Dorris, << Can anyone tell me the starting date at which Bounty Land certs. were given for Rev. War service?  >> I cannot tell you exactly WHAT the starting date is of Bounty Lands. BUT it was one of the early and pressing items of business of the new government. I can also tell you a few things about the giving of Bounty Lands. First the newly formed American government did not have money to pay its soldiers [thus the pressing business], so the granting of land was devised as a means of payment by the American government for those who served in the Continental Line -- or gave service to the American government [there were women who provided services --- remember Molly PITCHER?]. I'm not sure of the criteria [length of service], but there had to be verification of service. AND just because a soldier received a land grant, did not mean that he claimed the land/or HAD to claim the land. He could [and some did] use it as a means to barter for flour, salt, blankets, and other pressing needs. [By the time the War of 1812 occurred, and payment for service was made in the same manner, bartering the grant was no longer an option.] Land available for claim was what was considered "public lands" or lands deemed owned by the U. S. Government. Second, some of the newly formed states paid its men [and women] who served in the state's militia with lands that particularly state claimed ownership thru the charters or grants given by the crown. If you take a look at maps that show the U. S. from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mississippi River [between 1787 and 1820] and more particularly what is now Kentucky, Tennessee, the Old Northwest Territory you will have a fair idea of the land available for settling. Early maps of Ohio show some specific areas: the U. S. Military District, the Virginia Military District and the Western Reserve. The U. S. Military District, like Kentucky and Tennessee, was land available to the Soldier who served on the Continental line. The Western Reserve and the Virginia Military District in Ohio were lands held back [as they claimed ownership] by Connecticut and Virginia and used by them to pay soldiers who had fought in the Revolution but in its states' Militia. Massachusetts had Maine to pay its militia. Claiming acreage was a long process. The soldier had to go find the piece he wanted and stake it out, go back "home" to give the location to the surveyor so he could go survey it, and when the Surveyor had done that and recorded it with the land office the deed was issued. Then the soldier would have to make provisions for traveling and moving his family to the new location with people he knew and trusted, and then build a cabin for the family. It took months, even years. It was not unusual in Kentucky and Tennessee for a family to be all settled in their new home [or arrive at the location] only to have someone else show up with title to the same parcel of land. This was not due to fraud but the extreme length of time involved in the process. Consequently, a lot of those with disputed land ownership [or "bad title"] left the state and went to OH, IN, or TX where they knew the land title was good. Hope this gives you a broad picture of the system. Dusti