Embedded Files
Grantor/Grantee Listing for Sauk County, Wisconsin
Grantor/Grantee Listing for Sauk County, Wisconsin
http://gtrgteindex.co.sauk.wi.us/grantor/
Note: People living in Europe (where many USA websites are blocked) will need to use a VPN such as TunnelBear to access the Grantor/Grantee website. If you have already downloaded the 58 pages as PDF, then skip TunnelBear.
At the website are indexes of names for the years 1843, 1916, 1958, 1964, 1966, and 1981
The left column has indexes for Grantor (seller or borrower). The right column has indexes for Grantee (buyer or lender).
Letters of the alphabet represent the first letter of last names.
Click on a letter and a PDF will open.
The PDFs are not searchable so you will need to scroll and browse through the indexes.
The pages at the beginning of the indexes are mini-indexes that refers to page numbers in the PDF.
The 58 pages can be downloaded as PDF. When downloaded, you may have file names such as GTE_1843_A.pdf and GTR_1843_A
The actual documents are available for a fee to view and/or print. $2 for the first page. Go to the LandShark link: https://www.co.sauk.wi.us/registerofdeeds/register-deeds-property-information-land-shark
More info: https://www.co.sauk.wi.us/registerofdeeds/grantorgrantee-index-mid-1800s-late-1986
US Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management
US Department of the Interior - Bureau of Land Management
This website has information for land patent documents - the transfer of land ownership from the federal government to individuals. These documents can be very old and date to the late 1700s and early 1800s.
These records include the entire USA. If your ancestor bought land from the government, such as a homestead, you should be able to find a document for them. However, for Wisconsin, many of the early documents were military soldiers from other states who purchased land. The GLO (General Land Office) made these land ownership documents available online.
General overview: https://glorecords.blm.gov/reference/default.aspx#id=03_Search_Tips|01_General_Overview (If the page says "We cannot locate the item you are requesting..." then click "General Overview" on the left panel under "Search Tips" category)
How to search:
Click this link: https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx
There are 3 search tabs: Type, Location, or Identifier
When searching by type, change the location to the state (such as "WISCONSIN") and choose a county
Enter a last name, and optionally a first name (you might get better results with just a last name)
You can fill in the Land Description by typing the Township, Range, and Section#
Use 3 numbers for township and range numbers, such as 009 (for 9) and 002 (for 2)
A drop-down after Township lets you choose either North or South
A drop-down after Range lets you choose either East or West
Click "Search Patents" (or hit the Enter key)
Results info; download original patent document:
If results are shown, click "Patent Image" to see a downloadable PDF of the original patent document.
Results also show County, Township, Range, and Section numbers as well as dates.
In the "Accession" column, click the link to see more info such as acres.
Accession numbers are codes used to identify a land patent.
To see an overlay of the Section/Town/Range on a current map:
On the Patent Details page, find the current map at the bottom of the screen.
Check-mark the tiny box called "Map" (under "Land Descriptions") and an overlay will appear of the entire section (light orange color) and a darker orange area showing the land that was purchased.
Zoom in to see other markings such as street names.
To download an original plat map:
Click "Related Documents"
Click "Surveys" on the left side
Click "Original Survey" in the Survey column.
Now click the "Plat Image" tab.
If you can't see the map, click "Basic Viewer" below the map, rather than "Plugin Viewer"
Hold down the Ctrl key to select a region with the mouse, or click the + and - symbols to enlarge or reduce the image size.
Click the square icon to see the entire map.
To download a map, click the PDF symbol below the map then click "Download" (sometimes there are also JP2 and SID options)
Wait for a message at the bottom that says "PDF Generated" then click it to open the PDF in a browser. It may spin for a long time and never generate! Try another browser.
You can download the "Field Notes" documents in the same way (these can be multiple pages). On the Related Documents > Surveys tab, Field Notes are on the far right.
Following are screenshots of the above steps.
Tips for searching such as using the % wildcard: https://glorecords.blm.gov/reference/default.aspx#id=03_Search_Tips|01_Search_Patents
Read the Glossary for more info: https://glorecords.blm.gov/reference/default.aspx#id=05_Appendices|01_Glossary
Timeline of public land history: https://glorecords.blm.gov/reference/default.aspx#id=01_GLO_Records|02_Public_Lands_History
See land record research by Marian Ruhland Burmester, June 2019 newsletter of the Old Franklin Township Historical Society:
Field notes (Wisconsin)
Field notes (Wisconsin)
Wisconsin Public Land Survey Records: Original Field Notes and Plat Maps
Field notes have descriptions of the land (rolling, hilly, flat, bluffs) and included types of trees (Burr Oak, Aspen), types of soil (sandy, good, etc), whether there were any streams or rivers, if they meandered, and so on. Wisconsin was still a Territory when the field notes were handwritten by surveyors. Plat maps are also available at the website. Townships were not yet formed. There is only handwritten information and drawings. Home page: https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotesHome.html
Land Survey information; be sure to read the section explaining the confusion of the word "township" in field notes: https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/SurveyNotes/SurveyInfo.html
Following is an example of Richland County field notes in June 1842 by Alvin Burt who surveyed Town 9 North, Range 2 East, 4th Meridian (once Ithaca Township; later Buena Vista Township). The field notes noted the name of the Wisconsin River (good water, gentle currents) as well as mention of a small island.
Plat map diagram from June 1842 shows Sections, Bluffs, Pine Grove, Pine River, and the Wisconsin River with islands:
Click the largest of rectangular icons to see this enlarged view: https://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/SurveyNotes/SurveyNotes-idx?type=article&byte=11745021&isize=XL&twp=T009NR002E
Track land on Google Earth using the GLO and EarthPoint websites
Track land on Google Earth using the GLO and EarthPoint websites
Step-by-step tutorial with video: https://lisalouisecooke.com/2021/08/17/plotting-land-with-google-earth-pro/ Following is a summary.
Go to Earth Point website: https://www.earthpoint.us/
In left column of EarthPoint, look for "Township & Range"
Click "Search by Description"
Fill in the State, Principal Meridian (if known), Township, Range, and Section (optional).
Click "Fly To On Google Earth" button and you will be prompted to save the file to your computer. The size is about 12KB.
Save the KML file to your computer. The file name begins with EarthPointFlyTo_
With Google Earth program open, double click the KML file.
In the "Places" panel of Google Earth, the KML location is saved in the "Temporary Places" folder; the map will zoom to that location.
If you want to save the "Earth Point Fly To..." file to Google Earth, right-click and choose "Save to My Places." The file can be renamed by right-clicking.
Under "My Places" be sure "Overlays" and "Townships" is selected so that you can see township borders (see below).
The tutorial shows how to use EarthPoint: https://www.earthpoint.us/default.aspx
Optional: go to the Bureau of Land Management (GLO) website and find the location of property: https://glorecords.blm.gov/search/default.aspx
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