Land
Record Research
Submitted
by Host GFS
Heather
Tonight
we will be talking about Land
records and how they can help you
in your research. They are a very
great resource for tracking down
your ancestors.
If
you know the area that your
ancestors were in, say for
example, you have census records
on them. You can check that
county, for Land records to see
if they bought or sold land.
When
doing research you will hear a
couple of terms used frequently,
they are: GRANTOR (those who are
selling) and GRANTEE (those who
are buying property). You can
either go to the Court House to
research their record books on
Land Records, or you can got to
your local Family History Center,
and check in the Library Catalog
for the state and county you want
and see if they have land records
on microfilm that you can
order.
You
will find a description of the
land, and you will also find who
was selling and who bought the
land. Sometimes Land
records/deeds will give
relationship information in the
deed. So they can be very
valuable.
Tax
records are also useful, for they
will list whether one had to pay
taxes. Also census records will
show on some years if one had a
farm, if he owned it, etc. If it
does, you can then check for Land
records.
Also
those who were in the different
wars, such as the Revolutionary
War, Civil War, Mexican American
War and received Pensions were
granted some Land, especially in
the Revolutionary War. Also many
folks were granted Homesteads,
160 acres per person. They had to
remain on the property for a
certain time period and work the
land. All these types of records
can be found through the National
Archives and through the Family
History Centers.
National
Archives: http://www.nara.gov
Family
History Center:
http://www.familysearch.org/
A
couple of other sources on the
internet are Cyndislist.com...
look under the category of Land
Records: http://www.cyndislist.com
UsGenweb:
http://www.usgenweb.org
Host
GFS Heather
©
2002 GFNEWS, a monthly
publication of the Golden Gate
Genealogy Forum, Inc. of
Franklin, MA.
(America Online Keyword: roots.)
The Editors
welcome your ideas and
articles,
success stories, favorite
genealogy research tips, comments
and suggestions.
©
2002 Graphics
By
Carol,
All Rights Reserved
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