Card files

Notes

These card files are used as finding aids to locate patent documents in the Bureau of Land Management for the following ten states: Alabama, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin. By using these files, researchers are able to get the Land Office name and certificate number and are able to eliminate several steps in locating federal land records.

These card files are incomplete in that they do not have all the legal descriptions within each state. In these cases, the researcher must then refer to the original tract book. The library has microfilms of the Tract Books. See entry in the Author/Title catalog: United States. Bureau of Land Management. Tract Books.

Each card contains the following information: Certificate number District Land Office Kind of entry (cash, credit, warrant, etc.) Name of patentee and county of origin Land description Number of acres Date of patent Volume and page where document can be located . Because these index cards are arranged by township and range within each state, the researcher will need to already have an approximate legal description in order to access these cards.

The card files also contain minor information on the following states: Arizonia, California, Colorado, Florida, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

Microfilm of original card files located at the Bureau of Land Management's Eastern States Office in Alexandria, Virginia.

Subjects

Locality Subjects

Film/Digital Notes