To start your research into whether your ancestors owned land in the original Ohio divisions, or to learn more about the land your ancestors owned, it's helpful to begin by identifying the following information:
Name of Landowner
County and Township where the land is located
General time period of Ohio Residence
It is also helpful to understand the Range, Township, Section survey method. With a few exceptions, land surveys in Ohio follow this method. Numbered Ranges (or rows) run east and west across the survey. Numbered Townships run north and south within each Range. Townships are subdivided into 36 one mile square numbered Sections. Taken together, the range, township, section numbers form a Tract Description. Please see the Land Division Maps page for more information.
If you think that your ancestor was a first purchaser of land or received land for military service, the Archives & Library holds a number of indexes that can be checked. These indexes vary by time period, region, and records indexed, so it may be necessary to check many sources. Please see our list of indexes below.
Even if your ancestor was not a first purchaser of land, you can use tax records to prove earliest date of residence in Ohio. The Archives & Library holds tax records for many Ohio counties during the early 19th century. The best way to find out which records are available in the Archives & Library is to search the Online Collections Catalog. For example, search: Belmont County Tax Duplicates. Please note that Ohio exempted land sold by the Federal Government from taxation for 5 years from the date of sale. An individual purchasing land in 1803 would not appear on the Tax Duplicate until 1808. Please see our list of indexes below.
After land was fully paid for, a U.S. Patent was issued. The Patent was sent to the local Land Office to be delivered to the owner. Next, the patent was recorded with the County Recorders Office and a deed was issued.
Congress Lands and United States Military District Tract & Entry Book Index, ca. 1800-1849,
State Archives Series 4488, GR 8000-8020
Arranged alphabetically by name of purchaser
Provides a Tract Description (range, township, and section number)
Cites the Tract & Entry book title, volume, and page number
Early Ohioans’ Residences from the Land Grant Records, by Mayburt Riegel [R 929.1771 R443e]
Ohio Lands: Steubenville Land Office, 1800-1820, by Carol W. Bell [R 929.3771 B413oh 1984]
Ohio Lands Chillicothe Land Office, 1800-1829; entries encompassing Congress Lands, Refugee Tract, United States Military District, and French Grants, by Marie Taylor Clark [R 929.3771 C5485o 1984]
Early Ohio Settlers; Purchasers of Land in Southeastern Ohio, 1800-1840, by David and Ellen Berry [R 929.37719 B459e]
Early Ohio Settlers; Purchasers of Land in Southwestern Ohio, 1800-1840, by David and Ellen Berry [R 929.37717 B459e 1986]
Early Ohio Settlers; Purchasers of Land in East and East Central Ohio, 1800-1840, by David and Ellen Berry [R 929.37716 B459e 1989]
Federal Land Series, Volumes 1 and 3, by Clifford Neale Smith [R 336.1473 Sm53f]
Federal Land Series, Volume 2, Federal Bounty Land Warrants of the American Revolution, 1799-1835, by Clifford Neale Smith [R 336.1473 Sm53f]
Virginia Military District Entry Book Index, 1787-1852,
State Archives Series 4494, GR 8046-8049
Arranged alphabetically by name of warrant holder
Provides the entry number, warrant number, and number of acres (In most cases entry number is the same as the survey number)
Cites the Entry Book volume letter and page number
Virginia Military District Survey Book Index
Arranged numerically by Survey number
White three-ring binder (located on the Land Research reference shelf)
Cites the Survey Book volume letters and page number
Entries may also include Ohio county and township names
Catalogue of Virginia Military Warrants, by Samuel M. Wilson [R 973.349 W697v]
Revolutionary War Records - Virginia, by Gaius Brumbaugh [973.3 B834r]
Federal Land Series, Volume 4, Parts 1 and 2, by Clifford Neale Smith [R 336.1473 Sm53f v. 4 pt. 1 & 2]
Tax Records
Early Ohio Tax Records, by Esther Weygandt Powell [R 352.1771 P871e 1985]
Index to Ohio tax lists, 1800-1810, by Ronald Vern Jackson [R 352.1771 J137i]
Ohio 1810 Tax Duplicate, by Gerald M. Petty [R 352.1771 P456o]
Index of the Ohio 1825 tax duplicate, by Gerald M. Petty [R 352.1771 P456o 1825]
Index of the Ohio 1835 tax duplicate, by Gerald M. Petty [R 352.1771 P456o 1835]
You may want to start your search with the Bureau of Land Management, General Land Office Records webpage. From that page, you can search for digitized copies of land patents issued to first purchasers from the Federal Government. The database allows a search by state, county, tract description, patentee or warrantee name, with the patents for Ohio being most complete beginning in 1820.
Land patents were issued by the Federal government to the first purchaser (the patentee) of federal land upon final payment. You can search and view the patents on the BLM.gov website.
Federal Land Patents offer researchers a source of information on the initial transfer of land titles from the Federal government to individuals. In addition to verifying title transfer, this information will allow the researcher to associate an individual (Patentee, Assignee, Warrantee, Widow, or Heir) with a specific location (Legal Land Description) and time (Issue Date).