I'm very new at sending messages and replying to messages. Please forgive me if this not correct. I would very much like to thank Joyce Wans and John Sloniker for their very informative answers to my query on Federal Land Records. I also believe in the "hands on" approach too in finding answers in the archives. I wish I could travel to all the courthouses and archival facilities but I have way too many ancestors coming from all parts of the country and a very limited budget. I think I had died and gone to heaven if I got the treasure trove that Joyce got on her visit to the Federal Archives. I guess I still have a lot to learn on land records. For one thing I had thought since Cornelius MILLER had taken his family to Michigan from New York in the early 1830s that he was looking for something better than he had in New York, meaning that he was broke. If I am correct in my research, his mother was a widow during his youth and living very precariously (a relative sold her property back to her for $1 after she had originally lost it). So, I did not think he had any money and would have gone to Michigan to get a start. But, he had $100 to buy 80 acres! So, I guess I didn't know the difference between homesteading and purchasing the land. Anyway, I appreciate all the help I receive. Thanks, Doris