Welcome!
Thank you for registering for the online conference, Getting the Lay of the Land: Using American Land Deeds in Your Family History Research!
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 online conference 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.
Through your participation in this online conference, you will be able to:
- Access 5+ hours of pre-recorded presentations
- Hear from renowned speakers, authors, and professional genealogists
- Interact with the instructors and fellow attendees
- Take advantage of special offers and virtual “door prizes”
- Download and/or print handouts, worksheets, and other resources
- Access recordings of each presentation until September 30, 2021
SESSION TOPICS
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.
Class 2: Using Land Records, 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.
Class 3: Bounty Land, Presented by Ann Lawthers
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.
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.
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.
Q&A with the Instructor, LIVE! [Recording below]
Broadcasted: Saturday, June 5, 2:00 - 3:30 PM EDT
Chat with the instructors, interact with fellow participants, and get your questions answered! NOTE: A recording will be posted below following the live broadcast.
SPECIAL OFFERS & DOOR PRIZES
SPECIALS: For conference attendees only! — Save $10 on an order of $30 or more at our online bookstore. Just enter LandConf0621 as your promo code at the time of online checkout. Offer valid until June 12, 2021. Start browsing today!
DOOR PRIZES: Everyone was entered to win a 30-minute consultation with a genealogist (two chances to win). Congratulations to Sheryl Matlock and Susan Towle Jarvis.
COURSE HANDOUTS
Additional Resources from Chat Log
RECORDED PRESENTATIONS
Class 1: History of Land Records in America
Class 1: History of Land Records in America
Presented by: Kyle Hurst
Running Time: 1:09:14
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.
Materials:
Class 2: Using Land Records
Class 2: Using Land Records
Presented by: Sheilagh Doerfler
Running Time: 1:20:04
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.
Materials:
Class 3: Bounty Land
Class 3: Bounty Land
Presented by: Ann Lawthers
Running Time: 1:01:14
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.
Materials:
Class 4: Homesteaders
Class 4: Homesteaders
Presented by: Melanie McComb
Running Time: 51:54
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.
Materials:
Class 5: Using Land Records to Break Down Brick Walls
Class 5: Using Land Records to Break Down Brick Walls
Presented by: Rhonda R. McClure
Running Time: 59:09
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.
Materials:
Live Q&A with Instructors
Live Q&A with Instructors
Presented by: Sheilagh Doerfler, Kyle Hurst, Ann Lawthers, Melanie McComb, and Rhonda R. McClure
Running Time: 1:18:41
Materials:
INSTRUCTOR BIOS
Sheilagh Doerfler, Genealogist received her B.A. in History and Communication from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. Sheilagh is a genealogist in our Research Services department conducting research for hire. Essentially, her job is to tackle research challenges on a daily basis and knock down genealogical brick walls. Her research interests include New England, New York, Ireland, Atlantic Canada, Quebec, Ontario, Norway, and Sweden.
Kyle Hurst, Senior Genealogist of the Newbury Street Press holds a B.A. in both History and Anthropology from the University of Wisconsin in Madison and a Master’s certificate in Museum Studies from Tufts University. For the culmination of this program, she completed a semester-long internship at the National Archives in Waltham, MA. After two years as a volunteer, Kyle joined American Ancestors in 2008. For several years a member of the Research Services team, she focuses on research in the mid-Atlantic, Midwest, New England, and various European countries. A skilled writer, she has been credited for her contributions to The Root, the Vita Brevis blog, and American Ancestors magazine. With Newbury Street Press, she authored the Ancestors & Descendants of Lester Lowry Mays and Peggy Pitman, edited An American Family: Four Centuries of Labor, Love, and Reward, and is currently working on six other book projects.
Ann Lawthers, Genealogist assists American Ancestors library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Harvard School of Public Health, and has completed the Boston University Certificate in Genealogical Research program. She has conducted genealogical projects as an independent researcher. Ann’s areas of interest are New England and New York, the Mid-Atlantic, Ireland, Eastern Canada, and migration patterns.
Rhonda R. McClure, Senior Genealogist is a nationally recognized professional genealogist and lecturer specializing in New England and celebrity research as well as computerized genealogy; is compiler of more than 120 celebrity family trees; has been a contributing editor for Heritage Quest Magazine, Biography magazine and was a contributor to The History Channel Magazine and American History Magazine. In addition to numerous articles, she is the author of ten books, including the award-winning The Complete Idiot's Guide to Online Genealogy, now in its second edition, Finding Your Famous and Infamous Ancestors, and Digitizing Your Family History. Her areas of expertise include: Immigration and naturalization, Late 19th and early 20th Century urban research, Missionaries (primarily in association with the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions), State Department Federal Records, New England, Mid-West, Southern, German, Italian, Scottish, Irish, French Canadian, and New Brunswick research as well as Internet research, genealogical software (FTM, RootsMagic, TMG, Reunion), digital peripherals, and uses both Mac and Windows machines.
Melanie McComb, Genealogist assists library visitors, both on-site and online, with their family history research. She also provides lectures on a variety of genealogical topics. Melanie holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Oswego. Her areas of research interest include Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Kansas, Prince Edward Island, Québec, and Ireland, and she is experienced in DNA, genealogical technology and social media, Jewish genealogy, and military records.