EXPERT GENEALOGY Editor: Jeannette Holland Austin Series: Land Sources Subject: American State Papers - Laws Date: April 1, 1999 In 1775 Continental Congress promised land to Revolutionary War veterans. Thus began the Public Domain Laws. In 1785 they established a Rectangular Survey System (Northwest Territory) which allowed the sale of land. All of the Public Domain had to be surveyed before titles could be issued. In 1786, surveys were made of all townships north of the Ohio River, with the first land sale occurring the following year. This system became the standard for identifying and conveying title. Even before the survey, settlers moved into the Public Domain, and waited to file claims. So what happened to the land in the Public Domain which has previously been granted to people by the French, Spanish and British Governments? Such private land claims had to be validated by the US Government, and so commissions were established to evaluate such claims. Many actions ended up in the federal courts. Also, Indian claims had to be adjudicated before title could be granted. When settlers filed entries under the Public Land Laws, conflicts occurred with those having the old land grants. Appeals were presented to Congress, and records of these private relief actions are contained in the American State Papers. The land Private Land Claims which were determined to be valid by the claims commissioner and federal courts are "first-title deeds" and were surveyed outside the rectangular survey system. This means that the rectangular survey stops at the boundaries of such private claims and legal titles. Here is an example of what you would expect to find - John Brown filed a claim in Florida to 95 acres that was first granted to Josiah Gray on February 16, 1816, by Governor Coppinger. Gray then sold it to George Flemming in 1819, who in turn sold the tract to Brown. This claim was supported by copies of deeds and surveyed as claimed. The claims board confirmed the claim to Brown and his heirs on April 17, 1824. Many claims were not approved. Such as the 1835 petition of Matthew Arbuckle for eight tracts totaling 2132 acres in Arkansas. Arbuckle claimed that he purchased those tracts from five individuals in 1829 in the Lawrence Land District, Arkansas Territory, presenting copies of instruments claiming to transfer title to him. All of these parcels were originally entered as Spanish Land Claims, which had been confirmed by land courts of Arkansas Territory when he purchased them, and were described by the rectangular survey system. Despite the evidence presented, his claim as denied. However, genealogical data can be found in the claims. Carol P. Martoccia 903 East Fifth Street Greenville, NC 27858 Pridgen Home Page: http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Meadows/6297 Pridgen Archives: http://searches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl