Public County Land Documents

LandAccess.com allows searching of documents that are recorded in the County Recorder's, or Clerk's Office.

To search one of the counties, just click on the county name. Counties that are not underlined (linked) require you to be registered and logged in.  Register by clicking here.

The USA map shows counties in the database.  Click on a state for details about ordering records

General Land Office Records

The records of the General Land Office (GLO) document the first or initial transfer of public land from the United States to private ownership.  The Official Land Records Site has a databases for researching your ancestors who might have been homesteaders.

The site provides live access to more than five million Federal land title records issued between 1820 and the present. They also have images related to survey plats and field notes, dating back to 1810.

Researching Land Records

Genealogist Sharon Tate Moody has written a good article about researching land records at county courthouses.

She says that finding land records at the courthouse can be tricky because the indexes to the records may be confusing or non-existent.

Usually there is an index for grantors (those selling the land) and grantees (the buyers).

You must actually read the deeds, and not stop with the index or the abstract, to get tidbits such as the names of adjacent or previous landowners, etc.

The Glenview Public Library iwns a book that will help you in this process. Read Courthouse Research for Family Historians: Your Guide to Genealogical Treasures by genealogist Christine Rose, at call number 929.1 ROS (there is another copy in the Reference Room.)