Private Land Claims in the Eastern Portion of the United States
Individuals had settled in the western territories, between the Appalachians and the Mississippi River, long before the United States came into existence in the Treaty of Paris. Virginia, in its cession of jurisdiction, provided that "the French and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers of the Kaskaskias, Post Vincennes, and the neighboring villages, who have professed themselves citizens of Virginia, shall have their possessions and titles confirmed to them and be protected in the enjoyment of their rights and liberties." (Clarence E. Carter (ed.) The Territorial Papers of the United States (Washington, 1934) vol. II The Territory Northwest of the River Ohio p.8
Report of the Public Lands Commission with Appendix. S. Doc. 189 58th Congress 3rd Session Serial Set vol. 4766 p.140
"No problem caused Congress, officials of the General Land Office, and Federal courts more difficulty or took up as much time as the private land claims, that is the grants of land made by predecessor governments in areas acquired from Great Britain, France, Spain, and Mexico" (Gates, 1968 87)
Adjudicating the claims in the area that would eventually be divided into Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin was controversial and time-consuming. Importantly, however, the title to the claims had to be confirmed and then their boundaries established on the ground before the rectangular land surveys, which only involved land owned by the United States government, could be made.
Bibliography
Private Land Claims in the South
"Private Land Claims" in Gates, Paul W. History of Public Land Law Development (Washington D.C., Government Printing Office, 1968) 87-119
A Forgotten Spanish Land Grant in South Florida
The Impact of Spanish Land Grants on the Development of Florida and the South Eastern United States
Private Land Claims: Sources of the Problems
The History of Land Titles in the State of Louisiana
Missouri: Private Land Claims In Missouri
Private Claims - Seeking Michigan
Spanish land claims in Missouri
Spanish Land Grants of Upper Louisiana