Sandy, I'm going to try to answer both your question directly to me and your broader question on the list at the same time. The source of the info I sent you on Joseph FERGUSON as original purchaser of SW 1/4 of Section 34 of current Monroe Twp., in 1815 came from: Richland County, Ohio: Original Land Purchasers including School Lands, from the original work of Ellsworth H. Morse, Jr., Revised by MAGIC Computer Committee, The Richland County Genealogical Society, 1999, p. 76. Therein, it states that Joseph FERGUSON of Fairfield Co., Ohio, was the original purchaser of this parcel on 15 August 1815. HOWEVER, by the time the purchase price was paid off on 27 September 1819, he had already assigned his claim to that parcel to an Edward ROSE. Page viii of this same book has a pretty good account of how to research Richland County land patents. Three things may be of especial importance to you: the film of the Steubenville Land Office Records (probably stored at the Ohio Historical Society, but check with the OGS Library, as they may also have a copy); Early Ohioans Residences from the Land Grant Records, by M.S. Riegel (OGS, 1976, rep. 1994); and Ohio Lands: Steubenville Land Office 1800 - 1820, by C.W. Bell, n.d., no pub. Anyone interested in land records in land records in Ohio should order the free booklet Ohio Lands, A Short History from the State Auditor, which explains how the Townships, Ranges and Sections were laid out. Briefly, in the case of Richland County, at the time Joseph FERGUSON purchased his land, there were, in fact, only 8 townships in the County and, yes, this land would have been in what was then Worthington. However, political "Townships" did not originally (nor do they often today) correspond to cadastral (or survey) townships. In that part of Ohio in which Richland County lies, the base survey line was the so-called Pennsylvania line and the Ohio River. Ranges were numbered from east to west from the Pennsylvania Line and south to north from the Ohio River, notably skipping over the US Military District lands( of which Knox County, for example, was a part). So, when Joseph Ferguson purchased his land, what he was buying was the SE 1/4 of Section 34 of Range 17 (west of the Pennsylvania Line), Township 22 (north of the Ohio River, with the intervention of the US Military District Lands). Section 34 of what is now Worthington Twp lies in Range 17, Township 21. This land patent was granted by the US Government. Nothing had to be filed with the State of Ohio or Richland County until the land was sold outside the family of the person who received the title from the US Government. In this case, Joseph FERGUSON purchased the land, but the title would have been granted to his assignee, Edward ROSE. For some bizarre reason, none of the grants in Section 34 show up in the BLM/GLO online records. Possibly, the first time that any record of the land was filed with the County was whenever Edward ROSE or his heirs sold the land. Is this the 1823 record you found? Oddly enough, I don't find this parcel in the 1819 Tax Records on the RCO GenWeb site. But is WAS part of the land owned by Jno. FERGUSON in 1873 and was owned separately by Wm. FERGUSON in 1896. I'd guess that William inherited the land. Was his father a John or Jonathan FERGUSON? Anyway, best of luck with your researches, Jim

Jim Thanks so much for clearing this up. The Edward Rose record was found. I now know where to go to look for the remaining information. The father of the William was John Ferguson. I've noticed that the plat maps divide up that land for William Ferguson, Isaac Ferguson, Almira Feguson and Lovina Berry (Ferguson) up until somewhere between 1914 and 1920. It was during that time that the remaining Ferguson's on Section 34 all died. At 03:41 AM 11/16/2007, James E Boyce wrote: >Sandy, > >I'm going to try to answer both your question directly to me and >your broader question on the list at the same time. >The source of the info I sent you on Joseph FERGUSON as original >purchaser of SW 1/4 of Section 34 of current Monroe Twp., in 1815 >came from: Richland County, Ohio: Original Land Purchasers including >School Lands, from the original work of Ellsworth H. Morse, Jr., >Revised by MAGIC Computer Committee, The Richland County >Genealogical Society, 1999, p. 76. Therein, it states that Joseph >FERGUSON of Fairfield Co., Ohio, was the original purchaser of this >parcel on 15 August 1815. HOWEVER, by the time the purchase price >was paid off on 27 September 1819, he had already assigned his claim >to that parcel to an Edward ROSE. >Page viii of this same book has a pretty good account of how to >research Richland County land patents. >Three things may be of especial importance to you: the film of the >Steubenville Land Office Records (probably stored at the Ohio >Historical Society, but check with the OGS Library, as they may also >have a copy); Early Ohioans Residences from the Land Grant Records, >by M.S. Riegel (OGS, 1976, rep. 1994); and Ohio Lands: Steubenville >Land Office 1800 - 1820, by C.W. Bell, n.d., no pub. > >Anyone interested in land records in land records in Ohio should >order the free booklet Ohio Lands, A Short History from the State >Auditor, which explains how the Townships, Ranges and Sections were >laid out. Briefly, in the case of Richland County, at the time >Joseph FERGUSON purchased his land, there were, in fact, only 8 >townships in the County and, yes, this land would have been in what >was then Worthington. However, political "Townships" did not >originally (nor do they often today) correspond to cadastral (or >survey) townships. In that part of Ohio in which Richland County >lies, the base survey line was the so-called Pennsylvania line and >the Ohio River. Ranges were numbered from east to west from the >Pennsylvania Line and south to north from the Ohio River, notably >skipping over the US Military District lands( of which Knox County, >for example, was a part). So, when Joseph Ferguson purchased his >land, what he was buying was the SE 1/4 of Section 34 of Range 17 >(west of the Pennsylvania Line), Township 22 (north of the Ohio >River, with the intervention of the US Military District Lands). >Section 34 of what is now Worthington Twp lies in Range 17, Township 21. > >This land patent was granted by the US Government. Nothing had to >be filed with the State of Ohio or Richland County until the land >was sold outside the family of the person who received the title >from the US Government. In this case, Joseph FERGUSON purchased the >land, but the title would have been granted to his assignee, Edward >ROSE. For some bizarre reason, none of the grants in Section 34 show >up in the BLM/GLO online records. Possibly, the first time that any >record of the land was filed with the County was whenever Edward >ROSE or his heirs sold the land. Is this the 1823 record you found? >Oddly enough, I don't find this parcel in the 1819 Tax Records on >the RCO GenWeb site. But is WAS part of the land owned by Jno. >FERGUSON in 1873 and was owned separately by Wm. FERGUSON in 1896. >I'd guess that William inherited the land. Was his father a John or >Jonathan FERGUSON? > >Anyway, best of luck with your researches, >Jim