United States Military District Genealogy

The United States Military District was a land tract in central Ohio that was established by the Congress to compensate veterans of the American Revolutionary War for their service. The tract contains 2,539,110 acres in Noble, Guernsey, Tuscarawas, Muskingum, Coshocton, Holmes, Licking, Knox, Franklin, Delaware, Morrow, and Marion Counties.

In the absence of money to pay the soldiers who fought for independence, Congress proposed to give each officer or private that served continuously in the United States army until the close of the war, or until discharged, or to the representatives of those slain by the enemy, land. The amount of acreage was determined by the rank of the soldier.

Of the 1,043,460 acres claimed by land warrant, 569,542 acres were patented to just 22 persons. The actual location of the 262 quarter townships claimed by military warrants was determined by a drawing. Few absentee owners ever visited their land, and fewer still spent any time on it. They sold it, sight unseen, as a speculative venture, often paying no regard to any attachment of sale made by Ohio officials for delinquent taxes.

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