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===== Tract books ===== | ===== Tract books ===== | ||
'''Finding incomplete entry information.''' To obtain case file information on | Tract books serve as a comprehensive reference to the millions of land entry case files held at the National Archives in Washington, DC. However, they are arranged according to the '''''land description ''''' rather than the name of the claimant. They include '''all''' applicants for federal land, including those whose claim was forfeited (never completed), rejected or cancelled.<ref>E. Wade Hone, Land and Property Research in the United States (Salt Lake City, Utah : Ancestry Pub., c1997), 113. [[WorldCate|483096407|item|disp=At various repositories (WorldCat)}} {{FHL|766994|item|disp=FHL Book 973 R27h}}.</ref> | ||
'''Finding incomplete entry information.''' To obtain case file information on unfinished (unpatented) entries in most federal land states, researchers must use tract books.<ref name="Haw5" /> | |||
'''Access.''' Original tract books, Internet digital versions, and microfilms exist: | '''Access.''' Original tract books, Internet digital versions, and microfilms exist: | ||
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'''Content.''' Tract books show the type of land entry, its legal description (numbered section, township and range), acreage, price, entryman's name, application date, and (if applicable) patenting date and numbers.<ref name="Haw5" /> | '''Content.''' Tract books show the type of land entry, its legal description (numbered section, township and range), acreage, price, entryman's name, application date, and (if applicable) patenting date and numbers.<ref name="Haw5" /> | ||
'''Arrangement.''' The National Archives in Washington, DC has a map index to each state's tract books which allows researchers to identify the tract book number that covers the area in which they are interested.<ref name="Haw4" /> In addition, "Appendix A" in ''Land and Property Research in the United States '' lists each present-day federal land state and county together with its farthest north-, east-, south-, and west- township and range for that county, and the meridian(s) that applies. | '''Arrangement.''' The National Archives in Washington, DC has a '''''map index ''''' to each state's tract books which allows researchers to identify the tract book number that covers the area in which they are interested.<ref name="Haw4" /> In addition, "Appendix A" in ''Land and Property Research in the United States '' lists each present-day federal land state and county together with its farthest north-, east-, south-, and west- township and range for that county, and the meridian(s) that applies. | ||
Tract books for some states, such as Alabama and Ohio are organized by land office. | |||
==== For Further Reading ==== | ==== For Further Reading ==== | ||