Dear E.W. Wallace & Listers, Some other Texas tidbits: Texas is the only State who has the right to succeed from the United States of America as this was built into the Texas documents, and return to its own country. Texas was a country/entity by itself when it joined the Union in 1846. Sincerely, Rebecca Bashaw > Thanks for the excellent info about the Kentucky Land Records being online > now. Maybe I had better take my heavy laptop on vacation after all!!! > > No, about California land office. As far as I know, there is no such > office. > > Please re-read my message about State Land States. All land acquired by > the > Federal government beginning with the Louisiana Purchase (1812, if my > memory > is not failing as bad as I sometimes perceive it is) belonged/belongs to > the > Federal government in the beginning. > > The states did not control the issuance of federal land after that > acquisition--the Louisiana Purchase--from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. > Louisiana and > Mississippi land and states formed from those States were controlled by > the > Federal government. > > This is quite complicated, as many persons were already there and had > received grants from Spain and Britain, so Congress had to have people > make claims, > etc. Someday when you have a LOT of time, take a look at a computerized > index called Grassroots of America. > > (Look for this book on the Family History Library Catalog. The author > is > Philip W. McMullin [sp?] and I believe the thick index has been > microfilmed. > The claims to the Federal Government were contained in some hefty volumes > called American State Papers and McMullin's book is an INDEX, which is > badly > needed for the volumes concerning Land.) > > If you are going to study a new State when beginning some research there, > it > helps to do a little reading about the history of the State, its laws > [different from State to State, remember?] and its land policies. (For > example, > any State in the US which came under Spanish rule at one time or other > has > community property laws!!! That includes most of the Southwest and > Western > states. Better read up on that--particularly if you are a female!!!) > Louisiana > operates under the Napoleonic law, I am told by Louisiana folks--French > law! > > The original 13 colonies and those states formed from those 13 colonies > [don't ask me for all of them, but a few I know--Kentucky was formed from > Virginia, Tennessee was formed from North Carolina], etc. have their own > land > offices. > > According to the older Texas almanacs, Texas had so many debts when it > wanted to join the Union that Congress [or whoever makes these decisions > about > acquiring land] didn't want it. It finally relented and said, You can > keep your > land--and your DEBTS!!! (This is my unscholarly interpretation of the > Texas > Almanac, older versions, which I sometimes collect.) So, Texas has its > own > Land Commission. > > If your friend in California [am I reading you right?] wants to know > whether > his/her ancestor acquired land in California from the Federal Government, > he/she should do some searching on this website: > > _http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/_ (http://www.glorecords.blm.gov/) > [Remove any punctuation which may be added fore and aft before pasting] > > Click on land patents at the top to do a general search. > > A few weeks ago when I was searching for my spouse's grandfather's name, > who > filed a pre-emption claim behind an old Spanish mission in California, the > website told me that the data California had not been finished. But that > was > a few weeks ago. > > Now, after a person acquired the land from the Federal government, he > could, > of course, assign it or sell it, etc. and that transaction would be > between > private individuals, and if the persons were smart, they would record > this > transaction at the county level--a deed--not a patent. There is a > difference > between a grant [or patent] and a deed. (In Kentucky, for example, I > have > been able to *paste together* families from the deeds as well as the > wills. > That's why we genealogists still bend over a microfilm reader to read OLD > deeds. New deeds are interesting too!!!) > > But, I am not a real estate person nor an attorney, so consult a good > law > dictionary or some genealogical guide book such as almost any edition of > The > Soruce [several editions], all good. Ask your public librarian if this > book > is in the Reference section of the library. (A lot of good books are > behind > the Librarian's desk and do not circulate!!!! No secret--but some folks > have > not learned to snoop around a library.) > > E.W.Wallace > > This is copied from the catalog entry from the Family History Library > catalog. I did a title search for Grassroots of America. [This does not > apply to > State Land States, such as Kentucky.] By doing either a Title search or > an > author search [I seldom remember how to spell exactly McMullin's name]. > These > list mainly people who were making claims soon after the Louisiana > Purchase > -- they were already on the land-- and does not apply to more modern land > claims. > > > [Grassroots of America] > This is an index to Class 8 & 9, Public lands and claims, of the American > State Papers > . This title is part of the Family History Center Microfiche Project. > Ask > your Family History Center director for more information. > ____________________________________ > > > > > > **************Planning your summer road trip? Check out AOL Travel Guides. > (http://travel.aol.com/travel-guide/united-states?ncid=aoltrv00030000000016) > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >