Land Grants by France and England

The earliest land records in Michigan are of private land claims granted by France and England. Lists of early voters, petitioners, taxpayers, and landowners are in:

United States. Congress. American State Papers. Salt Lake City; La Crosse, Wis.: Genealogical Society of Utah: Brookhaven Press, 1959, 1975, 1977. (On 29 FHL films, computer number 277508. Some of these films are not available at Family History Centers.)

The papers are also in:

United States. Department of State. Territorial Papers of the United States. 26 vols. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1934–1962. (FHL films 929376–91; computer number 210409.) Michigan is on films 929382–83.

You can locate these published volumes in the National Archives and the Family History Library. Claims for the years 1790 to 1837 have been transcribed and indexed in:

McMullin, Phillip W. Grassroots of America. Salt Lake City: Gendex Corp., 1972. (FHL book 973 R2ag index; fiche 6051323; computer number 271603.)

Land Office Records

When the U.S. acquired the area, unclaimed land became the public domain. Land was surveyed and distributed through land offices. The first office opened in Detroit in 1818. The records of all of the land offices are at the National Archives, at the Michigan State Archives, and on microfilm at the Library of Michigan.

The Michigan State Archives also has plat and tract books, landownership maps, and numerous tax rolls. The Bentley Historical Library has copies of the plat and tract books. Original land entry case files are at the National Archives. Land patents are at the Bureau of Land Management (350 S. Pickett Street, Alexandria, VA 22304).

The Family History Library has on compact disc:

United States. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Land Management. Michigan Cash and Homestead Entries, Cadastral Survey Plats. Version 7.3. Springfield, Va.: BLM Eastern States, 1994. (FHL compact disc no. 22; computer number 735498. Not available at Family History Centers.) These records are patents issued by the federal government. Researchers can search for land title information through any one of six categories—land description, patentee name, patent authority, land office, certificate number, or county.

County Records

After land was transferred to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded in each county. The register of deeds has records dating from the creation of the county and grantor (seller) and grantee (buyer) indexes.

The Family History Library has microfilm copies of warranty deeds and some mortgage records for over 50 counties, dating from county creation to about 1900. For example, from Wayne County, the library has 220 microfilms of deeds and indexes for 1700 to 1918. Look in the Locality Search of the Family History Library Catalog under MICHIGAN, [COUNTY] - LAND AND PROPERTY to see which records are available.

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