How Did Your Ancestors Purchase The Farm? US War Bounty Land Warrants

For many of us researching our family history, we discover them in one state, and suddenly after the Revolutionary War, they whisked themselves off to the land of Ohio.Why?

After the Revolutionary War, 4,000 square acres were set aside in the area the military knew as Ohio.

Depending on the rank and service performed, soldiers and officers who continued to serve in the war, could apply and were awarded a number of acres. (If they were killed in the war, the warrants were assigned to their heirs.) The warrants were issued between 1789 and 1833.

Six million acres in the territories of Michigan, Illinois, and Louisiana were set aside for veterans (or their heirs) of the War of 1812 who served for five or more years. The warrants were issued between 1815 and 1858.

Revolutionary War warrants usually contain the following information:

Warrants after the 1812 war contain the following information:

As in the case of so many priceless records, the first series of land grants assigned after the Revolutionary War were destroyed in fires — 1800 and 1814. If your family was in this group, naturally, they will not appear in the database.

Related posts:

Lei mi chiede di descrivere la faccia dei miei ricordi. Le domando a mia volta se devo essere precisa. Non si sforzi, mi risponde. Quello che le viene in mente, non è importante che sia coerente…