Land Records
 

In order to conduct a thorough research of your ancestor's land records, there must be an understanding of how ownership was acquired in each state as well as the overall historical changes in land acquisition.  It is also helpful to learn the differences between, headrights, patents, grants, lotteries, mesne conveyances, homesteads, memorials, deeds, dower rights, and the laws of descent and distribution of estates. 

We have provided links to general information concerning land ownership to explain these differences.  We have also provided links to land records that have been transcribed in their entirety.  Individual deed transcriptions have been excluded because those are specific records that would only have meaning to those researching  by surnames.  We recommend searches of on-line individual deed records by using:

• Indian Land Cessions in American SE

• The Qualla Boundary

• Intruders on Indian Lands - Illegal Settlers on Indian Land

• Where Two White Oaks Used to Grow - A Case Study In Using a Computer to Unpuzzle the 'Metes and Bounds' of Your Ancestors Land, And Finding It.

• Surveying Units and Terms

• US Weights & Measures

• Colonial Land Grant Primer

• The Hiwassee Purchase now East TN

• US War Bounty Land Warrants 1765-1970 ancestry.com

• National Register of Historical Places

GA, TN, SC and NC are all 'state land records' states as opposed to 'public domain' states.  They use metes and bounds or monuments to describe the physical boundaries of real estate.  Land records for these states are not in the Federal Bureau of Land Management database of patents.

Some deed records are found within a county's Probate records when the sale or transfer was made from the distribution of an Estate.   It wasn't until modern times that attorneys would prepare Estate Deeds for recording into the property records of a county to show chain of title.  Therefore, not all land transactions may be found in early grantor-grantee indexes within a county's real estate records.  Researching Probate records is necessary to determine who inherited property.

Estates were probated within the county of death of the decedent.  Ancillary administrations of that Estate might also be held in other counties where the decedent owned real property.  Guardianships of incompetent persons may also contain transfer of property information. 

Be sure to also look for Sheriff's Deeds in county real estate records.  If a landowner defaulted on taxes or a mortgage, the property would be foreclosed and the sale was conducted by the Sheriff at auction on the courthouse steps.

Even if a county's real estate records were destroyed by fire or other disaster, original deeds were often re-recorded so that proof of ownership could be shown on the sale of that land later in time.  See Misc. section for courthouse disaster information.

Old Deeds are often a clue in knowing a wife's maiden name. If a husband and wife sold land during their marriage and she assigned her rights of dower within that deed, then often someone from her family would witness that deed in order to show that she was not giving away her dower rights under duress. This practice was not always adhered to, so do not rely on it as the sole means of determining a wife's maiden name.

Generally speaking, and in olden times, it was land ownership that granted an individual the right to vote.

The Southern Claims Commission was responsible for hearing and determining the outcome of residents' claims of property damage resulting from the Civil War. These records are an excellent resource, so don't overlook them. Take note that approved claims and disallowed claims are not always located in the same place.   Below are on-line sites that have claim information. 

Ancestry.com databases: Master Index, 1871-1880 Allowed Claims, 1871-1880 Disallowed and Barred Claims, 1871-1880

Search Original Civil War Documents

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©Copyright 1996-2010 CATindell, Cherrylog, GA.  All Rights Reserved.

Disclaimer:  Some of the above information was provided by our domain owner who was a former nationally recognized Certified Legal Assistant [CLA] in Estates, Trusts, Wills and Guardianships, Real Estate, Contracts, and Litigation. She also maintained her FL real estate broker's license for over 25 years and a Bank Officer heading up a state-wide trust real estate department for a major bank.   It is solely general information to help fellow genealogists. For further information concerning land records, consult an attorney.