United States Land and Property

Introduction The availability of land attracted many immigrants to America and encouraged westward expansion. Land ownership was generally recorded in an area as soon as settlers began to arrive. These important records sometimes exist when few other records are available. 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 for further research. Getting started with United States Land and Property research Getting started What's the next step? Finding your ancestor in the records Tips for beginners Research Tools Patent search: www.glorecords.blm.gov Research strategies: Family History 101 Search records: Footnote.com ($) Ancestry.com ($) Did you know? "Property" refers to more than land. Records of slaves, livestock brands, stray animals, indentures, and loans can be found in records kept by many towns and counties. The person who obtains title to land from the government receives a land grant. Subsequent exchanges of land are person-to-person exchanges involving deeds. The Land Acquisition Process and Types of Land In the United States, land is acquired in basically one of two ways; from the government or from an individual. The first sale of land from the government to a person is called a grant. Thereafter, the sale of that land from a person is called a deed. Government to Person Government Land Grants Colonial Land Federal Land State Land Homestead Lottery Land Military Bounty Land Mining Claims Private Land Claims Timberland Person to Person Deeds County and Town Records Inheriting Land Land Companies/Railroads United States Federal Land States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado District of Columbia Florida Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Louisiana Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Mexico North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon South Dakota Utah Washington Wisconsin Wyoming Federal land states (blue) & state land states (brown) State Land States Connecticut Delaware Georgia Hawaii Kentucky Maine Maryland Massachusetts New Hamsphire New Jersey New York North Carolina Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Tennessee Texas Vermont Virginia West Virginia United States   (Additional Heading) (Your text or images here) (Additional Heading) (Your text or images here, or use the table below:) (Your Bullet) (Your Bullet) (Your Bullet) (Your Bullet) (Your Bullet) (Your Bullet) News www.footnote.com Footnote.com ($) now has images of entry case files from Nebraska's Broken Bow land office, 1890-1908 (NARA M1915). more... Topics Indexing Systems Inheriting Land Land Grant Process Land Measurements Land Patent Search Land Terms & Definitions Maps Platting Land Public Domain States State Land States

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National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C.