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There are 3,907 United States '''federal''' tract books containing the official record of each parcel of public land until it was transferred from federal to private ownership in 28 of the [[United States Land and Property#United_States|30 federal land states]] between the years 1820 and 1908. The federal tract books for Alaska and Missouri are lost.<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> | There are 3,907 United States '''federal''' tract books containing the official record of each parcel of public land until it was transferred from federal to private ownership in 28 of the [[United States Land and Property#United_States|30 federal land states]] between the years 1820 and 1908. The federal tract books for Alaska and Missouri are lost.<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> | ||
==== Why they were created ==== | |||
'''Why genealogists use them | These '''''federal ''''' tract books show the federal government transactions and status of each parcel of [[Rectangular surveys|surveyed]] public land. These books indicate who obtained the land, and include a physical description of the property and where the land is located. The type of transaction is also recorded such as cash entry, credit entry, homesteads, patents (deeds), timberland rights, or mineral rights granted by the federal government, and other conveyances of title such as Indian allotments, internal improvement grants (to states), [[US Military Bounty Land Warrants|military bounty land warrants]], land grants from previous foreign governments, [[Grants to Land Companies and Railroads|railroad grants]], school grants, and swamp grants.<ref name="Hone" /> | ||
==== Why genealogists use them ==== | |||
Federal tract books show details about when and where an ancestor first obtained land from the federal government. Tract books provide information to help find further federal (case files) and local land ownership records which sometimes hold clues about an ancestor's residence and family members. Also, after finding where an ancestor lived, a researcher can search for a variety of non-land records of the ancestor in that area. Tract books also can be used to find information about neighbors—people who sometimes turn out to be relatives. Tract books even show when an ancestor applied for federal land but failed to obtain it. | |||
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