Michigan Land and Property

United States Land and Property&gt;Michigan



Introduction
The availability of land encouraged westward expansion. Land ownership was generally recorded in an area as soon as settlers began to arrive. Land records are primarily used to learn where an individual lived and when he lived there. They often reveal other family information, such as the name of a spouse, heir, other relatives, or neighbors. You may learn where a person lived previously, his occupation, if he had served in the military, if he was a naturalized citizen, and other clues. Sale of the land may show when he left and where he was moving.

Michigan was a public-domain state where unclaimed land was surveyed, then granted or sold by the government through federal and state land offices. The first sale of a piece of land from the government was called a land patent and the first owner of the land was called a patentee. Later, when the land was sold or mortgaged by private owners, the document was called a deed. The first federal and state transactions were recorded and the paperwork kept at the federal and state level, while all future transactions were recorded at the office of the county register of deeds. Family History researchers usually use land records from county offices, however, records from federal and state offices may also have genealogical value. For detailed descriptions of land record types see United States Land and Property.

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, Utah; La Crosse, Wisconsin: Genealogical Society of Utah: Brookhaven Press, 1959, 1975, 1977. (On 29 Family History Library films.) 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. (Family History Library 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, Utah: Gendex Corporation, 1972. (Family History Library book 973 R2ag index; fiche 6051323.)

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 Bureau of Land Management has an online index to land patents in Michigan. The patent search usually provides a digital image of the original patent.

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, Virginia: BLM Eastern States, 1994. (Family History Library compact disc no. 22. 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.

The Bureau of Land Management has an index and digital images of the original survey plats for Michigan. The original survey creates land boundaries and marks them for the first time.

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, Michigan, the library has 220 microfilms of deeds and indexes for 1700 to 1918. Look in the Place Search of the Family History Library Catalog under MICHIGAN, [COUNTY] - LAND AND PROPERTY to see which records are available.

Web Sites
http://www.archives.gov/

http://www.rootsweb.com/~mikent/michigan/archives.html

http://www.michigan.gov/hal/0,1607,7-160-17445_19270---,00.html

http://www.michlist.com/ http://www.michlist.com

http://land-records.com/land-records/michigan-land-records.htm