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.

The following is the Treasurer's report for the month of November:

• Total Assets as of November 1, 2017 - $15,473.78
• General Fund - Beg. Balance $2,679.91 - Income $50.45 - Expenses $582.00 - End Balance $2,148.36
• Publications Fund - Beg. Balance $12,793.87 - Income $0.00 - Expenses $0.00 - End Balance $12,793.87
• Total Assets as of November 30, 2017 - $14,942.23

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 [email protected], 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 19^th 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 19^th 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 [email protected], he will probably send you a copy of his handout by email.

 

This presentation was very well received and provoked many questions and comments.

 

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