Michigan Land and Property

Online Resources

 * 1820-1908 at FamilySearch  - How to Use this Collection; images
 * Bureau of Land Management Land Patent, index
 * Michigan, Homestead and Cash Entry Patents, Pre-1908 ($)
 * Historygeo.com $ Maps of original owners. Watch video before subscribing

Introduction
The availability of land encouraged westward expansion. Land ownership was generally recorded in an area as soon as settlers began to arrive. Land records are primarily used to learn where an individual lived and when he lived there. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. You may learn where a person lived previously, his occupation, if he had served in the military, if he was a naturalized citizen, and other clues. Sale of the land may show when he left and where he was moving.

Michigan was a public-domain state where unclaimed land was surveyed, then granted or sold by the government through federal and state land offices. The first sale of a piece of land from the government was called a land patent and the first owner of the land was called a patentee. Later, when the land was sold or mortgaged by private owners, the document was called a deed. The first federal and state transactions were recorded and the paperwork kept at the federal and state level, while all future transactions were recorded at the office of the county register of deeds. Family History researchers usually use land records from county offices, however, records from federal and state offices may also have genealogical value. For detailed descriptions of land record types see United States Land and Property.

Early Settlers
Michigan was settled by the French in the early days. In 1702 Antoine de Lamothe Cadillac found the area we now call Detroit and took possession of the land for France. He built a fort called Fort Pontchartrain and encouraged agricultural development around the fort. By 1763, the British gained control of the land. One of the biggest attractions to the area was the availability of the Detroit river and Great lakes which provided ease of trade by water. Some of the earliest records in Michigan, including lists of early voters, petitioners, taxpayers, and landowners, are recorded in The American state papers (see below). The following resources may be helpful as these early land records are searched.

Resources

 * United States Congress American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive of the Congress of the United States La Crosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 1959. 38 vols. On 29 films beginning with ; classes 8 and 9 are also on . Volumes for classes 8 and 9 deal with public lands and claims for 1789 to 1837 and may name siblings or heirs of original claimants. Classes 8 and 9 have been republished in:


 * United States Congress. American State Papers, Class 8: Public Lands; Class 9: Claims: Documents, Legislative and Executive, of the Congress of the United States. . The American state papers include many of the private land claims for the early time period prior to statehood.


 * McMullin, Phillip W. and United States Congress Grassroots of America: a computerized index to the American state papers: land grants and claims (1789-1837) with other aids to research (Government document serial set numbers 28 through 36) Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1994, c1990..


 * Michigan Circuit Court (Mackinac County) Miscellaneous records, 1805-1841 Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974. Contains oaths of office, deeds, wills, marriages, 1805-1820; court journal, 1823-1841..


 * Historical Records Survey (Michigan); Michigan State Library (Lansing, Michigan); Daughters of the American Revolution, Louisa St. Clair Chapter (Detroit, Michigan) Early land transfers, Detroit and Wayne County, Michigan ... 1703-1869 State Library and Daughters of the American Revolution, Louisa St. Clair Chapter, sponsors. (n. p.) 1936-1940. Salt Lake City, Utah: Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1973. . Includes index.


 * Wayne County (Michigan) Register of Deeds Deed records, 1766 - 1918 Salt Lake City, Utah : Filmed by the Genealogical Society of Utah, 1974.


 * English, William Hayden Conquest of the country northwest of the river Ohio, 1778-1783, and life of General George Rogers Clark : with numerous sketches of men who served under Clark and full list of those allotted lands in Clark's grant for service in the campaigns against the British posts, showing exact land allotted each Washington [District of Columbia]: L.C. Photoduplication Service, 1986.


 * Ainsworth, Fern Private land claims, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin [Natchitoches, Louisiana : F. Ainsworth, 198-?]. This book contains a private land claims docket index for the states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin.

Placenames - Michigan &amp; Great Lakes Area

 * See COUNTY EVOLUTION IN MICHIGAN, 1790-1897 by Richard W. Welch for the development of the counties in the state. This will help you to determine place of residence of your ancestors and under whose civil jurisdiction they resided. It is also useful for when you start to read the census records.
 * Check your local library for the various county atlases they may have that have been published for Michigan. Other important sources are:
 * ATLAS OF GREAT LAKES INDIAN HISTORY by H. Tanner.
 * ATLAS OF MICHIGAN by Earl J. Senninger
 * ATLAS OF MICHIGAN by Tackaberry.
 * ATLAS OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN by H.F. Walling.
 * BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE PRINTED MAPS OF MICHIGAN, 1840-1880 by Louis C. Karpinski
 * A DICTIONARY OF MICHIGAN PLACE NAMES, by Theodore G. Foster.
 * A DRIVE DOWN MEMORY LANE, by LeRoy Barnett
 * EARLY MICHIGAN SETTLEMENTS by W.W. Florer.
 * FORGOTTEN COMMUNITIES OF CENTRAL MICHIGAN by Ford S. Cesar
 * GHOST TOWNS OF MICHIGAN, BY Larry Wakefield, 3 vls.
 * INDIAN NAMES &amp; HISTORY OF SAULT STE. MARIE CANAL, by Dwight H. Kelton (google books)
 * INDIAN PLACE NAMES NEAR THE GREAT LAKES, by Dwight H. Kelton (google book)
 * LAKE SUPERIOR PLACE NAMES: FROM BAWATING TO THE MONTREAL, by Bernard C. Peters
 * LOST &amp; FOUND. GHOST TOWNS OF THE SAUGATUCK AREA, by the Saugatuck-Douglas Historical Soc., 2000.
 * MANUSCRIPT MAPS OF THE COUNTIES OF MICHIGAN, 1818-1841, 30 volS. by Bela Hubbard.
 * MICHIGAN ATLASES &amp; PLAT BOOKS: A CHECKLIST 1872-1973, comp. by Wm. Miles.
 * MICHIGAN GHOST TOWNS, by Dodge, 3 vols.
 * MICHIGAN INDIAN PLACE NAMES, by Vogel
 * MICHIGAN INDIAN PLACE NAMES, THE LITTLE TRAVERSE BAY REGION, by Eileen Concannon Shimizu.
 * MICHIGAN PLACE NAMES by Walter Romig.
 * MICHIGAN PLACE NAMES, collected by Frances Wood
 * MICHIGAN SHADOW TOWNS: A STUDY OF VANISHING AND VIBRANT VILLAGES, by Gene Scott
 * “Obsolete Michigan Counties” in MICHIGAN HERITAGE, ed. By Dr. Ethel W. Williams, v.5 #4, Summer, 1964, p. 156.
 * OFFICIAL RAILROAD MAP, SHOWING STEAM AND ELECTRIC LINES OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN, compiled by the authority and under the supervision of the Michigan Railroad Commission,
 * PLACE NAMES AND GHOST TOWNS OF BAY COUNTY, by Odeal LeVasseur Sharp.
 * PLACE NAMES OF ISLE ROYLE, by Smitty Parratt &amp; Doug Welker
 * THERE WAS A PLACE CALLED WHAT??? IN LENAWEE COUNTY, MICHIGAN: BASED ON THE WORK OF WALTER ROMIG, by Carol A. Bowen Stevens
 * TOWNSHIP ATLAS OF THE UNITED STATES comp. by John L. Andriot.


 * Other interesting data is the "The Rural Property Inventory" by LeRoy Barnett, a description of which appears in "Michigan's Habitant Heritage" the journal of the French-Canadian Heritage Society of Michigan, v.3 #3 p.43 (1982).

Other books of interest are:


 * CITY DIRECTORIES OF THE UNITED STATES, 1860-1901, by Research Publications.
 * THE LAND RECORDS OF AMERICA &amp; THEIR GENEALOGICAL VALUE, by E.K. Kirkham.
 * USING MAPS AND AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY, revised, by M. Lind.
 * THE MAP CATALOG, revised, by Joel Makower.
 * MAPS, ATLASES AND GAZETTEERS, by John W. Heisey.
 * SEARCHING AMERICAN LAND &amp; DEED RECORDS, by Fran Carter.
 * SIXTY MILLION ACRES: AMERICAN VETERANS AND PUBLIC LANDS BEFORE THE CIVIL WAR, by James W. Oberly
 * SURVEYS, DEEDS AND TITLE SEARCHES, A MANUAL FOR THE LAYMAN, 4th revised by Charles E. Lawson
 * TOWNSHIPS &amp; THE LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS OF LAND, by Charles Butler Barr.

Government Land Transfers
When the area that is now Michigan became part of the United States, a few prior land claims by early pioneers were settled in the courts, though most of the land was unclaimed. This unclaimed land became the public domain, was surveyed, divided into townships (36 square miles), range and section (one square mile within the township)and then sold through land offices. Michigan land office records began in 1838, when Michigan became a territory and land offices were established. Michigan is termed a Federal land state(public domain), and the government granted land through cash sales (entries), homesteads, military bounty land warrants as well as granting other claims such as mining and timberland claims. Federal land purchases are contained in a case file held at the National Archives. In order to obtain the case file, a legal description of the land is needed which may be found in a deed, plat map, tract book, or patent books. To learn how to obtain this land description, see the wiki article under United States Land and Property - Federal Land - Obtaining a Legal Description of the Land.

Indexes

 * The Bureau of Land Management and General Land Office (BLM-GLO) has an on line Land Patent Search which is an index to millions of ancestors named in federal land patents and warrants from 1788 to the 1960’s located at the National Archives. This is the best place to begin when searching for a land patent because of the ease of navigation when searching for an ancestor. This internet web site also provides many images of patents.


 * United States. Bureau of Land Management. Card Files. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Land Management, 19—. On 160 FS Library films beginning with . Each card contains the following information: Certificate number District Land Office Kind of entry (cash, credit, warrant, etc.) Name of patentee and county of origin Land description Number of acres Date of patent Volume and page where document can be located . Because these index cards are arranged by township and range within each state, the researcher will need to already have an approximate legal description in order to access these cards.

Surveys
Michigan uses the rectangular land survey system of section, township, and range.The townships were six-mile square blocks of land, divided into 36 one-mile squares called sections. The township was numbered north and south, starting from the center line, and the range was numbered east and west starting from the center line.


 * United States Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management Michigan cash and homestead entries, cadastral survey plats Springfield, Virginia: BLM Eastern States, 1994. "A data base created from information contained on the original copy of the land patent/certificate/document maintained by the Secretary of the Interior."


 * The Bureau of Land Management has an index and digital images of the original survey maps for Michigan. The original survey creates land boundaries and marks them for the first time.


 * Andriot, Jay. Township Atlas of the United States. McLean, Virginia: Documents Index, 1991. FS Library book This book is arranged alphabetically by state.

Tract and Plat Books
Tract books may also serve as indexes to the case files. They are arranged geographically by township and range, so there needs to be some idea of the legal description of the land where an ancestor lived to be able to use them. Some legal land descriptions are included in county records.


 * United States. Bureau of Land Management. Tract Books. Washington, D.C.: Records Improvement, Bureau of Land Management, 1957. On 1,265 FS Library films beginning with.


 * Microfilm copies of township plats are available at the FamilySearch Library for some of the counties. Plat books for counties in Michigan are listed in the Place Search of the Family History Catalog under:


 * MICHIGAN [COUNTY] - Maps (or Land and Property)


 * The Archives of Michigan has an on line statewide search for subdivision plat maps.

Patents
When federal land was finally transferred to private individuals, it was said to be patented.


 * The actual patents may be found on line at the Bureau of Land Management - General Land Office web site (BLM-GLO)as indicated in the section on indexes. They may also be found at the following office:


 * Bureau of Land Management Eastern States Office 7450 Boston Boulevard Springfield, VA 22153 Telephone: 703-440-1523 Fax: 703-440-1599

Land Entry Case Files
Also known as Land Entry Files or Patent Files, the case file is the accumulation of paperwork gathered during the land transactions which occurred when the land is transferred from the U.S. Government to private ownership and are kept at the National Archives in Washington D.C. These documents are the most helpful records for researchers because some files contain valuable information and may include personal or family information, such as military discharge papers, proof of citizenship, former residences, birthplaces and more. While not all files have pertinent information for the researcher, they are often worth obtaining. For further information regarding case files and how to order them, you will want to read the article Locating the Land and it's Associated Records at the United States Land and Property wiki page. The physical address of where the records are kept at the National Archives is as follows:


 * Old Military Civil Records Branch National Archives and Records Administration 7th and Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20408 Telephone: 202-501-5395 Fax: 202-219-6273

To obtain copies of a case file the following information will be needed which may be found in the land patent records indexed at the BLM-GLO web site:


 * Name of the purchaser
 * State where the land was purchased.
 * Name of the land office.
 * Type of certificate (homestead, cash, bounty-land warrant, mining, timberland etc.)
 * Certificate number or patent number

Individual Land Transfers - County Records
After land was transferred to private ownership, all subsequent transactions, including deeds and mortgages, were recorded by the register of deeds and are generally kept at the county courthouse. These records usually date back to the time of the county's organization and frequently have grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) indexes. The FamilySearch Library has microfilm copies of warranty deeds and some mortgage records for over 50 counties, dating from county creation to about 1900. For example, from Wayne County, Michigan, the library has 220 microfilms of deeds and indexes for 1700 to 1918. Land records for Michigan are listed in the Place Search of the FamilySearch Catalog under:

MICHIGAN, [COUNTY] – LAND AND PROPERTY

Websites
The National Archives

Michigan State Archives

Michigan Biographical Index

Michigan Land Records and Deeds Directory