Someone shared this with me, and I wanted to pass it along.... ================ Our ancestors came to America not only to escape prosecution under the strict laws of their counties but to become prosperous. After all, this was the "Land of Milk and Honey." Land was representative of wealth. Land patents were one of the first sources of receiving land. These were deeds transferring land from the king or the president of the United States to an individual. During the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress gave land bounties for land to soldiers who gave service against the king. A lot of this land was in the state of Georgia. As the United State grew, public lands became available. Excellent sites for learning more about land records can be found at: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, [you can even search for your ancestors land patents by entering your local postal code]; or type "LAND AND PROPERTY RESEARCH" into your search engine [GOOGLE is good]. The Georgia Department of Archives & History Web Site has a great explanation on the Georgia Land Lotteries. Family researchers often neglect land records. Yet, that missing ancestor may be proven by the use of a deed. A man would very often give deeds to his heirs stating "for love & affection, I hereby give to my son..." Sometimes a man would disperse his property through deeds rather than making a will. Deed records can even net a pre-nuptial agreement between a couple, making sure that her property remained hers after marriage. A quit-claim deed can list the married names of daughters. An ancestor that has the same name as another man in the county can be distinguished by his land descriptions. The deed book is a copy of an original document. The county clerk wrote all the information into the book. The signatures are copies. When "his mark" was recorded, it usually meant the mark of the individual, not that he was illiterate. In some cases the "marks" were recorded in the deed books. The mark distinguished the individual and he used it on his cattle, &c. Some devoted genealogists have abstracted county deeds and put them into publications. [Bless them]. I hope that the local library has purchased some of these book. I suggest that you make a recommendation for the future. For others, a trip to the LDS Church Library to view microfilm of county deed books is well worth the effort. The film copy can be printed. And please as an aide to your fellow researcher take the time to put it on the Archives Genealogy Web Site. So many people are confined to their home and using the USGenWeb as their "life-line." Virginia Crilley