Federal land records are a rich source for genealogists. They can help you place an ancestor in a specific place at a specific time, sort people into families, and distinguish individuals of the same name. Bounty-land records can help prove military service. As the frontier advanced, land transactions were recorded before federal censuses were taken. Land records at the federal level may exist where county records have been lost.

Clifford Neal Smith’s Federal Land Series is an excellent finding aid for these early federal land records. Each volume lists, describes, and indexes documents from archival sources of federal land records. In his introduction, Smith states that “emphasis is placed upon the land patents—the first transfers of title from governmental entities to private persons—for land in states other than the thirteen original ones.” Various types of sources were examined: records of the U. S. Treasury, the U. S. Department of State, and the General Land Office; district land office records; miscellaneous records of land companies and land speculators; and U. S. House and Senate legislative records.

To make the most effective use of this series, it is critical to understand the sources and types of records being described. Read the introduction for each volume. This will help you determine other helpful records to consult or whether or not to pursue the original record.

Volume I, 1788-1810, covers the land offices and tracts of Chillicothe, Cincinnati, Town of Cincinnati, Town of Dayton, East of Pearl River, Jeffersonville (IN), Marietta, U. S. Military District, Canadian and Nova Scotian Refugee Tract, Seven Ranges, Steubenville, “Unidentified,” Vincennes (IN), West of Pearl River, and Zanesville. It contains tract maps for Ohio and indexes by name, subject, and tract.

Volume 2, 1799-1835, covers only those federal bounty-land warrants used for patenting land in the U. S. Military District of Ohio, plus warrants later exchanged for scrip. The U. S. Military District was the only place federal Revolutionary warrants could be used until 1830. It contains a map for the U. S. Military District, subdivided into 5-mile townships, and indexes by name and tract. No subject index is needed for this volume. Smith suggests using Volume 2 in conjunction with the Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications (Washington, DC: National Genealogical Society, 1976). This will enable you to find an individual’s home state and to sort out persons of the same name.

Volume 3, 1810-1814, is a continuation of Volume 1. It covers the land offices and tracts of Canton, Chillicothe, Cincinnati, East of Pearl River, Huntsville (AL), Jeffersonville (IN), Madison County, Marietta, Military Service, Nashville (TN), Canadian and Nova Scotian Refugee Tract, Steubenville, “Unknown,” Vincennes (IN), West of Pearl River, Washington (MS Territory), and Zanesville. It contains tract maps for Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana as well as indexes by name, subject, and tract.

Volume 4, Grants in the Virginia Military District of Ohio, is in two books. This volume summarizes and indexes land grants made by the Commonwealth of Virginia (not federal) to Virginia veterans of the American Revolution. Indexes are by county and township, watercourse, and name. The Virginia Military District did not use the rectangular survey system, so the watercourse index of this volume substitutes for the tract index to help you to locate people who settled near each other.

Because the Federal Land Series is shelved in the Ohio section, many researches feel it won’t help them if they don’t have ancestors from Ohio. It is important to realize that the Federal Land Series concentrates on Ohio because that is where the first federal land was available, and the U. S. Military District of Ohio was the only place federal Revolutionary bounty warrants could be used until 1830. In the name index of Volume 2, I found a reference for John Frierson and John J. Frierson. When I looked up the number for a description of the document, I found that it was a list of army land warrants converted to scrip. This list showed the name of the warrant holder (John Frierson), the warrant number, the name of the person to whom scrip was issued (John J. Frierson), and the number of acres. Following Smith’s advice, I checked John Frierson in the Index of Revolutionary War Pension Applications and found that he was from South Carolina. When I looked up the pension file (available on microfilm at Clayton Library), I further learned that John J. Frierson was John Frierson’s son.

So, even if none of your ancestors set foot out of the South, go to the Ohio section of the Clayton Library and use Clifford Neal Smith’s Federal Land Series. You may be pleasantly surprised at the results.

Smith, Clifford Neal. Federal Land Series; a Calendar of Archival Materials on the Land Patents Issued by the United States Government, with Subject, Tract, and Name Indexes. Chicago: American Library Association, 1972- . (4 volumes to date) Clayton Library call number: GEN 977.1 S644