracts below). Then search for the name of the person who received the land in the online search engine. When you find the correct record, the unindexed headright names should appear on the scanned image of the actual document. See the Library of Virginia's web site, including the research notes on land grants, which also covers those portions of Virginia that became Kentucky and West Virginia, and grants in Ohio.

Land Grant Process

Obtaining a Patent. A settler petitioned a clerk of the county for a patent. The clerk made out a warrant certificate that was sent to the secretary of the colony where it was recorded, and a second certificate was made authorizing a survey. The surveyor sent his survey plat to the office of the surveyor-general which was established in 1623. The survey plat was returned to the secretary of the colony, and the original or a copy was kept by the surveyor-general's office. The secretary then made out the patent from the survey plat. The patent was approved by the council and governor.

After Receiving a Patent. After receiving a patent, the settler was required to build a house and plant crops. If this was not done in three years, the land reverted to the crown or the state and could be granted to someone else.

The individual who received a patent could sell it to someone else. In this case, the name of the second buyer was often written on the back of the patent and was recorded by the secretary of the colony's office or, after 1623, in the county court records.

Records

Finding the Records. Lists of headright grants and the names of persons brought to Virginia from 1623 to 1732 were recorded in the county court records and in the secretary of the colony's records. The Library of Virginia has these records as well as other grant records and various card indexes. The FamilySearch Library has microfilm copies of:

Patents, 1623-1774, 42 volumes; Index, Land Patents, [to] volumes 1-42. FS Library Film 29318 (first of 43 films); index on Film 29308. See below for 1775-1776 and 1779-1781.

Grants, 1779-1921; index, land grants, bks 740124, ca 1825-1921, FS Library Film 29360 (first of 150 films); index 1825-1921 on Film 29308 Item 2. Includes patents from 1775-1776, 1779-1781. Includes Land grants 1779-1921.

Northern Neck Grants, 1690-1862. Index, Northern Neck Grants, 1690-1874. FS Library Film 29509 (first of 25 films), index on film 29508.

Northern Neck Surveys, 1786-1854. On 9 FS Library films beginning with film 29533, FS Library Collection. Each volume is indexed.

Surveys, 1779-1878; index, land surveys, 1779-1924. FS Library Film 29542 (first of 92 films, index on films 29542-43.

Bounty warrants, 1779-1860. FS Library Film 29821 (first of 31 films), index on films 29850-51. The warrants are in alphabetical order. These are bounty land claim papers and may include affidavits giving service information, assignment of warrant to another person, enlistment date and place, discharge or death information, petitions from heirs, and the dates when bounty land was allowed or rejected.

• Register, Bounty Land Warrants, numbers 5479-9914; March 20, 1808-March 11, 1870. FS Library Film 29653 items 4-6.
• Register, Military Warrants numbers 1321-1553, 4057-5478; and preemption warrants 1783-1787. FS Library Film 29653 item 3.

Abstracts

Headright grants and land patents to 1800 have been indexed and published in:

• Nugent, Nell Marion. Cavaliers and Pioneers: Abstracts of Virginia Land Patents and Grants. 8 vols. Richmond, Va.: Dietz Print.: Virginia State Library: Virginia Genealogical Society, 1934-2005. FS Library Books 975.5 R2n v. 1-8. Volume 1 has been digitized by Ancestry ($) and Internet Archive. Helps determine residence, immigrants, and sometimes relationships.

Northern Neck Proprietors maintained their own records:

• Gray, Gertrude E. Virginia Northern Neck Land Grants. (1694-1862) 4 vols. Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 1987-1993. FS Library Book 975.52 R2g v. 1-4.
  
• Joyner, Peggy Shomo. Abstracts of Virginia's Northern Neck Warrants and Surveys. (1653-1781) 5 vols. Portsmouth, Va.: P.S. Joyner, 1985-1987, 1995. FS Library Book 975.5 R2j v. 1-v. 5.
  

The FamilySearch Library has several other publications of Virginia land records. These include lists of pre-Revolutionary landowners that have been transcribed and published in:

• Foley, Louise P. H. Early Virginia Families Along the James River. . . . Two Volumes. Richmond, Virginia: Louise P. H. Foley, 1974. FS Library Book 975.5 R2f; Film 1036802 item 5; Fiche 6046679. Helps locate pre-revolutionary families in Henrico, Goochland, Prince George, and Charles City counties.
• Virginia Military Bounty Land in the Northwest Territory. Signal Mountain, Tenn.: Mountain Press, 2010. Online surname index. Identifies Virginia Revolutionary War Patriots who received bounty land in the "Territory North of the River Ohio."

Reprints and an index of many colonial land records dating from the 1600s to 1834 that were originally published in periodicals are in:

• Virginia Land Records: From the Virginia Magazine of History and Biography, the William and Mary College Quarterly, and Tyler's Quarterly. Baltimore, Maryland: Genealogical Publishing, 1982. FS Library Book 975.5 R2v. See Virginia Genealogy and Virginia Periodicals for information about these periodicals.

Land Taxes

A useful guide to Virginia landowners in the early nineteenth-century, based on tax records, is:

• Ward, Roger G. 1815 Directory of Virginia Landowners and Gazetteer. 6 vols. Athens, Ga.: Iberian Pub. Co., 1997-2000. FS Library Books 975 E4w v. 1-v. 6.
  

The Virginia Taxation article provides further information about quitrent and other records that help identify Virginia landowners.

History of Land Companies

For a history of early land companies and policies, see:

• Robinson, W. Stitt. Mother Earth—Land Grants in Virginia, 1607-1699. Williamsburg: 350th Anniversary Celebration Corp., 1957. FS Library Book 975.5 A1 no. 81.

Transfers of Land between Individuals

Land transactions after the original patent was issued have been recorded in county deed books. Many independent cities in Virginia also kept their own records. The original deed books are kept in courthouses. You can obtain copies by contacting the appropriate clerk's office—usually the clerk of the circuit court.

The FamilySearch Library has microfilm copies of most pre-1880 deed books and indexes.

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