Jump to content

Tract Books: Difference between revisions

t
(haw5)
(t)
Line 9: Line 9:
=== Federal tract books  ===
=== Federal tract books  ===


The [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives in Washington, DC]] has over 10 million land entry case files of individuals trying to obtain a private claim to some of the public land in [[United States Land and Property#United_States|30 federal land states]] from 1820-1908. In almost all these cases the land was surveyed and described as part of the '''Public Lands Survey System''', which divided the land into '''Congressional townships''' on a '''township and range''' grid based on '''[[Rectangular surveys]]'''.  
The [[National Archives and Records Administration|National Archives in Washington, DC]] has over 10 million land entry case files of individuals trying to obtain a private claim to some of the public land in [[United States Land and Property#United_States|30 federal land states]] from 1820-1908. In almost all these cases the land was surveyed and described as part of the '''Public Lands Survey System''', which divided the land into '''Congressional townships''' on a '''township and range''' grid based on '''[[Rectangular surveys|rectangular surveys]]'''.  


Federal tract books serve as a comprehensive reference to over 10 million of land entry case files held at the National Archives in Washington, DC. However, they are arranged according to the '''''land description&nbsp;''''' (township, range, and section) rather than the name of the claimant. They include '''all''' applicants for federal land, including those whose claim failed to receive a patent because it was unfinished, forfeited, rejected or cancelled.<ref name="Hone">E. Wade Hone, ''Land and Property Research in the United States'' (Salt Lake City, Utah : Ancestry Pub., c1997), 113. {{WorldCat|483096407|item|disp=At various repositories (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|766994|item|disp=FHL Book 973 R27h}}.</ref>  
Federal tract books serve as a comprehensive reference to over 10 million of land entry case files held at the National Archives in Washington, DC. However, they are arranged according to the '''''land description&nbsp;''''' (township, range, and section) rather than the name of the claimant. They include '''all''' applicants for federal land, including those whose claim failed to receive a patent because it was unfinished, forfeited, rejected or cancelled.<ref name="Hone">E. Wade Hone, ''Land and Property Research in the United States'' (Salt Lake City, Utah : Ancestry Pub., c1997), 113. {{WorldCat|483096407|item|disp=At various repositories (WorldCat)}}; {{FHL|766994|item|disp=FHL Book 973 R27h}}.</ref>


=== Finding unpatented entry information  ===
=== Finding unpatented entry information  ===
73,385

edits