Tract Books

United States Land and Property Tract books

Tract books were originally maintained by the federal government for each parcel of land obtained from the federal government. These ledgers were used to record entries, leases, withdrawals and other actions affecting the disposition of lands in the public domain. This information allowed federal land officials to determine the status of lands and minerals.

Likewise, most state and county governments keep similar ledgers called tract books for each parcel of real property in their jurisdiction in order to track ownership and status of real estate after it left federal control.

Federal tract books. The National Archives in Washington, DC has over 10 million land entry case files of individuals trying to obtain a private claim to some of the public land in 30 federal land states from 1820-1908. In almost all these cases the land was surveyed and described as part of the Public Lands Survey System, which divided the land into Congressional townships on a township and range grid based on rectangular surveys.

Federal tract books serve as a comprehensive reference to over 10 million of land entry case files held at the National Archives in Washington, DC. However, they are arranged according to the land description  (township, range, and section) rather than the name of the claimant. They include all applicants for federal land, including those whose claim failed to receive a patent because it was unfinished, forfeited, rejected or cancelled.

Finding unpatented entry information. If you know (or can guess) the state and county where an ancestor started an unfinished, forfeited, rejected, or cancelled land claim, you can search page-by-page through each of the tract books for that county looking for the ancestor's name. When you find an ancestor's name, the legal land description and land office listed in the tract book is usually enough to order a copy of the unpatented case file from the National Archives.

Access. Original tract books, Internet digital versions, and microfilms exist:

• Originals. The National Archives in Washington, DC has the original tract books for 16 western states. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Eastern State Office, 7450 Boston Blvd, Springfield, VA 22153 has custody of the tract books for the 12 eastern federal land states (AL, AR, FL, IL, IN, IA, LA, MI, MN, MS, OH, and WI). The tract books for Alaska and Missouri are lost.
• Internet. Digital copies of each federal-land-state's tract books (except  Alaska  and Missouri) are available in FamilySearch Historical Records online at United States Bureau of Land Management Tract Books, 1820-1908
• Microfilms of tract books are also on 1,265 films for each federal-land state (except  Alaska and Missouri) at the National Archives in Washington, and the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.

• United States Bureau of Land Management, Tract Books (Washington, District of Columbia : Records Improvement, Bureau of Land Management, 1957). At various libraries (WorldCat) 1,265 FHL Films starting with 1445277.

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.

Preparing to use tract books. Use the description of the townships and ranges covered in each tract book as described in the Tract Books Coverage Table to narrow down the volumes you will need to view to find an ancestor's land entry.

Or, if you have access to the National Archives in Washington, DC, use the Index to Tract Books, RG 49, MLR# UD2321, to each state's tract books which allows researchers to identify the tract book number that covers the area in which they are interested.

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. This information can help you narrow down the number of tract books you will need to search.

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.

Tract book arrangement. 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 2,325 tract books are listed at United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books Coverage Table (FamilySearch Historical Records).

Inside each tract book the arrangement is by the legal land description of the section, township, and range. Each land entry was recorded in the tract book across two pages.

• If you know the land description, locate land entry in the appropriate tract book under the appropriate numbered section, township, and range listed on the left side of each page in the volume.
• If you do NOT know the land description, search each appropriate tract book line-by-line and page-by-page for the name of an ancestor.

When you find an ancestor's entry. Once you find the record of the land entry, be sure to

• photocopy both tract book pages  of the entry
• write down the exact title, volume number, and page number  (source information) of the tract book volume in which the ancestor's entry was found

This information is important to helping the National Archives retrieve the land entry case file for you.

For Further Reading

• Kenneth Hawkins, Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office: Record Group 49, Reference Information Paper, 114 (Washington, DC: National Archives and Records Administration, 2007), 9. Internet version (pdf) At various repositories (WorldCat) FHL Ref Book 973 J53hrL
• E. Wade Hone, Land and Property Research in the United States (Salt Lake City, Utah : Ancestry Pub., c1997), chapters 8 and 9. At various repositories (WorldCat); FHL Book 973 R27h.
• United States, Bureau of Land Management Tract Books (FamilySearch Historical Records) Wiki article about the tract book collection.