Madison
County Genealogical Society
Minutes of the Meeting - January 11, 2018
The January 2018 meeting of the Madison
County Genealogical Society was held at the Edwardsville Public Library on
Thursday, January 11, at 7:00 pm.
President, Robert Ridenour, called the
meeting to order.
GIFT
MEMBERSHIPS AVAILABLE
Do you have a family member that is
interested in (or even obsessed with) genealogy? A membership in the Madison
County Genealogical Society would be a very thoughtful gift. A gift card will
be sent to the recipient of any gift membership.
The following memberships are available:
Individual/Family Annual Membership $25.00
Patron Annual Membership $35.00
Life Membership $300.00
Contact our Secretary, Petie Hunter, at petie8135@att.net,
about a gift membership.
January
Meeting
On January 11, 2018, Tom Pearson, Subject Specialist in
the Genealogy Room of the St. Louis Public Library, presented a program titled Gambling on
Victory: Bounty Land Records.
Land Acquisition
There were four main ways to legally acquire land in
the U.S. during the 19th century: Buy it, Inherit it (via death or marriage),
Homestead it, or Use a bounty land warrant.
Bounty Land and the Settlement of the United States
Bounty lands were offered by colonial, state, and
federal governments in lieu of cash as inducements to get men to enlist in the
armed forces. The system worked well because governments in early America were
generally cash-poor and land-rich. In addition, bounty land was not awarded
immediately — you only got your land if your side won the war!
Giving ex-soldiers land: 1. Helped solidify a colony
or state’s claim to that land; 2. Helped create a larger tax-base for the
colony or state; 3. Afforded a measure of protection to citizen settlers
worried about Indian troubles or encroachments by foreign governments.
Most federal bounty lands were located in the present
day states of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Arkansas,
and Iowa. An attempt was made to award bounty land in Michigan was mostly
unsuccessful because much of the land was too marshy to be farmed by 19th
century methods.
Some states also awarded bounty lands to their own
veterans: Massachusetts (in what is now Maine), New York, North Carolina
(mainly in what is now Tennessee), Pennsylvania, South Carolina (mainly in what
is now Tennessee), and Virginia (mainly in what is now Ohio). Most states that
awarded bounty land allowed claimants to also claim federal bounty land,
although a few (like Massachusetts) insisted that claimants choose one or the
other.
The federal government eventually assumed
responsibility for some bounty land awards previously granted by Revolutionary
states in exchange for land concessions by those states. Since those states
knew they had to give up some land in any case, this deal in effect allowed
them to pay their debts with other people’s money.
Nine out of ten bounty land awardees did not settle on
a claim — they sold their warrants to a speculator.
The amount of bounty land awarded could vary,
depending upon rank, length of service, and whether service was federal or
local. Awards generally ranged from 40 acres to 160 acres (but could be even
more in some cases).
A private who was sworn into federal service during
one of America’s wars during the first half of the 19th century
typically received a bounty land warrant good for a quarter section (160 acres).
Claiming Bounty Land
To claim bounty land, the ex-soldier had to travel to
the desired location in a federal Military District (the only places where
bounty land warrants could be used until 1842) and find a suitable, surveyed,
and unoccupied piece of property.
The warrant holder then turned in his or her warrant
to the local General Land Office. The local GLO kept both: a written inventory
of land parcels with legal descriptions and names of current landholders; and a
plat book in which land parcel claims were verified and recorded.
The local GLO office verified and recorded the land
claim, then sent the paperwork to the GLO office in Washington, D.C. The
national office also verified and recorded the claim, then sent a land patent
to the local GLO office that was given to the person claiming the property in
question (known as the entryman).
Most Revolutionary War soldiers claimed bounty lands:
in the Military District of Virginia (4 million acres); and the U.S. Military
District of Ohio (2.5 million acres).
Most War of 1812 ex-soldiers claimed bounty lands in:
the Military District of Illinois (2 million acres, later expanded to 3.5
million acres); the Military District of Arkansas (2 million acres); and the
Military District of Missouri (500,000 acres).
The Military District of Ohio
In 1781, Virginia relinquished its claim to lands
northwest of the Ohio River. In exchange, it received the right to issue bounty
land awards to its Revolutionary War soldiers in the “Virginia Military
District of Ohio.”
The Virginia Military District of Ohio was opened to
claimants in 1784. It was located between the Miami and Little Scioto Rivers in
south-central Ohio. Virginia continued to issue bounty land awards in this area
until 1803, when Ohio became a state. Lands here were surveyed using the metes
and bounds system.
The U. S. Military District of Ohio
Bounty
warrants for land in this district were issued to men who served during the
Revolutionary War in the Continental Line from any state. Land entries in this
district ended in 1832.
Note: A majority of the surrendered warrants
associated with this act were destroyed in a fire at the War Department in 1800
(and thus no longer exist).
U.S. Military Districts in Illinois, Arkansas, and
Missouri
Bounty warrants for land in these districts were
issued to men who served as privates or non-commissioned officers in regiments raised
by Congress to fight the war of 1812 (Officers were
not granted bounty land for War of 1812 service until 1850). These warrants
could only be redeemed in the specified military districts until 1842, and were
not made assignable until 1852.
Applications for Bounty Land Scrip
Scrip was issued to those persons having outstanding
warrants for the U.S. Military District of Ohio when available land there ran
out. Scrip (which was issued in acreage denominations) could be redeemed only
at General Land Offices in Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois until 1842, when it was
made redeemable at any GLO office.
Bounty Land for Mexican-American War Soldiers
Soldiers of the Mexican-American War (1846-1848) were
the last American soldiers to be awarded federal bounty lands based on their
military service. Men volunteering to serve as enlisted men in any of the ten
regiments raised by Congress to fight the Mexican-American War were offered
bounty land as a reward for service. Men serving one year or more received 160
acres. 40 acres were awarded to each man who served in special 90-day
regiments. These warrants could be used to claim any available public domain
land.
Bounty Land Act of 1850
This act granted bounty land to soldiers or the
survivors of soldiers who had served in the War of 1812 and certain Indian
wars. Warrants for 160 acres were granted to men who had served in the U.S.
Army or Navy during those conflicts, or who had been mustered into federal
service during those conflicts; lesser warrants for 40-80 acres were granted to
men serving only in state or local militias. Warrants issued under the
provisions of this act went mainly to veterans and survivors of veterans of the
War of 1812 and the Florida Seminole wars. Warrants under this act were not
assignable.
Persons receiving warrants for bounty land under the
provisions of this act could claim any unpatented but already surveyed federal
land in existing states and territories.
Bounty Land Act of 1852 (Assignment Act)
The 1852 Bounty Land Act made certain veterans and survivors
of previously uncovered military actions eligible for bounty land warrants. It
also specifically made warrants issued under the provisions of the 1850 Bounty
Land Act assignable, i.e., it specifically allowed persons entitled to warrants
for service to sell their warrants to speculators or other persons without
first having filed a claim for specific land and without having ever received
the patent for a particular piece of property. Size of warrants issued was
based on length of service, and on whether soldier had been mustered into
federal service or only served in a state or local militia unit. Land awarded
under the provisions of this act went mainly to veterans and survivors of
veterans who had served in the Aroostook War (Maine, 1839) and the Cherokee
removal.
Persons receiving warrants for bounty land under the
provisions of this act could claim any unpatented but already surveyed federal
land in existing states and territories.
Bounty Land Act of 1855 (Old Soldier’s Act)
The last bounty land warrants were issued in
accordance with an act of Congress in 1855. This act authorized issuance of
warrants for 160 acres of land to veterans and the survivors of veterans who
had not previously received warrants. It also allowed veterans and survivors of
veterans who had previously received grants of less than 160 acres to stake
claims that made up the difference between their previous claim and 160 acres.
It also lowered length of required service in most cases to as little as two
weeks. Land awarded under this act went mostly to veterans of the War of 1812
and certain Indian wars. Persons receiving warrants for bounty land under the
provisions of this act could claim any unpatented but already surveyed federal
land in existing states and territories.
Bounty Land Warrant Numbers
What do bounty land warrant numbers mean?
BLW 33769 – 160 - 55
The first portion of the number is the warrant number,
the second is the number of acres, and the third is the date of the Act under
which the warrant was issued, in this case the date is 1855.
Bounty Land Terms
WARRANT: A bounty land warrant is a certificate issued
by a government that entitles a person to claim a specified amount of public
land (generally in a specified area).
PATENT: A land patent is the original title or deed
that records the transfer of ownership of a land parcel from the federal
government to its first private owner.
PLAT: Plat simply means a parcel of land. A plat book
records ownership of land in a particular area (usually a township).
ASSIGNMENT: Assignment refers to the practice of
transferring ownership of a land warrant to another individual, usually in
exchange for a cash payment.
ENTRYMAN: First private owner to receive a parcel of
land from the federal government.
Mr. Pearson had a handout that listed many sources of land records, both websites and books. If you contact him at tpearson@slpl.org, he will probably send you a copy of his handout by email.
This presentation was very well received and
provoked many questions and comments.