Warrants were given for service in the Revolutionary War and were needed for land to be surveyed. After land was surveyed and approved by the Federal Government, a patent (deed) was sent to the Chillicothe land office for pickup. Often warrants were sold for money, and the first purchaser would be considered the assignee. The warrant number will connect the person (warrantee or assignee) to the survey number to the land received. When interested in researching land ownership in the Virginia Military District, determine what information you may already know. One of four possible pieces of information is needed to access the surveyed land.
1. Name of soldier or assignee
2. Warrant number
3. Survey Number
4. Location of land
If not much of this information is known, please try any of the access points below.
Please Note: the Archives & Library holds limited resources to track 19th and 20th Century land transactions.
Entry Books: Includes information regarding entry number, names of the person(s) for whom the survey was done, VMD warrant number used, number of acres claimed, and description of survey boundaries. (In most cases entry number is the same as the survey number)
Survey Books: Includes information regarding names of person(s) for whom the survey was done, VMD warrant number used, number of acres claimed, description of the trees and waters used to mark the survey boundaries, dates of entry or survey, names of surveyors and chainmen, and a simple drawing of the survey.
For a glossary of research terms and more information about the Virginia Military District, please review Along the Ohio Trail: A Short History of Ohio Lands by the Ohio Auditor of State.
If searching by the name of warrantee, assignee, or heirs, begin with the first option below. The possibilities for searching will result in providing a warrant number that can be used to locate the surveyed land.
Option 1: Visit the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), General Land Office (GLO) website, select Land Patents. Search by the name of warrantee or patentee and state. The image provides the warrant number and the surrounding surveys.
Example search for William Washington
Once the warrant number is located, please see Locating a Survey Using the Warrant Number.
Option 2: To find names of Virginia Military District landowners or renters, persons who had surveys made in Ohio, and Virginia Military warrant holders see Federal Land Series, Volume 4, Parts 1 & 2: Grants in the Virginia Military District of Ohio (R 336.1473 Sm53f v. 4 pt. 1 and R 336.1473 Sm53f v. 4 pt. 2). The two volumes contain entries for surveys in Ohio’s portion of the Virginia Military District. Entries are arranged by:
a. survey number
b. number of acres in the survey
c. codes for Ohio streams nearest the survey
d. current Ohio county and township names
e. warrant number and warrant recipient, heir or assignee
f. who had the survey done
g. who resided in the surveyed land
Each volume includes three indexes that refer to survey numbers, not page numbers. They also have a county and township index, watercourse index, and every name index. Entries resemble 3x5 cards and include three lines lettered a, b, and c of valuable information.
a. The name of warrant holder or heirs or assignees
b. The name of the person who had the survey done
c. Who may have lived on the tract of land, with dates of occupancy in parentheses, after the initial survey was complete.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Locating a Survey Using the Warrant Number.
Option 3: To find names of Virginia Military warrantees who were Virginia veterans of the Continental Army, Navy, or the Virginia State Militia, please refer to SAS 4494, Virginia Military District Patents, 1787-1852, GR8046 - GR8049. The Virginia Military District entry and survey numbers are identical. The survey number remains attached to any part of the original tract of land, no matter how often the original tract may be divided.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Locating a Survey Using the Warrant Number.
Option 4: To find names of Virginia Military warrant holders, heirs, or assignees, see the following published resources:
A. Catalogue of Revolutionary soldiers and sailors of the Commonwealth of Virginia to whom land bounty warrants were granted by Virginia for military services in the War for Independence (R 973.349 W697v). Arranged by the first letter of surname, then by warrant number. Entries end with warrant number 4627. Information includes warrant number, the name of warrantee, heir or assignee, the total number of acres in the warrant, soldier’s rank, the branch of service, term of service, and date warrant issued.>
B. Revolutionary War Records, Virginia (R 973.3 B834r 1995). Arranged first by surname, then by the first name. Groups surnames phonetically. Covers warrant numbers through 8478.
C. Ohio Lands South of the Indian Boundary Line (R 929.3771 C5485o2 1984). Entries are taken from original material at the Ross County Historical Society. One list gives in alphabetical order names only of persons entering warrants for surveys in the Virginia Military District through 1821. A second list contains names and survey numbers for persons who had surveys completed in the Virginia Military District portion of Ross County. Entries are arranged by survey number and include the name of the person for whom the survey was done and the township location. A third list contains entries arranged by Ross County township name and give survey number and name of the person for whom the survey was completed.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Locating a Survey Using the Warrant Number.
Option 5: The Kentucky Secretary of State website has a Revolutionary War Warrants database that includes 4,748 bounty land warrants issued by Virginia to veterans of the Revolutionary War. Warrants can be searched by the veteran's name, warrant number, and the immediate assignee. Scanned images from the military warrants register are included for each warrant number.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Locating a Survey Using the Warrant Number.
Option 1: If only the Ohio county and township names are known, begin with a source prepared by the Works Progress Administration: Copies of original monographs for land office volumes SAS 4342 LOV 200 and 201. The lists and plat maps are arranged alphabetically first by county, then within each county by township name. The resource includes:
1. the name of the persons receiving the warrant
2. warrant number
3. name of persons who had the survey done
4. entry number
5. survey number
6. entry book volume letter and page
7. survey book volume letter and page
8. date of survey
Entries are arranged by warrant number. Township plat maps show dimensions of surveys with survey numbers printed inside survey lines. Not all counties are represented; plat maps and lists for Adams, Brown, Franklin, Pike, Ross, and Scioto counties are not included in the two volumes, and it is not known if WPA workers ever prepared them. Please note: Federal Land Series, Volume 4, Parts 1 & 2: Grants in the Virginia Military District of Ohio (R 336.1473 Sm53f v. 4 pt. 1 and R 336.1473 Sm53f v. 4 pt. 2) also contain a county township index that gives the survey numbers used in each county and township.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Searching for Surveyed Land by the Survey Number.
Option 2: Tax lists, also called tax duplicates that were filed with the Auditor of State to 1838, are available on microfilm, SAS 204, GR2334 - GR2667. Entries show names of resident and non-resident taxpayers. Tax lists up to 1820 for Virginia Military District counties also include entries that show the warrant number and name of the original proprietor that is connected to the current taxpayer’s acreage. Indexes exist for the years 1800-1810, 1810, and 1812. The 1800-1810 index has been scanned into the Ancestry database. Please be advised the county name is the name at the time of the tax payment, and land may be in a different county today. From 1801-1815, tax duplicates are bound by year, then by county. Beginning in 1816, tax duplicates are bound separately for each year by county name. Entries from 1801-1822 are by the first letter of the last name. From 1823-1838 entries are first by township, then by the first letter of the last name.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Locating a Survey Using the Warrant Number.
Option 3: Two notebooks in the land section of the low bookcase, top shelf, can be useful. The thin notebook arranges information by Ohio county and township. It identifies what townships are part of the Virginia Military District, Connecticut Western Reserve, Fire Lands, Ohio Company Purchase, Donation Tract, Symmes Purchase, United States Military District, or Congress Lands and eligible for sale at public land offices. The wider notebook contains a numerical list of Virginia Military District survey numbers used in Ohio. Opposite the survey number is the Survey Book Volume letter and page number, and occasionally, the current county and township name where the survey is located.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Searching for Surveyed Land by the Survey Number.
Option 4: County atlases were prepared from surveys on file with Ohio county surveyors, today engineers, or county auditors. For townships in each county, the plat maps show the names of the taxpayers and dimensions of the survey. Within the tract’s borders, the quantity of acres is shown, lightly printed, or italicized number followed by the letter a, and in bold print, the survey number. Original atlases are not indexed.
Once the warrant number is located, please see Searching for Surveyed Land by the Survey Number.
Option 1: Virginia Military Surveys-Ohio Auditor of State (Blue Notebook in the land reference section) SAS 4342, GR8292 or LOV 262.
Option 2: Entry Books provide basic information on Virginia Military District surveys, including entry number, name of the person for whom the survey entry was made, warrant number or numbers used in the survey, number of acres in the survey, and a brief written description of the survey. No plat or map is included in the entry books. Survey Book volume letters and page numbers may appear in the far left margin of the entry. Entries are arranged by number. Indexes appear at the front of each volume. Entries in the index are listed by the first letter of the last name of the person for whom the survey was entered.
Option 3: Survey Books contain more information valuable to researchers. Entries show the survey number, name of the person or persons or their assignee for whom the survey was made, name or names of Virginia military warrant recipients, and Virginia military warrant number or numbers. Other information in the survey includes the number of acres in the survey, written description of the survey (including nearest watercourse), sketch or plat of the survey, names of surveyor and chainmen, date survey was made, and date survey was entered. The plat of the survey is included to show its shape and dimensions. Entries are arranged by the date the survey was recorded. An index to the names of persons for whom surveys were made is at the front of each volume.
Option 4: Check the Abstracts of Virginia Military District Withdrawals of Entries, SAS 4342, LOV 287. This paperback volume is located in the land reference section.
Option 1: A third State Archives of Ohio source that shows the names of recipients of warrants is the Numerical Abstract of Virginia Military Land Warrants, SAS 4342, LOV 223 or GR8290. Entries are arranged by warrant number and consist of:
1. warrant number
2. name of warrant recipient, heirs, or assignees
3. quantity of acres included in the warrant
4. quantity of acres used in Ohio or Kentucky
And remarks, generally completed after the other entries by Auditor of State of Ohio land office staff and not done for every entry. Entries in the Remarks column may give stream name, Ohio county name, or note if a land script was used instead of a warrant. The volume lacks an index.
Option 2: An additional source to connect Virginia Military Warrant numbers to recipients or their heirs, or assignees is the List of Virginia Military Warrants Located in Ohio and Kentucky, 1787-1842, SAS 4342, GR8290 or LOV222. Entries are arranged by warrant number that is in the far left margin. In the column next to the warrant number is the name of the warrant recipient and the quantity of acres assigned to the warrant. Beneath the warrant numbers and slightly indented are the survey numbers using the warrant. Next to each survey number are the names of the persons who had the surveys done, the number of acres used in the survey, the names of the persons who patented the surveys, and the dates of the patents. The volume is not indexed.
Option 3: The Kentucky Secretary of State website has a Revolutionary War Warrants database that includes 4,748 bounty land warrants issued by Virginia to veterans of the Revolutionary War. Warrants can be searched by the veteran's name, warrant number and the immediate assignee. Scanned images from the military warrants register are included for each warrant number.
I have the survey number; how do I find the surveyed land?
1. Virginia Military Surveys-Ohio Auditor of State (Blue Notebook in the land reference section) SAS 4342, GR8292 or LOV 262