Land Patents maps and surnames connected with them are published by Arphax Publishing of Oklahoma. There is a list of the books they have published to date by state at their website. http://www.arphax.com/ I have used some old land maps from Sibley and Nicollet counties to find where my ancestral farms were located -- in some cases the land is still occupied by cousins. Older and newer maps as well as lists of land owners of given parcels from county archives have helped to track what happened after the deaths of original settlers. I did not see Sibley or Nicollet counties listed among the books available for Minnesota at present and hope that they are forthcoming. I did an Internet search with: West Newton Township and got some interesting hits that included a detailed profile -- information about cemeteries and other data that is valuable for reasearch. The same search with Severance Township found a detailed profile with a satellite photo of the township. Search with the name of an ancestral township -- there may be good information out there. Some states may not have used townships within counties -- for example in PA there are "Burroughs". County websites should include the necessary information to choose search words for those states. Also search with the ancestral county name. County historical societies, recorder's office websites, cemetery lists and other research helps. Karen