Land Records

Genealogy research usually begins with collecting birth, marriage and death records for ancestors. Using these to find the parents of each ancestor and go back another generation. But after moving back a few generations there usually comes a time when those records aren't available for a certain ancestor - then what? A good genealogist will learn to search for other types of records that can give details of where someone lived, who their neighbors were and who they may have interacted with on a daily basis. Very quickly they will learn that there are hundreds of "other" types of records to find.

Tonight I was reminded of an online resource for some of those "other" records that I haven't used in quite a while - the US Dept. of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office Records. This website includes a database of Land Patents - which recorded the initial transfer of land from the federal government to individual owners and includes a description of the location of the land and the issue date. Since many of my father's ancestors came to Ohio early in its history as a state, I did a quick search to see if I could find any land for them.

Below shows a record I found for David Austin Randall. D.A. Randall was the brother of our 3rd great-grandfather, Delano P. Randall - and also the Reverend who married our 2nd great-grandparents, Henry A. Grubb and Harriet Randall. He was a prominent figure in Columbus, Ohio for most of his life and (most likely) the namesake for my brother, father, grandfather and great-grandfather, all named David Austin.

This shows a description of land in Chillicothe, Ohio sold to David A. Randall of Franklin County, Ohio on September 1, 1857. I don't believe that D.A. Randall ever lived in Chillicothe, but it does give me something further to investigate to see where this land was and what he may have done with it.

The BLM General Land Office Records site has other interesting information, such as the survey plats and even field notes which are a narrative record of how the land was surveyed, including instruments used and the people involved. They have documents dating back to 1810 - so if you have any ancestors that were the first to settle in certain states here in the US check out this site and see what you can find.