Land Records Unlocked: A Genealogist's Guide to Deeds and Other Records
For generations, land has meant opportunity, independence, and even survival in America. It is what drove many of our ancestors to immigrate and what motivated some to migrate across the country. While land records are essential to our family history research, they are often overlooked or misunderstood. Hidden in the legalese and metes and bounds, there can be critical clues to extended family members and family relationships, the location of ancestral homelands, and why our ancestors move from point A to point B. From colonial land grants and charters to proprietorship records and federal land programs, this 5-week online seminar will give you the historical context of land records in America, the tools to find and decipher deeds, and strategies for leveraging land records in your family history research.
Course Topics
June 3 - Class 1: History of Land Records in America
Presented by Kyle Hurst
The story of land division and ownership in America begins with colonization by the English, French, and Spanish. This first class lays the ground work and historical context for understanding how land records progressed over time to the deeds of today.
June 10 – Class 2: Using Land Deeds
Presented by Sheilagh Doerfler
With an understanding of the types of land records that exist and their progression over time, this class will look at how to find land deeds, navigate and understand grantor and grantee indexes, how to abstract deeds, what information you are likely to find, and provide tips on how to locate historic parcels of land in the present day.
June 17 – Class 3: Bounty Land
Presented by David Allen Lambert
From 1775 to 1855 the United States awarded bounty-land warrants to veterans of the Revolution, War of 1812, the Mexican War, and Indian Wars. These grants may not have only affected your family’s migrations, but greatly impacted the reach and settlement of the fledgling nation. This class will discuss who was eligible to receive bounty land warrants, what records exist documenting the grants, where to find these resources, and ultimately determine if your ancestor received a warrant.
June 24 – Class 4: Homesteaders
Presented by Melanie McComb
The Homestead Act of 1862 encouraged mass settlement of federal lands in the frontier, resulting in millions of records documenting the transfer of public land to private ownership. Learn how these land entry case files can assist in researching your homesteading ancestors.
July 1 – Class 5: Using Land Records to Break Down Brick Walls
Presented by Rhonda R. McClure
Land records may be the only source of a person’s origins, woman’s maiden name, parentage, or other family connections. Using a variety of case studies, this final class will demonstrate how land records can be used to break down genealogical brick walls and how to use several land records to piece together a more complete picture of your ancestors’ lives.
