Land Records

I find it fascinating to learn why our ancestors moved from one place to another, despite the sometimes treacherous routes and their slow modes of transportation. Land records are a valuable tool in tracking these migrations. It is also interesting to learn who some of their neighbors were and to discover whether or not these various groups of people consistently migrated together. I have begun creating grid maps to aid in determining where some of our ancestors' land was located as well as who their closest neighbors were, particularly during the homesteading years.

For time periods in which census records are not available, land records can go a long ways toward filling in the gaps. Not only do they give more specific locations for our ancestors' plantations, but they also sometimes mention family members. Comparing deeds with wills and court records are very useful in creating a timeline or connecting up various branches of the family, finding maiden names of the women, and so forth. I have been working on tracking what happened to particular tracts of land, who they were sold or given to (children, son-in-laws, neighbors).

Original land patents -
Many of these older documents showed distances in poles, which doesn't mean a whole lot to most of us. The following might be useful in determining the dimensions of properties, in a way that is easier to picture in modern day terms.

640 acres (1 section)    = 320 poles by 320 poles

320 acres (1/2 section) = 160 poles by 320 poles

160 acres (1/4 section) = 160 poles by 160 poles