Janet (Baugh) Hunter asks how to interpret the entries in the Land Grants file in the Kaufman Co Texas GenWeb Project Archives file: ftp://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/tx/kaufman/land/kaufman.txt Regarding the order of the entries in this file-- I can't see what the order is either. But I can tell you what the entries mean (there is a key of sorts at the top, but it is wrong about at least one number). Before looking at the entries, it will be useful to summarize Texas land practices. First, since Texas was never a U.S. Territory, it does not use the Township, Range, Section system that other states (like Arkansas) do. It uses a metes and bounds system (like the original 13 etc. do). So there is no way, generally speaking, to determine where a tract is located based on any numerical system. Now, the process for getting land-- a person would obtain a certificate granting him some amount of land (these came in various classes depending on when the person immigrated to Texas). The certificate was a "hunting license"-- it did not specify any land which was given-- it authorized the holder to have unoccupied land surveyed for himself. So after the certificate was granted, the grantee would then identify and have surveyed a tract of ungranted land (which in principle could be anywhere in the state, but later grants required that the person improve the tract so they would likely live on it). This survey would be done by an authorized surveyor and recorded in the appropriate land district office (Kaufman County is/was in the Nacogdoches Land District). Later, the grantee would then have the land patented-- at that point, it was officially his. Now, the holder of the certificate could sell the certificate to another person prior to ever locating the land, or could sell it after surveying but before patenting. If this happened, the patent would be made out to whomever had bought the certificate. So the grantee is the person to whom the certificate was originally granted, and the patentee is the person who actually got the patent. On land abstract maps, such as the one on the Kaufman Co GenWeb site, the surveys are named by the grantee's name *not* the patentee. OK, so let's look at a typical entry in the file in the GenWeb Archives: THOMAS L WILLIAMS T. WILLIAMS 17 577 This says that Thomas L. Williams is the grantee. T. Williams is the patentee (the same person in this case). 17 is the survey number assigned by the surveyor-- usually this meant that it was the 17th survey that he made on this particular trip. 577 is the abstract number-- these numbers are roughly in alphabetical order by grantee's last name. Here is a more complete list of information on the grant: Abst No 577, Grantee Thos. L. Williams, Certificate No. 446 (these numbers were assigned by whichever authority issued it-- could be the district board of land commissioners, land agents authorized by the Republic, county courts, or colonization agents [Mercer's colony for Kaufman co]), Patentee Thomas L. Williams, Date of Patent 15 Apr 1852, recorded as Patent 915, Book 6 (in the General Land Office in Austin), Acres: 338; Class: Nacogdoches 3rd; File 397. The class-- Nacogdoches 3rd-- means that it was in the Nacogdoches Land District (all of Kaufman county is), 3rd class means that it was granted after 1 Oct 1837. The file number is useful-- if you want a copy of the documents regarding the grant, survey, and patent, you would ask at the Land Office in Austin for Nacogdoches, 3rd, File 397. Briefly, I'll round out the other tracts asked about: No 578; Gr. David F. Williams; Cert. 536; Pat. Robert W. Gray on 24 Sep 1851; Pat No 716, Bk 3; 640 ac; Nac 3rd, File 982. No 583; Gr. Thos. L. Williams; Cert. 2248/2249; Pat. Thos. L. Williams on 9 Dec 1852; Pat No 838, Bk 8; 302 ac; Nac 3rd; File 1345. No 573; Gr. Josephus Williams; Cert. 633; Pat. Josephus Williams on 23 Nov 1846; Pat No 197, Bk 4; 320 ac; Nac 3rd, File 187. No 575; Gr. Wm. Williams; Cert 367; Pat. R.W. Gray on 11 Jun 1853; Pat 383, Bk 7; 320 ac; Nac 3rd, File 800. No 582; Gr. John Williams; Cert 445; Pat. John J. Good on 12 Dec 1855; Pat 589, Bk 12; 417.25 ac; Nac 3rd, File 1344. No 219, Gr. Charleton Howard; Cert 524; Pat. Charleton Howard on 8 Oct 1870; Pat 242, Bk 38; 592.60 ac; Nac 3rd, File 896. No 220; Gr. Charleton Howard; Cert 524; Pat. Charleton Howard on 8 Oct 1870; Pat 241, Bk 38; 12.60 ac; Nac 3rd, File 896. No 218; Gr. Wm. C. Howard; Cert 497; Pat. Wm. C. Howard on 15 Apr 1852; Pat 913, Bk 6; 320 ac; Nac 3rd, File 899. No 230; Gr. Silas Howard; Cert 494; Pat. George Barnett on 16 Dec 1857; Pat 1111, Bk 15; 320 ac; Nac 3rd, File 3014. No 224; Gr. Ephraim Howard; Cert 967; Pat. R.W. Gray on 7 Dec 1852; Pat 1220, Bk 6; 320 ac; Nac 3rd, File 1332. No 221; Gr. Andrew H. Henry; Cert 576; Pat. Andrew H. Henry on 30 Apr 1851; Pat 816, Bk 3; 640 ac; Nac 3rd, File 906. Since all of these grants were done around 1850, the amount of the grant tells the marital status of the grantee-- 320 ac for single men; 640 ac for married men. Thomas L. Williams' 640 ac is divided into two tracts (338 ac and 302 ac). The complete file at the Land Office in Austin would have the original certificate, survey, and (I think) the patent. The certificate would tell what granting agent issued it and on what date. If the certificate had been transferred, the transfer would be written on it (usually on the back). The surveyor's report would have the date on which the survey was made, the field notes for the survey, and usually a little plat map of the survey (which is often uninteresting, but may contain references to creeks, roads, etc.). Later surveys (like these) will state its location with respect to the county seat-- so it might say 8 miles South 45 degrees West of Kaufman (or Kingsboro). A great deal of information regarding the myriad aspects of Texas land grants can be found at the General Land Office Website: http://www.glo.state.tx.us/archives.html Justin M. Sanders "I shot an arrow into the air. It fell Dept. of Physics to earth I know not where." --Henry Univ. of South Alabama Wadsworth Longfellow confessing [email protected] to a sad ignorance of ballistics.