Wisconsin Land and Property: Difference between revisions

Wisconsin is a public domain ("Federal-Land") state, where unclaimed federal land was surveyed, then granted or sold by the government through federal land offices. The first document recording a sale of a piece of land from the government was called a land patent and the first owner of the land was called a patentee. Later, when the land was sold or mortgaged by private owners, the document was called a deed. The first federal and state transactions were recorded and the paperwork kept at the federal and state level, while all future transactions were recorded at the office of the county register of deeds. Family History researchers usually use land records from county offices, however, records from federal and state offices may also have genealogical value. For detailed descriptions of land record types see [[United States Land and Property|United States Land and Property]].  

:*Hammes, Raymond H. ''Cahokia books B and C, land records (1800-1820) and historical material (ca. 1671-1819)-, 1671-1820'' Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1988. {{FSC|533302|item}}, film 1543598 item 1. Both books B and C include historical documents and transcriptions. Book B includes a historical chronology of events, 1671-1818. Includes general indexes with each book.

:*Ainsworth, Fern ''Private land claims, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin'' [Natchitoches, Louisiana : F. Ainsworth, 198-?] {{FSC|538634|item}}, book 977 R2a. This book contains a private land claims docket index for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

:*''[[The Territorial Papers of the United States|The Territorial papers of the United States]]; the territory of Wisconsin, 1836-1848 : a microfilm supplement'' Washington, District of Columbia:National Archives and Records Administration, 1959. 122 microfilm rolls beginning with film 1601731, {{FSC|588787|item}}. Each roll has a list of materials on the rolls in the series. The targets for the maps give an explanation of the maps. Letters and journals have an arrow which points at Wisconsin material. Dates noted are for the roll and are not necessarily in that order.

*Microfilm copies of the tract books and township plats of the Wisconsin land offices are available at the FamilySearch Library. Plat books for counties in Wisconsin are listed in the [https://www.familysearch.org/search/catalog Place Search&nbsp;] of the FamilySearch Catalog under:<br>

*The actual patents may be found on line at the [http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office website (BLM-GLO)] as indicated in the section on indexes.&nbsp; They may also be found at the following office:

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. &nbsp;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: