> If there is a land patent in the name of our ancesters ... located on the > site sugested... Does that mean the land is still owned by them ? No, afraid it doesn't. The "patent' is what the US Government called the legal instrument by which federal land first passed from US to non-governmental hands ... up here in the Old Northwest, once land was surveyed it would go on the market; some lands were withheld for public purpose, and Treaty lands were Reserved. > Yes...I have also been curious on this also ... my gg grandparents > and gg uncles also had land patents in Michigan. Who took over > the land after that....doesn't that still stay in the family? Land allotments on nDn reserves were made to individuals, however, not to Tribes / Bands or any collective, and they were "severable' meaning they could be disposed of by the individual landowner after a certain period during which the "patent" stood in lieu of more formal title. You could sell it for cash or use it to settle debt, lose it in a gamble or to taxes, abandon it, be swindled, or have it legally stolen in court ... here in Michigan, most allotment patents were issued by 1890's and, in some communities, most (80-90%) had changed hands within a decade, and generally out of nDn hands. > Is there anyway of finding out if it was sold or not? Once the land has transferred from the US gov't, title records are maintained by the county in which the land exists; if they're old enough they <may> have been duplicated, but probably not. After locating the land by survey location (or by other means if its a city lot, etc.) you can easily find relevant records at appropriate County courthouse. regards - rdw