Land Patent Search Sample Exercise

The Bureau of Land Management has created the General Land Office (GLO) Records Automation web site. Through this site, there is access to federal land conveyance records for the public land states, more than two million federal land title records for eastern public land states, issued between 1820 and 1908, images of serial patents (land titles issued between 1908 and the mid-1960's) and images related to survey plats, dating back to 1810, that are added to the site state-by-state as each state's documents are completed.

Land patents document the transfer of land ownership from the federal government to individuals. This sample exercise uses the Land Patent Search to determine whether an individual received a land patent.

Question: My Great Great Great Grandfather homesteaded in Wisconsin. Can I get a copy of the record? Can I find out where his land was located?

1. Go to the General Land Office Records site at: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/ 2. Choose “Search Land Patents” from the top bar. 3. On the “Land Patent Search” screen, select your state. 4. Under “Enter the name of the patentee or warrantee,” type the last and first name of your ancestor. 5. Click “search.” 6. Results of your search will be displayed.

7. To display a copy of the original land patent, click “View Image.”

8. To get detailed information about your ancestors land, return to the results page and click on his name. This will take you to a page that has a tab to access the legal land description. Click on the tab.

More information about land patents and using this source can be found on the FAQ page at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/FAQ.asp

Venice Beske Wyoming State Library