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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" /> | ||
'''Preparing to use tract books.''' Use the description of the townships and ranges covered in each tract book as described in the [[United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)|'''Tract Books Coverage Table''']] to narrow down the volumes you will need to view to find an ancestor's land entry. | '''Preparing to use tract books.''' Use the description of the townships and ranges covered in each tract book as described in the [[United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)|'''Tract Books Coverage Table''']] to narrow down the volumes you will need to view to find an ancestor's land entry. ''For example:'' [[Image:Tract books coverage table example.png|center|Tract books coverage table example.png]] | ||
Or, if you have access to the National Archives in Washington, DC, use the '''''Index to Tract Books, RG 49, MLR# UD2321''''',<ref>Index to Tract Books, RG 49, MLR# UD2321, maps arranged by state. Copies of these maps are available for consultation in room G28 of the National Archives Building, Washington, DC, as cited in Hawkins, page 6.</ref> 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" /> | Or, if you have access to the National Archives in Washington, DC, use the '''''Index to Tract Books, RG 49, MLR# UD2321''''',<ref>Index to Tract Books, RG 49, MLR# UD2321, maps arranged by state. Copies of these maps are available for consultation in room G28 of the National Archives Building, Washington, DC, as cited in Hawkins, page 6.</ref> 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" /> | ||
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Tract books for some states, such as Alabama and Ohio are organized by land office. Others are organized for the whole state. "Appendix B" in ''Land and Property Research in the United States '' shows the varying land office boundaries in each state over many years.<ref>Hone, 269-497.</ref> | Tract books for some states, such as Alabama and Ohio are organized by land office. Others are organized for the whole state. "Appendix B" in ''Land and Property Research in the United States '' shows the varying land office boundaries in each state over many years.<ref>Hone, 269-497.</ref> | ||
'''Tract book arrangement.''' Tract book volumes are organized by state, in some states by land offices, and then by [[Rectangular surveys#Numbered_Townships_and_Ranges|township number and range number]]. Within each tract book volume, the land entries are in order by their legal land description<ref name="Hone" /><ref>Hawkins, front inside cover, and page 6.</ref> (section, township, and range) | '''Tract book arrangement.''' Tract book volumes are organized by state, in some states by land offices, and then by [[Rectangular surveys#Numbered_Townships_and_Ranges|township number and range number]]. Within each tract book volume, the land entries are in order by their legal land description<ref name="Hone" /><ref>Hawkins, front inside cover, and page 6.</ref> (section, township, and range). Typical tract books list the land entries for anywhere from one to 30 townships; about five townships per tract book seems to be the most common. Within most townships the order is usually by [[Rectangular surveys#Numbered_Sections|section number]]. | ||
Each land entry in a tract book was recorded across two pages.<ref>Hawkins, 6.</ref> Each page set covers part or all of one township; tract books rarely have two different townships listed on the same page. The townships usually only change one range number or one township number at a time after several pages within a tract book volume listing several townships.<br> | Each land entry in a tract book was recorded across two pages.<ref>Hawkins, 6.</ref> Each page set covers part or all of one township; tract books rarely have two different townships listed on the same page. The townships usually only change one range number or one township number at a time after several pages within a tract book volume listing several townships.<br> | ||
:*For a list of the '''townships''' (described with both a township number and a range number) and '''land offices''' included in this collection, see the [[United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Tract Books Coverage Table]]. ''For example:'' [[Image:Tract books coverage table example.png|right|600px|Tract books coverage table example.png]] | :*For a list of the '''townships''' (described with both a township number and a range number) and '''land offices''' included in this collection, see the [[United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)|Tract Books Coverage Table]]. ''For example:'' [[Image:Tract books coverage table example.png|right|600px|Tract books coverage table example.png]] | ||
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Tract book volumes are arranged by the present-day state. In some states tract book volumes are also divided into groups by land office. The townships and ranges covered in each of the 3,907 tract books are listed at [[United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)|United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]. | Tract book volumes are arranged by the present-day state. In some states tract book volumes are also divided into groups by land office. The townships and ranges covered in each of the 3,907 tract books are listed at [[United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)|United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records)]]. | ||