Military Bounty Land 1776-1855, by Christine Rose, was published in March. The 176 page book is without a doubt one of the best genealogical research guides published this year.
Bounty land was often awarded to those who served in American wars, starting with the American Revolution in 1776, with the last act passed in 1855. Millions of acres of land were awarded by the government for service to the country. A plethora of records were generated, many of them providing important family information which genealogists can use to fill out the family story. This fantastic new guidebook details what records are available, and how to locate and use them. The volume also includes an appendix of the laws and subsequent acts which generated the awards of public land.
The following is from the book’s Table of Contents:
Chapter 1 The Revolution: Federal Bounty
AN INCENTIVE TO JOIN
- Responsibilities For Issuing Warrants
- Federal Offices Handling Claims
THE PROCESS FOR OBTAINING LAND
LOCATION OF FEDERAL LANDS
- 1785 Land Ordinance
- 1787 Northwest Ordinance
- Two Planned Military Tracts Abandoned
- Seven Ranges Survey
- The Ohio Company Associates
- Collection at the Ohio Historical Society
- The Symmes Purchases (The Miami Purchase)
- United States Military District (USMD)
- Distribution of Lands in the USMD
THE APPLICATION FILES
- NARA’s M804 Applications
- Descriptive Pamphlets
- Officers
- Finding Aids for M804
ISSUING OF WARRANTS
- NARA’s M829 Warrants
- Scrip Act: Continental Line and Virginia State Line
- Scrip Records of Virginia Warrants
FINDING AIDS: REVOUTIONARY WAR
- RG49 – Land Entry
- Smith’s Federal Land Series
- Preliminary Inventory 22
- The Trans-Mississippi West 1804-1912
- Research in the Land Entry Files of the General Land Office
- The Official Ohio Lands Book
RELATED RECORDS
- Ohio Historical Society Library
- Other Revolutionary War Warrants
- Treasury Certificates
- Canadian Refugee Warrants 1802-11
- Points to Remember in this Chapter
Chapter 2: Revolutionary War: Virginia
UNDERSTANDING SOME BASICS
- Process of Claims
MILITARY CERTIFICATES
- Military Certificates at the Library of Virginia
LOCATING THE WARRANTS
- Virginia Warrants in Kentucky
- South of the Green River
- The Jackson Purchase
- Virginia Military District in Ohio (VMD)
VIRGINIA’S WARRANT FILES
- National Archives Series of Virginia Warrants
- Kendrick Cases
- Virginia Resolution Warrants
- Richard Clough Anderson Papers
- George Rogers Clark Bounty Land Tract
FINDING AIDS
- Smith’s Federal Land Series
- Other Collections
- Points to Remember in this Chapter
Chapter 3: Revolutionary State Bounty
GEORGIA
- Georgia’s Process
- Finding Aids
MARYLAND
- Finding Aids
MASSACHUSETTS/MAINE
- Finding Aids
NEW YORK
- Finding Aids
NORTH CAROLINA/TENNESSEE
- Finding Aids
PENNSYLVANIA
- Other Pennsylvania Records
- Finding Aids
SOUTH CAROLINA
- Finding Aids
- Points to Remember in this Chapter
Chapter 4: War of 1812 Bounty Land
THE ACTS
LOCATING THE WARRANT
- War of 1812 Military Tracts
- Act of 1842 Lifts Restriction of Locations
- Act of 1852 Removes Restriction on Assignment
- Opening of Tracts
- Michigan Tract
- Illinois Tract
- Finding Aids
- Arkansas Tract
- Finding Aids
- Missouri Tract
- Finding Aids
THE WAR OF 1812 APPLICATION FILES
- Applications Not in the Same Series
THE WARRANTS
- The Early War of 1812 Warrants (M848)
RELATED RECORDS
- Canadian Volunteer Warrants
- Points to Remember in this Chapter
Chapter 5: Unindexed Bounty, etc.
- Important to Genealogists
- The 1847-1855 Acts
- The Act of 1847: The Mexican War
- Scrip Offered
- The Act of 1850
- The Act of 1852
- The Act of 1855
THE APPLICATIONS
- Rejected Applications
- Arrangement of Files
- Index in Preparation
- Rich in Family Details
- Title of File
SURRENDERED WARRANT FILES
INDIAN BOUNTIES
- Indian Bounty Land Applications
- No Bounty Land For Service Rendered after 1855
- Point to Remember in this Chapter
Chapter 6: Federal Land Patents
THE SEARCH
- Following an Example
- Finding Neighbors
- All Roses Listed in the Plattsburg Land Office
- Search by Authority, Etc.
- Plotting the Land
- Locating an Address
- Michigan Survey Search
- Experiment With Searches
- Points to Remember in this Chapter
Chapter 7: Finding Aids, etc.
ARCHIVAL RESEARCH CATALOG (ARC)
PRELIMINARY INVENTORY 22 (PI 22)
KVASNICKA TRANSMISSIPPI WEST 1804-1912
COMPILED MILITARY SERVICE RECORDS
AMERICAN STATE PAPERS
LEGISLATIVE CLAIMS (PRIVATE ACTS)
SUNDRY OTHER AIDS
- Other Congressional Records
- State Legislatures
- State Archives and State Libraries
- National Union Catalog of Manuscript Collections (NUCMC)
- Additional Reading Material
- Points to Remember in this Chapter
Chapter 8: Windup
THE INCREDIBLE TALE OF THE O’FLYING FAMILY
Appendix A – the Laws
Bibliography
Index
This volume is without a doubt one of the very best genealogy research guides published in 2011. I recommend it to all genealogists doing American research.
