Sharon, We spent several hours at the symposium trying to learn all the terminology and descriptions of land. I don't think I can come close to giving you a good idea of what it means. The BLM records have definitions for each term if you click on it. Here is what they had for township: Township -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A "township" is a major subdivision of the public lands under the rectangular system of surveys. A township number identifies the number of tiers a township is located north or south of the baseline. A township direction indicates on which side (north or south) of the baseline the township is located. For details, see Township, Township Number, Township Direction, and Rectangular Survey System in BLM Terms and Definitions. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Here is what they say about "township number" at http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/help/glossary.asp#42 --------------------------------------------------------------- Township Number A township number is identified by its relation to a base line and a principal meridian. For example, "Township 5 North, Range 12 West" identifies a particular township that is 5 tiers up from the base line. In this example, the number 5 represents the Township Number. Some townships may be fractional. --------------------------------------------------------------- So your ancestor's township was 5 tiers North of the base line for that area. You may want to go to the BLM Glossary and look up these terms: Township, Township Number, Township Direction, and Rectangular Survey System In any event, you will need to consult a good map for the area would help you get the bearings for your ancestor's land in relation to the principal meridian and baseline for that area. County atlases and directories include maps with township and range coordinates. Here are a couple of sites that futher explain how to read land records: http://www2.pcom.net/cinjod/historian/Deeds.html http://www.iltrails.org/readland.html Good luck! Regards, Jeanne Nelson ABSOLUTELY FAMILY! http://absolutelyfamily.homestead.com/ > From: Sharon Kazmierski <[email protected]> > > Well, I don't have any Nebraska ancestors in the database, but I do have > Mississippi and Alabama ancestors in there. So my question is how we can > take the information in there and figure out what the actual location of > that land is. There's a page to click for "Land Patent Details." The > township isn't named but has a number 5-N. How do I figure out what > township that would have been. This could be really, really useful if I > could determine what the actual township is because it could help me figure > out where to find my Mississippi ancestor in the 1900 census, for example. > > Sharon, whose Nebraska ancestors are actually fairly recent, relatively > speaking