Michigan Land and Property: Difference between revisions

{{MI-sidebar}}<br>''[[United States]]&nbsp; [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]&nbsp; [[United States Land and Property|U.S. Land and Property]]&nbsp; [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]]&nbsp;[[Michigan Genealogy|Michigan&nbsp;]] [[Image:Gotoarrow.png]] &nbsp;[[Michigan_Land_and_Property|Land and Property]]''  

[[{{Pastoral Farm}}]]  

=== Introduction  ===

The availability of land encouraged westward expansion. Land ownership was generally recorded in an area as soon as settlers began to arrive. Land records are primarily used to learn where an individual lived and when he lived there. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. You may learn where a person lived previously, his occupation, if he had served in the military, if he was a naturalized citizen, and other clues. Sale of the land may show when he left and where he was moving.  

Michigan was settled by the French in the early days. In 1702 Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac found the area we now call Detroit and took possession of the land for France. He built a fort called Fort Pontchartrain and encouraged agricultural development around the fort. By 1763, the British gained control of the land. One of the biggest attractions to the area was the availability of the Detroit river and Great lakes which provided ease of trade by water. Some of the earliest records in [[Michigan Genealogy|Michigan]], including lists of early voters, petitioners, taxpayers, and landowners, are recorded in The American state papers (see below). The following resources may be helpful&nbsp;as these early land records are searched.  

*United States Congress ''American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive of the Congress of the United States'' La Crosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 1959. 38 vols. On 29 films beginning with {{FHL|309454|item|disp=FHL film 1631827}}; classes 8 and 9 are also on {{FHL|238154|item|disp=FHL films 899878–899885}}. Volumes for classes 8 and 9 deal with public lands and claims for 1789 to 1837 and may name siblings or heirs of original claimants. Classes 8 and 9 have been republished in:

When the area that is now [[Michigan Genealogy|Michigan]] became part of the [[United States Genealogy|United States]], a few prior land claims by early pioneers were settled in the courts, though most of the land was unclaimed. This unclaimed land became the public domain, was '''surveyed''', divided into townships (36 square miles), range and section (one square mile within the township)and then sold through land offices. Michigan land office records began in 1838, when&nbsp;Michigan became a territory and land offices were established.&nbsp;Michigan is termed a [[Government Land Grants|Federal land state]](public domain), and the government granted land through [[Grants from the Federal Government (Public Domain)|cash sales (entries)]], [[Homestead Records|homesteads]], [[US Military Bounty Land Warrants|military bounty land warrants]] as well as granting other claims such as [[Mining Claims|mining]] and [[Timberland|timberland claims]]. Federal land purchases are contained in a case file held at the National Archives. In order to obtain the '''case file''', a legal description of the land is needed which may be found in a deed, plat map, '''tract book''', or '''patent books'''. To learn how to obtain this land description, see the wiki article under United States Land and Property - Federal Land - [[Grants from the Federal Government (Public Domain)#Obtaining_a_Legal_Description_of_the_Land|Obtaining a Legal Description of the Land]].  

*The Bureau of Land Management and General Land Office (BLM-GLO) has an on line [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx#searchTabIndex=0&searchByTypeIndex=0 Land Patent Search] which is an index to millions of ancestors named in federal land patents and warrants from 1788 to the 1960’s located at the National Archives. This is the best place to begin when searching for a land patent because of the ease of navigation when searching for an ancestor. This internet web site also provides many images of patents.

*United States. Bureau of Land Management. ''Card Files''. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Land Management, 19—. On 160 Family History Library films beginning with {{FHL|511740|item|disp=FHL film 1501522}}. Each card contains the following information: Certificate number District Land Office Kind of entry (cash, credit, warrant, etc.) Name of patentee and county of origin Land description Number of acres Date of patent Volume and page where document can be located . Because these index cards are arranged by township and range within each state, the researcher will need to already have an approximate legal description in order to access these cards.

Michigan uses the rectangular land survey system of section, township, and range.The townships were six-mile square blocks of land, divided into 36 one-mile squares called sections. The township was numbered north and south, starting from the center line, and the range was numbered east and west starting from the center line.  

*Andriot, Jay. Township Atlas of the United States. McLean, Virginia: Documents Index, 1991. Family History Library book {{FHL|456649|item|disp=FHL book 973 E7an 1991.}} This book is arranged alphabetically by state.

Tract books may also serve as indexes to the case files. They are arranged geographically by township and range, so there needs to be some idea of the legal description of the land where an ancestor lived to be able to use them. Some legal land descriptions are included in county records.  

:*Bureau of Land Management Eastern States Office<br>7450 Boston Boulevard<br>Springfield, VA 22153<br>Telephone: 703-440-1523<br>Fax: 703-440-1599

Also known as Land Entry Files or Patent Files, the case file is the accumulation of paperwork gathered during the land transactions which occurred when the land is transferred from the U.S. Government to private ownership and are kept at the National Archives in Washington D.C. These documents are the most helpful records for researchers because some files contain valuable information and may include personal or family information, such as military discharge papers, proof of citizenship, former residences, birthplaces and more. While not all files have pertinent information for the researcher, they are often worth obtaining. For further information regarding case files and how to order them, you will want to read the article [[Grants from the Federal Government (Public Domain)#Locating_the_Land_and_it.27s_Associated_Records|''Locating the Land and it's Associated Records'']] at the United States Land and Property wiki page. The physical address of where the records are kept at the National Archives is as follows: