United States, Homestead Final Certificates - FamilySearch Historical Records

Record Description
The collection consists of homestead records from General Land Offices
 * Alaska
 * Arizona
 * Illinois
 * Indiana
 * Iowa
 * Ohio
 * Nevada
 * Utah
 * Wyoming

Additional states and descriptive information may be added to this collection.

Record Content
Records may contain any of the following:


 * Name of applicant
 * Date
 * Application and final certificate numbers
 * Description and location of land
 * Names of witnesses, family members or neighbors
 * Birth information
 * Previous residences
 * Occupations
 * Marital status
 * If applicant has filed for multiple homesteads

How to Use the Record
To begin your search it is helpful to know


 * Name of the applicant
 * Date

Search the Collection
To search the collections: ⇒Select "Browse through images" on the initial collection page ⇒ Select the appropriate "State" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Land office name" ⇒ Select the appropriate "Record type" which takes you to the images.

Look at each image comparing the information with what you already know about your ancestors to determine if the image relates to them. You may need to look at several images and compare the information about the individuals listed in those images to your ancestors to make this determination. Keep in mind:


 * There may be more than one person in the records with the same name.
 * You may not be sure of your own ancestor’s name.
 * Your ancestor may have used different names or variations of their name throughout their life.

Using the Information
When you have located your ancestor’s record, carefully evaluate each piece of information given. These pieces of information may give you new biographical details that can lead you to other records about your ancestors. Add this new information to your records of each family. For example:


 * Use the name, location, and date to find the family in census records.
 * Use the description and location of land to find the family in other land records.
 * Use the description and location of land to find the family in probate records.

If you are unable to find the ancestors you are looking for, check for nearby land owners with similar or variant spellings of the surnames.

Related Websites

 * National Archives Land Records
 * Bureau of Land Management
 * Archives

Related Wiki Articles
United States Land and Property

Citing FamilySearch Historical Collections
When you copy information from a record, you should list where you found it. This will help you or others to find the same record again.

Keep track of records where you did not find information about your ancestor so you and others will not waste time looking through these records in the future.

A suggested format for keeping track of records that you have searched is found in the wiki article Help:How to Cite FamilySearch Collections.

Citation for This Collection
The following citation refers to the original source of the information published in FamilySearch.org Historical Record collections. Sources include the author, custodian, publisher, and archive for the original records.