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.

National Archives

 * Pre-World War I U.S. Army Pension and Bounty Land Applications

National Archives Catalog
 * Patentee Index to Virginia Military Bounty Warrant Land in Virginia District of Ohio, ca. 1789 - ca. 1855
 * Numerical Abstracts of Surveys of Lands in the Virginia Military District of Ohio, ca. 1840 - ca. 1849
 * Letters Sent Relating to Virginia Bounty Land Warrants Located in the Military District in Ohio, 8/3/1824 - 10/11/1844
 * Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files, ca. 1800 - ca. 1900

Mcrofilm Publications 
 * U.S. Revolutionary War Bounty Land Warrants Used in the U.S. Military District of Ohio and Related Papers (Acts of 1788, 1803, and 1806) M829, 16 rolls

FamilySearch Catalog

 * Register of Revolutionary War land warrants, act of 1788; Military District of Ohio : entries for the years 1799-1805
 * U.S. Revolutionary War bounty land warrants used in the U.S. military district of Ohio and related papers, acts of 1788, 1803, 1806. M829
 * Virginia Military District lands of Ohio ; indexes

Wikipedia