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Early Settlers
Before 1787, settlers in what is now Illinois lived in an area once controlled by France (1678-1763), Great Britain (1763-1778) and Virginia (1778-1784). “Throughout these periods respective government agents registered land transactions. After the United States established its control over Illinois in 1784, the federal government eventually began a review process to determine the legitimacy of preexisting land claims. When examinations were completed in 1814, federal authorities had confirmed title to less than half of the claims presented to them.” (Illinois State Archives Genealogical Research Series Pamphlet No. 1 Land Sale Records Without relocating, early settlers lived in the Northwest Territory in 1787, Indiana Territory in 1800, Illinois Territory in 1809, and finally the State of Illinois in 1818.

American State Papers
At various times, early settlers and others made written claims to the government for lands. Those claims frequently included statements by relatives, heirs, neighbors, or friends and sometimes contained additional genealogical information. A land office was opened at Kaskaskia in 1804 for settling claims and land disputes. Records of these and other claims are in:


 * United States. Congress. American State Papers: Documents, Legislative and Executive of the Congress of the United States. La Crosse, Wisconsin: Brookhaven Press, 1959. 38 Volumes. (On 29 Family History Library films, beginning with 1631827.) Classes 8 and 9 of these records deal with public lands and claims for the years 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. Nine Volumes. 1832–1861. Reprint, Greenville, South Carolina: Southern Historical Press, 1994. (Family History Library book 973 R2ag 1994.) A comprehensive index to Classes 8 and 9 of both of the above records is:


 * McMullin, Phillip W., ed. 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.) Salt Lake City, Utah: Gendex Corp, 1972. (Family History Library book 973 R2ag index; fiche 6051323 [set of 6]).

The Territorial Papers of the United States
An important source with historical information about persons involved in the settlement of Illinois from 1800 to 1818 is:


 * The Territorial Papers of the United States Volumes 2 and 3 pertain to The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio, 1787–1803, which included present-day Illinois. Volume 7 contains The Territory of Indiana, 1800–1810, and volumes 16 and 17 contain The Territory of Illinois, 1809–1818. Each volume has an every-name index and contains thousands of names of residents in the area that is now Illinois. The volumes contain lists of residents, taxpayers, and petitioners, and information about persons associated with forts, land offices, Indian interpreters, express riders, and post offices. The original records are in the National Archives, M0721, but the Family History Library holds copies of the series v. 1-28 FHL book 973.N2udt or film 1421059

Raymond H. Hammes Collection
The Raymond H. Hammes Collection maintained at the Illinois State Archives is an excellent collection of early land and other historical records from Kaskaskia in Randolph County and settlements along the Mississippi River, including the Cahokia settlement in St. Clair County, which at the time covered a large portion of present-day Illinois. Most of the Hammes collection has been microfilmed and can be found as 10 entries including a consolidated index.

Government Land Transfers
Both federal and state officials kept records regarding land transfers from government to private ownership, and personal information in the federal records may not be identical to information in the state records.

As the United States acquired territory, unsettled land became public domain and was sold by the federal government. The first general land office to serve Illinois was at Kaskaskia, which opened for land sales to the general public in 1814.

Public Domain Land Tract Sales
An index to over 550,000 names of original land owners from sales records of the U.S. General Land Office, the Illinois Central Railroad, and Illinois officials was created in 1984. Originally called the Public Domain Computer Conversion Project, it indexes the documents classified as "Record Groups 491 and 952" in the Descriptive Inventory of the Archives of the State of Illinois. This index provides the name of the purchaser and record identification number; sale type (federal, military, Illinois Central RR, canal lands, or school lands); description of land by section, township, range, meridian and county; number of acres; and date of purchase. The last two columns give the archives volume and page. All volumes are available at the Illinois State Archives. Volumes 661-716 are available at the Family History Library at

The index may be located at the following places:


 * United States. General Land Office. Public Domain Sales Land Tract Record Listing, 1814–1925 (Index.) Springfield, Illinois: Illinois State Archives, 1984. set of 144


 * Illinois State Archives databases. To search by name of purchaser or legal description see the Illinois Public Domain Land Tract Sales.

Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management holds sources documenting the original transfer of land from the federal government to individuals, such as original patents, copies of tract books, and township plats.

The BLM Eastern States Office has an ongoing project of preparing indexes and images of the documents in their possession for convenient access through the Internet or compact disc. Records of some states are now available, and Illinois is in process. When this index is available, it is advisable to use both the BLM index and the Public Domain Sales (Index) described above, since the indexes were created from different sets of documents.

Resources 

 * Eastern States Office 7450 Boston Boulevard Springfield, VA 22153 Telephone: 703-440-1600 Fax: 703-440-1609 Internet: http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/


 * If an ancestor who did receive public lands is not listed in the Public Domain Sales (Index), use the following until the BLM index is available for Illinois:


 * United States. Bureau of Land Management. Card Files. Washington, D.C.: Bureau of Land Management, 19–?. (Family History Library films 1501522–681). Films 1501600–605 and 1501609–663 pertain to Illinois. Because these index cards are arranged by township and range, an approximate legal description is needed to access them. The cards give the land office name and certificate number needed to locate the land-entry case files.


 * The land-entry case files consist of the papers created during the process of transferring public lands to individuals. They are often rich in genealogical information and may include depositions, receipts, affidavits, proof of citizenship (by birth or naturalization), evidence of military service, and more. Files are available from the National Archives (Pennsylvania Avenue at 8th Street, Washington, DC 20408, Telephone 202-501-5415). Because of the way the files are arranged, the name of the land office and the case file number are required, and a completed NATF form 84 must accompany requests for the case files.


 * United States. Bureau of Land Management. Tract Books. Washington, D.C.: Records Improvement, Bureau of Land Management, 1957. (On 1,265 Family History Library films starting with 1445277.) These land tract record books include all public land states and serve as a reference source for transactions involving public lands.

Helpful Publications
''Shawneetown Land District Records 1814–1820. N.p., 1978''. (Family History Library book ) This was transcribed and indexed by Lowell M. Volkel. Shawneetown land district covered the present counties of Franklin, Gallatin, Hamilton, Hardin, Jefferson, Johnson, Massac, Pope, Saline, White, Williamson, and parts of nearby counties.

War of 1812 Bounty Lands in Illinois. Thomson, Illinois: Heritage House, 1977. (Family History Library fiche .) Indexed by Lowell M. Volkel, this was originally published as House Document 262, 26th Congress, 1st Session, 1840.

Individual Land Transfers
Once a parcel of land was transferred from the government to private ownership, it may have stayed in the family for generations or for only a few months. It may have been subdivided, sold and resold, with each transaction creating new records. These person-to-person transactions are an important resource to the genealogist. The potential for an ancestor to be recorded is high. These records may offer genealogical clues, such as the given name of the wife, a previous residence, names of children, or death information. Land records also offer clues to maiden names if a father deeded property to his daughter upon marriage. Witnesses and neighbors may also be in-laws or relatives. It is important to trace the purchase and sale (or the acquisition and disposition) of each parcel of land an ancestor owned.

The original records are filed in the county clerks’ or recorders’ offices or in IRAD depositories. Be aware that, as new counties were formed and boundaries changed, transactions were then recorded in the new county, while the parent county retained the records previously created. The Family History Library has microfilm copies of most of the county records and is continuing to microfilm deeds of other counties up to about the year 1900. Contact the county clerk or recorder for records that have not been microfilmed.

Land records can be found in the Family History Library Catalog by using a Place Search under:

ILLINOIS- LAND AND PROPERTY

ILLINOIS, [COUNTY]- LAND AND PROPERTY