Editor's Note: This series examines questions excerpted from Producing a Quality Family History by Patricia Law Hatcher.

In the upcoming weeks and months, the Daily News will periodically pick a group of questions and guide you to some resources that can you help you answer these questions as they pertain to your ancestors' lives. Today's installment will address the context of land.

Land
Did he patent land? If he homesteaded, which law was it under, and what were the requirements? Was he able to fulfill the requirements? Where was the land? Can you locate it exactly? How big was it? What shape was it? Was it surveyed in metes and bounds or the rectangular survey system? How and why do you think he chose this particular piece of land? Did it have a creek running through it? If not, where do you think they got their water?

Because of space limitations, not all land record types will be discussed here. We have focused mainly on Homestead Records because of the large amount of land dispensed via these claims, and the wealth of information that they can provide. For information on other types of land claims, see:

The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy Revised,
edited by Loretto D. Szucs and Sandra H. Luebking
Chapter 8, Land and Tax Records, by Sandra H. Luebking

Land and Property Research in the United States
by E. Wade Hone

The following is an excerpt from Land and Property Research in the United States, Chapter 9: Records Generated by Federal Lands:

Homestead Records
The Homestead Law was a series of enactments beginning with the Act of 20 May 1862. Its purpose was to distribute public lands to those who were without. The only compensation required, aside from filing fees, was in the form of residence, cultivation, and improvement. Extensive immigration initially created the need for homestead legislation. The Civil War also brought about the need to encourage settlement in less-developed areas by individuals loyal to the Union. With the passage of the initial law, people could begin filing homestead claims as early as 1 January 1863.

The Homestead Law enabled an estimated 783,000 citizens, or intended citizens, to become patented land holders. However, almost 2 million entries were made, indicating approximately sixty percent cancellation for one reason or another. Since files were created for each entry, whether cancelled or not, they encompass one of the largest collections of land records in history. Claims were mostly made between 1863 and 1917, though the law was not completely abolished until 1976. Together, military bounty lands, private land claims, railroad grants, and timber grants amounted to 221 million acres. Grants to various states totaled approximately 225 million acres. Approximately 285 million acres (almost one-eighth of the entire United States) were actually dispersed through homestead claims.

The initial Homestead Law provided for as much as 160 acres of federal land to be allotted to heads of household, widows, single persons over the age of twenty-one, and anyone "who has never borne arms against the United States government or given aid and comfort to its enemies." The law was intended for those who were landless or who owned less than 160 acres (a quarter-section). A single woman could apply, just as a single man could. Her rights were not forfeited upon marriage, though a husband and wife could not both hold separate unfinished claims. While a married wife had no right to claim separate from her husband, a deserted wife did qualify. If a single man and a single woman obtained patents before marriage, the marriage did not dissolve either claim.

The law required that homesteaded property be consistently resided upon, built upon, and cultivated over a five-year period. A widow, however, could enter a separate claim from that of her deceased husband, and was only required to reside upon the claim filed in her own name.

Unlike most other types of land acquisition, there were few prerequisites for homesteaders. Most of their qualifications were fulfilled during the application process, rather than before. When people located a desired piece of land, they filed a claim for property chosen. This was done in person through the local land office or directly at the General Land Office in Washington, D.C. The people filing the claims took oath that they were over the age of twenty-one or married and head of a family. They also testified concerning their citizenship. If they were naturalized, or had declared their intention to become a citizen, they also testified as to when and where this process had taken place.

Fees for a full 160 acres totaled $18 by the time the process was complete. These fees were for administrative costs, not for the property itself.

A duplicate receipt was issued at the time of initial payment, as proof that the claim had been filed. The person was then required to begin inhabiting the premises within the following six months or risk forfeiture of the claim. During the five years of residency, the claimant could only be absent from the property for a total of six months during any given year, and could not maintain an actual residence elsewhere. In 1912, the residency requirement was shortened from five years to three years.

The final application for the certificate of patent had to be made within two years after the completion of the residency requirements, or the claim was no longer valid. If a homesteader died, his widow—or, if already a widower, his heirs—would then qualify to continue with the claim, having to meet the same requirements. Once the final certificate was received, it entitled the claimant to a patent for his homestead.

A patent could also be obtained by "proving up" for $1.25 an acre before the designated five (or three) years had passed. This took place when the claimant wanted to sell the land and move on, knowing the improvements had made the land worth more on the open market than the required payment to the government. "Proving up" could not take place until at least fourteen months of residence had passed. Unlike bounty lands and registered claims, the sale of a homestead parcel was prohibited and not recognized in court if the patent had not yet been issued. Assignments were not allowed. The property could be mortgaged, but only for purposes of improvement to the property.

At the end of the required residency period, the claimant was required to publish an intention to close on the property. This allowed others the opportunity to dispute the validity of the claim before the final certificate was issued. Announcements were made in various ways, including newspapers and miscellaneous postings.

The filing requirements for homesteads make them one of the most detailed records ever created for land. Homestead files contain proof of residence. They also attest to improvements made, describing houses built, wells dug, crops planted, trees cleared, and fences built. At times, they also discuss family members and others who resided on the property. When the claimant passed away, the widow and/or heirs completed the process, recording death dates and relationships. They also contain the testimonies of witnesses and information concerning military service.

The files also provide information on citizenship status. They describe when and where the declaration of intention was filed, as well as any subsequent actions involved in the naturalization process. These records can show the claimant residing in earlier locations—places not previously suspected. This opens up additional sources for research. They can also indicate which port an ancestor arrived at, and occasionally give a precise place of origin.

The final proof documents show name, age, marital status, postal address, descriptions of the house and parcel of land, information on arrival and settlement dates, citizenship status, and crop descriptions. They also include witnesses' testimony.

Homestead records are housed at the National Archives in Washington DC. They have not been microfilmed, nor are they available through other repositories. Copies can be obtained from the National Archives by following the procedures outlined in "Ordering a Land-Entry Case File" in Chapter 10, Strategies for Using Federal Land Records. The original files are organized by land office and final certificate number. Those cancelled are kept separately from those that were accepted. If the tract books indicate a cancelled claim, this needs to be designated when ordering the case file. "Cancelled" applies to claims that were forfeited, rejected, or otherwise not accepted.

Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management-Eastern States Office supervises federal-land states east of the Mississippi River and the first tier of states west of that same river. The remaining states are under the jurisdiction of their own state bureaus, except for a few that share a common office.

Montana, North Dakota, and South Dakota are grouped together and are administered from the main office in Montana. New Mexico, Kansas, and Oklahoma are governed from New Mexico. Oregon and Washington are directed from Oregon. Wyoming and Nebraska are governed from Wyoming All other states have their own offices. Records kept by the Bureau of Land Management for pre-1908 claims include field notes, survey plats, tract books, and patents.

Patents to federal lands for the entire United States are still housed with the Bureau of Land Management. While the patent is not as informative as the case file, there are definite advantages to requesting a copy from the appropriate office. Many states have patent indexes for lands within their domain. These indexes allow easy access to the actual patent, which contains all of the information necessary to order the land-entry case file.

Links and Resources
Bureau of Land Management
Office of Public Affairs
1849 C Street, Room 406-LS
Washington, DC 20240
Phone: (202) 452-5125
Fax: (202) 452-5124
http://www.blm.gov/
BLM State Offices (Addresses and links to Web sites)
http://www.blm.gov/nhp/directory/index.htm

Bureau of Land Management—Eastern States
7450 Boston Boulevard
Springfield, VA 22153
http://www-a.blm.gov/eso/
Official Land Patent Records Site
http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/
(Search for Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio, and Wisconsin land patents. Results of a successful search will provide all the information you need to request the Land Entry Case File from the National Archives.)

The National Archives has custody of the land entry files for all Federal public domain states. There are Federal land records for all states except the thirteen original states, Vermont, Kentucky, Tennessee, Maine, West Virginia, Texas, and Hawaii. These states were never part of the Federal public domain. Some of the original colonies and eastern states also sold land and awarded military bounty land warrants on their own. Researchers interested in such records should contact the appropriate state archives or historical society. Federal land records document only the first transfer of title to land, from the United States to another party. Records of later transfers should be found in county records.

For the contact information for state archives and societies, visit State Resources page at Ancestry.com

Use NATF Form 84 to request Land Entry Files. To request Form 84 (limit 6 per order), write to:

Textual Reference Branch-Land (NWDT1)
National Archives and Records Administration
700 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20408-0001
Or E-mail: inquire@nara.gov

For more information on land record research, browse the library of articles in the Ancestry.com Learn area.

Mapping and Water Resources
USGS Geographic Names Information System (GNIS)
http://www-nmd.usgs.gov/www/gnis/gnisform.html

Color Landform Atlas of the United States
http://fermi.jhuapl.edu/states/states.html

Helpful Resources from the Online Store
Land and Property Research in the United States
by E. Wade Hone

The Source: A Guidebook of American Genealogy Revised,
edited by Loretto D. Szucs and Sandra H. Luebking

Ancestry's Red Book: American State, County, and Town Sources
by Alice Eichholz, Ph.D., C.G.

Map Guide to the U.S. Federal Census
by William Dollarhide and William Thorndale
(For county boundary evolutions)

See the entire series:
Part 1: Turning Paper into People
Part 2: Historical Context
Part 3: Clothing and Food
Part 4: Migration
Part 5: Land
Part 6: Ethnicity
Part 7: Housing
Part 8: Community
Part 9: Environment
Part 10: Family