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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,
homesteads, deeds, dower rights, and the laws of descent and distribution of estates.
Below we
have provided links to general information concerning land ownership to
help you learn about these differences. We have also provided links
to land records that have been transcribed in their entirety. We
have excluded individual deed transcriptions as we feel that those are
specific records that would only have meaning to those researching
by surnames. We recommend seaches of on-line individual deed
records by using:
Tips for
Using Google
GA, TN 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 boundardies of real estate. You will NOT find
land records for these states at 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.
Also, researching Probate records is necessary to determine who inherited
property because there is usually not be a deed recorded showing this
information. 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.
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.
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
somone 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.
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 located in the same place.
Generally speaking, and in olden times, it was land
ownership that granted an individual the right to vote.
The above information
was provided by our web site's owner, Carol Ann Tindell,
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/salesman
license for over 20 years. It is solely general information to help
fellow
genealogists. For further information, consult an attorney.
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GA
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NC
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TN
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General Land Ownership Information:
Analyzing Deeds for Valuable Clues -
Elizabeth Shown Mills
Definitions Found in Land Records -
by Linda Haas Davenport
Researching Southern Claims Commission Records
- courtesy of St. Louis Co. MO Library
Indian
Land Cessions in the American Southeast
- courtesy of TNGenWeb History Project
Indian Bounty Land Grants
- by Mary Frances Morrow @ NARA
Passports of Southeastern Pioneers, 1770-1823:
Indian, Spanish and Other Land Passports for Tennessee, Kentucky,
Georgia, Mississippi, Virginia, North and South Carolina
[Book]
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.
By Richard A. Pence.
Legal Land Descriptions in Indiscriminate Metes and
Bounds -
author unknown
Surveying Units and
Terms - author unknown
U.S. Weights and Measures -
Includes area measures and surveyor's
chain measures.
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Headrights
& Bounty Grants -
by GA Sec. of State - Archives Div.
GA Land Lottery Grants to Rev. War Veterans
- @ GA State Archives
Land Lotteries & Plats
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by GA Sec. of State - Archives Div.
GA Militia
Districts - by Alex Hitz
The Pine Barrens and the Yazoo Land Fraud -
courtesy of ngeorgia.com
The 1811 Walton War: GA vs. NC -
the fight for land with gold
History of GA Courthouses - includes photos and dates of
disasters for each county |
NC Southern Claims Commission -
disallowed claims only - author unknown
NC Cherokee
Reservation "Qualla Boundary"
- @NCGenWeb
Land Grants in TN by NC - by A. B.
Pruitt
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TN Southern Claims Commission - post
Civil War property claims
U. S.
House Resolution 7321 -
Civil War Claims - by
Janelle Swearingen - covers Blount, McMinn, Monroe and Polk Cos. TN
The Land
of Our Ancestors - TNGenWeb
History Project - lots of info here
Intruders on
Indian Lands -
Illegal Settlers on Indian Land -
courtesy of TNGenWeb History
Project
The Hiawassee Purchase - by
Bill Bigham
Courthouse Disasters in TN
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Searchable Databases: Several years ago, RootsWeb took over the
popular GenConnect data posting boards which had a separate board
for deed transcriptions for each county and surname. They were then much
easier to find and link to. Now, all 6 of the GenConnect data
boards are stored within one single 'message board' for each county and
surname mixed in with queries. GenConnect no longer exists. You can view posts by type
[obits, pensions, wills, deeds, etc.] once you finally arrive at a county
message board. Start your search for our tri-state area at the
following link, then choose state, then county or historical county:
Geographical by State Message Boards @
rootsweb.com -
caution: multiple popups
GNIS - use the USGS mapping on-line services to locate
mountains, rivers and other land forms as well as other geographical
locations by state and
county, including historical now-defunct places |
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Land Grants to Georgia Revolutionary War Veterans -
@ ancestry.com
Map of Georgia Grants of Western Land to Land Companies, 1789, 1795
- @ ancestry.com
1821 GA Land Lottery
- @gagenweb archives
Georgia Land Lottery, 1827 -
@ ancestry.com
GA Land Lottery, 1827
- @ GAGenWeb archives
Georgia Cherokee Land Lottery, 1832 -
@ ancestry.com
1832 Georgia Land Lotterry Book & Maps
Location of 1838 Lands Granted & Fortunate Drawers
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Index of NC's Disallowed Claims - Southern Claims Commission -
author unknown and no copyright information |
Intruders and Settlers on Indian Lands 1801-1816 -
by Janelle Swearingen |
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County Specific Information: |
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Rabun GA Deeds
Rabun GA - 1827 Land Lottery Participants
1832 Land Lottery for 1st Section in
Union GA - by Joy Fisher:
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Burke NC - Land Grants 1778-1956 -
by Derickk Hartshorn
Rutherford NC - Deed Index 1779-1917
Rutherford NC Land Grants - by W.D.
Floyd
Yancey NC - Deeds found in Probate Books 1834-1837 -
by Sarah Fender
Madison NC
- Southern Claims Commission Applicants
- by Jan Plemmons |
Monroe TN Deeds - Books N and O -
by
Ms. McConkey
McMinn TN
Deeds
1820-1880 -
by Reba Bayless Boyer
Polk TN - Early Land Entries in the Ocoee Dist.
Polk TN - Lot Sales in Benton |
Books and CDs:
available for purchase on-line Passports of Southeastern Pioneers, 1770-1823:
Indian, Spanish and Other Land Passports for
TN, KY, GA, MS, VA, NC and SC
Southern Loyalists in the Civil War: The Southern Claims Commission
- by Gary A. Mills
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Georgia Land Surveying History and Law
The Early Settlers of Georgia:
A list
of the file headings of the loose headright and bounty land grant
files in the Georgia Department of Archives and History
South Carolina's Expansion into Colonial Georgia, 1720-1765
Abstracts of Georgia Land Plat Books A & B, 1779-1785
The Georgia Land Lottery Papers, 1805-1914
Cherokee Planters in Georgia, 1832-1838: Historical Essays on Eleven
Counties in the Cherokee Nation of Georgia
Land and Allegiance in Revolutionary Georgia
An Index to English Crown Grants in Georgia, 1755-1775
Abstracts of Georgia Colonial Conveyance Book, C-1, 1750-1761
English Crown Grants in St. Andrew Parish GA 1755-1775
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The History of Land Titles inWestern North Carolina
First on the land: The North Carolina Indians
North Carolina Land Grants in South Carolina
Province of North Carolina 1663-1729 Abstracts of Land Parents
Colony of North Carolina: 1735-1764 Abstracts of Land Patents
Colonial petitions for land resurveys: Some land warrants,
1753-1774, caveats of land warrants, 1767-1773 in North Carolina
Abstracts of sales of confiscated Loyalists' land and property in
North Carolina
Burke County, North Carolina Land Records, 1778
Burke County, N.C. Land Records, 1779-1790: Important Miscellaneous
Records, 1777-1800
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North Carolina Land Grants in Tennessee, 1778-1791
Glasgow Land Fraud papers: 1783-1800 : North Carolina Revolutionary
War, Bounty Land in Tennessee
Earliest Tennessee Land Records & Earliest Tennessee Land History
Aboriginal Settlement Patterns in the Little Tennessee River Valley
Blount County, Tennessee Deeds
Monroe TN Deed Books A-D 1820-1834
Monroe TN Deed Books E-H 1834-1836
Hiwassee Purchase
- In 1817, the Cherokee
made a treaty releasing the lands between the Tennessee and Hiwassee
Rivers covering most of lower east Tennessee. These are the records
of the first land sales for Loudon, McMinn, Monroe, Roane and Meigs
Counties in lower east Tennessee.
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There are many types of land records
that have yet to be transcribed.
If you are interested in
seeing more of them on this web site, please
contact us.
We will help you locate the records for
transcription. Thank you.
For more about Land Records, please visit our
Off-Line Records
Section.
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