Distinguish between same-name individuals in the same area: If you find multiple deeds showing multiple William Smiths buying land in Lancaster County, platting those deeds can greatly help you distinguish between the two (or three, or four…) men. If you plat your ancestor’s land and then plat a deed showing them selling half of their land to someone you don’t know of, you should check into possible relationships. Track land ownership to gain clues about relationships: Land platting is an excellent way to visually track land exchanging hands.Land platting is sometimes overlooked, but it shouldn’t be! Here are a few examples of some ways that land platting can be very valuable to your genealogy research: In the next post of this series, we’ll talk through graphing land descriptions in these states.Īs mentioned previously, land records can be a treasure trove of information. These states (every state except those listed above), referred to collectively as the “Federal Land States,” generally use the Rectangular Survey system. The rest of the United States was acquired through various means after the formation of the Federal Government, and the land became public domain. When you are doing research in land records of these states, be prepared for some land platting. As a result, they were in charge of granting/selling their own land and the Metes and Bounds system stuck. Metes and Bounds was used in what are now called the “State Land States.” This group consists of the original 13 colonies, states created from those colonies, Hawai’i, and Texas:īecause these states had an established land survey system when the Federal Government was formed, they were granted the right to retain their land after ceding it to the government. Federal Land Statesīefore getting into the ins-and-outs of how to plat land records, it is important to understand where the Metes and Bounds land survey system was used. So, when stated in this post that one method includes x while the other includes y, know that in genealogy, there can be no absolutes! If you use this information as a general guide, you will be better prepared to handle an anomaly when (not if) you come across one. I do need to state here that though a land deed is generally described using either the Metes and Bounds method or the Rectangular Survey method, I have come across deeds that are a combination of both. Part II of this Land Records series will focus on land graphing, so keep an eye out for that post. Alternately, land graphing refers to land described using the Township and Range (or Rectangular Survey) system. Platting refers to land described using the Metes and Bounds (measures and boundaries) system. Land Platting is defined as drawing out the boundary description of a piece of property as given in a land record, usually a land deed. This goes beyond just reading through the deed and recording names– you need to get land platting! These records do more than simply record where an ancestor lived or what property they owned, they can be a wealth of information about relationships, economic status, and much more! Like any other record type, it is crucial to utilize every aspect of land records. Land records are an incredibly important resource when doing genealogy research in the United States. Of the four possible forties in the southeast corner, our parcel is the one in the northwest.Part I of this two-part series is adapted from a lecture given by the author at the 2019 Brigham Young University Conference on Family History and Genealogy. Within this one-square mile section, this forty is one of four in the southeast quarter of the section. The parcel is in section 4 of this township. T39N refers to township or tier 39 north, and R23W means range 23 west. Townships are plotted in reference to a state's north-south and east-west survey lines. This 40-acre parcel is in township T39N, R23W. Use the land parcel map to help you as you read the legal description of the parcel. Our example would read: NW1/4 SE1/4, Sec. 4, NW1/4 SE1/4.įlip the legal description so it reads backwards, from right to left, from the smallest to the largest unit. It should look something like this example from Michigan State University Extension: T39N, R23W, Sec. Each section is then divided into 16 forty-acre plots, referred to as "forties."įind the legal description of your land parcel map. Each township is divided into 36 one-square-mile sections. Public Land Survey System is a grid that divides land into 24-mile tracts that are subdivided into 16 townships of roughly 6 miles by 6 miles, or 36 square miles. View your land parcel map in the context of "townships" and "forties." The U.S.
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