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Tract Books: Difference between revisions

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=== Federal tract books 1820-1908  ===
=== Federal tract books 1820-1908  ===


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 [https://www.familysearch.org/search/collection/2074276 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 they were created  ====
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==== Tract books lead to case files  ====
==== Tract books lead to case files  ====


Federal tract books serve as a comprehensive reference to over ten million '''[[Land entry case files|land entry case files]]''' preserved at the [[National Archives and Records Administration]] in Washington, DC.<ref>Hawkins, 1.</ref> These case files show the application papers of each individual who attempted to obtain a private claim to some public land, whether they succeeded or not. '''''Successful claims&nbsp;''''' received a patent (original title) and are indexed in the [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/ BLM Land Patent Search] 1820-1908 for all [[United States Land and Property#United_States_federal_land_states|federal land states]]. '''''Unsuccessful claims&nbsp;''''' still have case files, and tract books are one of the best ways to find the information needed to obtain a [[Land entry case files|case file]] from the two million otherwise '''unindexed''' land entry case files that were never finished, forfeited, rejected, or cancelled.<ref>Hone, 113-14.</ref>  
Federal tract books serve as a comprehensive reference to over ten million '''[[Land entry case files|land entry case files]]''' preserved at the [[National Archives and Records Administration]] in Washington, DC.<ref>Hawkins, 1.</ref> These case files show the application papers of each individual who attempted to obtain a private claim to some public land, whether they succeeded or not. '''''Successful claims&nbsp;''''' received a patent (original title) and are indexed in the [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/ BLM Land Patent Search] 1820-1908 for all [[United States Land and Property#United_States_federal_land_states|federal land states]]. '''''Unsuccessful claims&nbsp;''''' still have case files, and tract books are one of the best ways to find the information needed to obtain a [[Land entry case files|case file]] from the two million otherwise '''unindexed''' land entry case files that were never finished, forfeited, rejected, or cancelled.<ref>Hone, 113-14.</ref>


=== Content  ===
=== Content  ===
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